Awards, panels, exhibitions and a long overdue update

Once again, it's been too long between posts. With two projects due to begin on site shortly, its been a busy time of late.

The Billabong Houses are once again (most likely for the last time ever) being opened to the public on Sunday the 23rd of October as part of the Space Open House tours, a national day. Bookings are essential: Eventbrite link

The AIA awards were held back in July, and once again I had the honour of being a juror for the sustainability category, entailing a full day of presentations from architects and clients on the design philosophy and sustainability merits of their projects, followed by a day of site visits of those shortlisted and interesting discussions. All up an interesting, thought-provoking process celebrating excellence in architecture. You can see the results and winners of the various categories here with beautiful images and jury citations: AIA SA Awards

As a precursor to the 2016 Sustainable House Day, I recently had the opportunity to speak on a panel in a forum hosted by the Adelaide Sustainable Building Network (ASBN) regarding zero energy homes along with representatives from Sustainability House and Solar Quotes for the ASBN's mini-expo. A podcast of the discussion is online HERE.

For the first time in 20 years, April saw the AIA National Conference held in Adelaide, curated by the former State Government Architect Ben Hewitt, Sam Spurr & Cameron Bruhn. Another fantastic event with a myriad of intriguing global speakers, well attended by delegates from all around the country.

And the Billabong Houses picked up another award in the City of Norwood, Payneham & St Peters Excellence in Urban Design Awards 2016. Held once every 4 years or so, the award aims to foster excellence in the public realm through design and thoughtful regeneration, other award winners included Troppo for their Maylands House and Williams Burton Leopardi for Base 64 in Kent Town. NPSP EIUDA

On the photography front, I've had the pleasure of exhibiting again with Skrambled Eggs, this time being run as part of the Shimmer Photography Biennale held by the City of Onkaparinga in September. Skrambled Eggs is the brainchild of photographer Ben Liew, having established photographers exhibit works taken purely by smart phones - my contributions being typically architectural in nature. For something a little different I was asked to document various Indonesian batiks and fabrics for an exhibition run in conjunction with Flinder University and the Oz Asia festival and held recently at the Adelaide Festival Centre.

Talk at the Alternative Technology Association, Monday 16th March

Long time between updates!

This coming Monday I'll be giving a presentation at the Adelaide branch of the Alternative Technology Association (ATA) about sustainability, architecture and the Billabong Houses, and I promise to keep it upbeat and entertaining given no one likes a lecture!

The ATA describe themselves as "...a not-for-profit organisation that exists to connect, inspire and assist people to make sustainable choices in the homes and communities" by providing an advice service to its 5600 members and consultants to the public, organising / co-running the hugely successful national events Sustainable House Day and Speed-Date a Sustainable Designer (both of which I have participated in), engage in research and advocacy for the sustainability sector, provide access to discounted sustainability-related products and services as well as publish the sustainable architecture and design magazine Sanctuary and Renew which deals with some of the more technical aspects and developments in sustainability and the reduction of waste, energy and water consumption.

The Adelaide branch meets monthly with presentations on a range of topics including sustainable design, developments in sustainable products with a Q&A session, with meetings open to the public.

See more on the ATA and its many benefits here http://www.ata.org.au/ and event details for Monday night HERE.

You wouldn't use a Hair dresser for heart surgery...

 ... so when it comes to renovating Ask an Architect! (so goes the new branding for the consumer launch of Archicentre as "Ask an Architect")

While many Australians might not see themselves being able to afford an architect, the services offered by Ask An Architect / Archicentre give accessible, independent, affordable professional services to homeowners and prospective buyers alike with:

• House, building/property pre-purchase inspections before buying a home
• Home design & renovation advice, including feasibility for renovating a home
• Construction and building advice during a build
• Even the on the importance of maintaining a home

(click on the underlined links for further detail, tips, fact sheets and videos)

The new site does a great job demystifying what an architect does, what we can do with and for you including the Home renovation and design advice and design and feasibility reports. A home is for most people the single biggest investment they'll ever make and largest asset they will ever own. An architect's help and input shouldn't be seen as an additional expense, think of it instead as 'value adding', with the potential to save time, hassle and cost far beyond the initial outlay with the added benefit of optimised and customised surroundings;

Lifestyle discussion & design options

• Advice on ways to improve your home to meet current requirements
• Advice on options to meet your future growth and lifestyle changes
• Advice on ways you can optimise home running costs
• Accessibility advice
• Making your home more sustainable
• To renovate up, out or both
• Value for money construction systems
• Value for money improvements

Budgetary concerns & development alternatives

• Is the budget enough to achieve what you want to do?
• What budget is needed for the outcome you want?
• Tailoring your brief (requirements) to better meet your budget
• Do your ideas add value to your property?
• Should you renovate, demolish and re-build or sell and buy elsewhere?
• Understanding the controls affecting your proposed renovation or development
• Setting realistic project time lines

Energy Efficiency Audits

Perhaps of more interest now we are into Summer, some AAA/Archicentre architects can provide Energy Efficiency Audits of an existing home / building as well as the drawings and schedules of a proposed home or building, reviewing;

