New ecological housing design for tropical climate

14/10/04
Broome's new Filter House, designed by the winners of the Department of Housing and Works' (DHW) inaugural Sustainable Housing Design Competition, was officially opened today.
The Filter House, so called because recycled slatted timber used in construction filters the sun's rays while allowing cooling breezes to flow through dwelling, was part of DHW's commitment to the State Sustainability Strategy and the Year of the Built Environment.
Housing and Works Minister Nick Griffiths said 37 entries were received in the national competition, aimed at encouraging ideas on the issues, costs and benefits associated with sustainable house design for the Broome climate.

Ideas generated from the winning entry by Sustainable Built Environments of Melbourne were developed and incorporated into a display home built in Bin Salik Avenue, Broome to raise public awareness of sustainability issues.
"Monitoring over 12 months will determine actual outcomes against predictions, with the aim to 'mainstream' those cost-effective features identified for delivering water and energy savings," Mr Griffiths said.
"Another important part of the process will be to select a tenant who will agree to be part of the monitoring process: someone willing to support the objectives and allow the house to function as designed to give integrity to the final results.
"The findings will be promoted to the public, providing direct long-term benefits for mainstream housing in the State's tropical far north."
The judging panel included representatives of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects, the Building Designers Association, the Sustainable Energy Development Office, the Master Builders' Association, the Housing Industry Association, and the Department of Housing and Works.
The Minister said the competition carried prize money totalling $8,500 and was open to architects, architecture students, designers and builders.
"The competition aimed at demonstrating that a comfortable living environment could be achieved through passive solar design principles," he said.
Another goal was to demonstrate that a 50 per cent reduction in energy use and building waste and 25 per cent savings in water use were also realistic.
Minister's office: 9222 8950