• The site, orientation, landscaping and specific climatic factors
• Internal layout and zoning in relation to orientation
• Internal and external materials, insulation and shading
• Orientation related to size and proportion of openings and glazing types
• Heating and cooling, lighting, appliances and water heating
• Building fixtures and components and items affecting comfort or efficiency
• Renewable energy options and feasibility
• Options for rain water harvest, storage and reuse
• Options for grey/waste water use on site
• Water related fixtures and appliances
• And considering this with both aesthetics and costs in mind and appropriate as to whether an urban or rural property

While many of these energy and environmental issues are best addressed as early as possible in a new design project, a proposed project's drawing review prior to seeking Building Rules Consent against the National Construction Code is just as useful as making changes to an existing building to try to cut down ongoing energy and water consumption - especially as we can expect significant energy and water price rises in coming years with has the potential to pay for itself many times over. Design and architecture/building sustainability audits are a service that Julian Rutt and Lumen are particularly qualified to provide.

The new Ask An Architect site is also very useful for its;

• Active, extensive Q&A section on practical, design and budgetary issues
• News regarding public events and seminars
• Tips, fact sheets and short videos
• Details on the inspection types available for those undertaking developments, needing termite inspections or wishing to get an independent review the work of their home builder

Again, many many more details on the full level of services on the website. As an AskAnArchitect/Archicentre service architect, I was required to undertake an additional training and accreditation process on top of the many years it takes to become a registered architect to be able to provide these services. I've got to say that this new site is vastly improved to get around around and find information easily, its definitely worth having a look through early on and should help ease any concerns and fill in some blanks on what we do and how to get started.

And hey, they're even using one of my designs & interior photos on their landing page!

Talk for the ASBN available for streaming + download

The Adelaide Sustainable Building Network have uploaded both the talks from the recent 'Eco Build Experience' spotlight event where I got to talk more about the building & philosophy side of the Billabong Houses, with Terry Dollman, a lecturer at TAFE in sustainable design & building talking about his own experiences designing and building a sustainable residence. The event was capacity and completely sold out, so if you were one of those turned away at the door, you are in luck!

Unfortunately my voice was a little worse for wear (recovering from laryngitis) but thankfully I avoided having to cancel at the last minute and managed to squeak my way through the lively and often humourous Q&A session afterwards, sounding a bit like a teenage boy. Terry's talk and a host of other informative talks are hosted on the ASBN page of vimeo, located here: http://vimeo.com/adelaidesbn

Also a reminder that the second installment of Sustainable House Day 2014 is up this coming Sunday afternoon and this will be the last time the Billabong House will be open to the public for tours (having been open for SHD '13 and several award juries in the past 12 months). The tours begin from 10am and leave regularly throughout the day. Please check the Sustainable House Day website for details and other houses open to the public, or the Billabong House page for a brief summary.

Show and Tell - 27 Aug 2014 Julian Rutt’s interest in sustainability in architecture sparked while at university and grew while travelling after finishing his studies. Having spent several years working in London, on returning to Adelaide Julian began getting involved in the professional body, the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) through activity in the Sustainable Built Environment committee and the National Sustainability Committee in order to help sway sustainability policy, which later contributed to him receiving the New Architects & Graduates Award (now known as the Emerging Architect Prize). After 10 years back working for high profile practices on a wide range of commercial and residential projects, Julian began Lumen (Studio), a multi-disciplinary practice with sustainability as a key design driver. His own home was used as a testing ground for numerous sustainable design techniques and theories and recently won a Commendation for Sustainable Architecture at the AIA State Chapter awards and the Adelaide Review People’s Choice Award for new housing. Julian also provides sustainability consulting for new projects as well as existing home and building retro-fits, has consulted to local government in the area of sustainability interacting with development plans, is a Design Review Panel member with the Office of Design and Architecture SA, has been juror and jury chair for the AIA awards, an expert witness in the ERD court and is a regular tutor/lecturer at UniSA and Adelaide University schools of architecture.

Sustainable House Day '14 - Billabong Houses open

One of the Billabong Houses is open for 2014 Sustainable House Day!

Started in 2001, Sustainable House Day is a national day opening the most environmentally progressive homes to the public. To quote the website:

On Sunday 7 and 14 September, you have the opportunity to tour an amazing array of everyday Australian homes all built and created around the ideal of reducing their footprint on the earth.

By partaking in Sustainable House Day you can tap into local knowledge to learn how to successfully integrate renewable energy, recycling, and other sustainable practices into your home and lifestyle. This unique event is a valuable resource for anyone looking for inspiration, ideas and the key to sustainable living. Our homeowners, sponsors and local sustainable groups look forward to sharing their knowledge with you.

For the first time, Sustainable House Day is being spread across two weekends, with one of the Billabong Houses open on both weekends. Demand was high last year with 6 hours of back to back tours.

There are all kinds of homes open for viewing, everything from brand new homes, to extensions and renovations of existing houses, check the SHD 2014 website for more information.

http://sustainablehouseday.com/item/julians-house/