QLD’s most sustainable homes: The top 10 greenest and cleanest

An eco-lair owned by a hemp tycoon, a house that ‘breathes’ and a green ‘Grand Design’ in the Gold Coast hinterland. We’ve tracked down Queensland’s most sustainable homes.

Grand Designs Australia host Peter Maddison with Tamborine Mountain couple Sarah and David Hobart at ‘The Long House’, which is one of Queensland’s most sustainable homes. Photo: Foxtel/Rhiannon Slatter.

A LUXURIOUS eco-lair owned by a hemp tycoon in Noosa, a Brisbane house that ‘breathes’ and a green ‘Grand Design’ in the Gold Coast hinterland.

We’ve tracked down Queensland’s cleanest and greenest abodes as part of a special feature revealing the country’s Top 100 Sustainable Homes.

Topping the list of the state’s most eco-friendly dwellings, compiled by The Courier-Mail’s real estate team, is Australia’s largest 100 per cent ‘passive’ house in Brisbane’s inner city.

MORE PROPERTY NEWS:

Million dollar plus club swells as buyers push up their price points

Jawdropping Byron retreat could break records

Hollywood star hunts for Gold Coast digs

A render of the sustainable Brisbane home ‘Vanquish’ in Auchenflower.

‘Vanquish’ in Auchenflower sets a high benchmark for sustainable, subtropical housing.

Built by local builder, Solaire Properties, the home is almost as airtight as a submarine, maintains a constant temperature of 23 degrees, delivers air that is cleaner inside the house than outside and is the most whisper-quiet home we have ever entered.

Head north to the hottest housing market in the state and you will find an eco-lair like no other.

‘Vanquish’ at 39 Owen Lane, Auchenflower, is a ‘Passive’ house.

A three-level Sunshine Beach mansion owned by a hemp tycoon that made headlines for its eye-watering $80,000 holiday rental price also happens to be super sustainable.

Camouflaged under a green canopy on the edge of Noosa National Park, ’Domic’ stands out for its series of shell-like domes that blend into the natural landscape overlooking the world-famous Sunshine Beach.

‘Domic’ at 17 Seaview Tce, Sunshine Beach, is one of Queensland’s most impressive sustainable homes. Photographer: Scott Burrows.

Its eco-friendly design is reflected in the use of clever landscape architecture and innovative building materials and efficiencies such as Hempcrete thermal walls, solar performing glass, and a natural ventilation system.

While ‘Domic’ is known for attracting high flyers and the mega rich, a more down-to-earth sustainable home can be found in the Gold Coast hinterland.

Inside ‘Domic’, which has thermal walls made of hempcrete. Photographer: Scott Burrows.

Russian hemp tycoon Evgeny Skigin is the owner of Domic, an $18 million eco-home in Sunshine Beach. Photo: Patrick Woods.

Known as the ‘Long House’, this beauty is nestled among the trees of Tamborine Mountain and featured in an episode of the Channel 9 series ‘Grand Designs Australia’.

A passion project for owners James and Sarah Hobart, it was built using locally sourced materials and is predominantly run on passive heating and cooling, assisted by bulk insulation in the walls, floors and roof.

‘The Long House’ at Tamborine Mountain featured on Foxtel’s Lifestyle show Grand Designs Australia. Photo: Foxtel/Rhiannon Slatter.

And a big tent in the Sunshine Coast hinterland also made our list of the state’s most sustainable homes.

Made out of a love of the great outdoors and sleeping under the stars, this unique home 15 minutes outside Noosa features a retractable roof that peels off and showcases the rainforest canopy.

The ‘tent house’ at Verrierdale, near Noosa, is one of Queensland’s most unique and sustainable homes. Picture: Foxtel/Grand Designs Australia.

The roof also collects rainwater as the main source of the home’s potable water.

It comes as demand for building sustainable homes continues to grow, with a major focus on healthier building practices, resource efficiency and a decrease in wastage.

Building a sustainable home can have major financial benefits, driving up property value and helping reduce future energy-related costs.

‘The Long House’ is a small, but spacious, home that captures the tranquility of the surrounds. Photo: Foxtel/Rhiannon Slatter.

REA Group recently released a report analysing the supply and demand of energy efficient ratings and features in homes across Australia that found solar panels and water tanks are the most frequent energy efficient features to be found in listings on realestate.com.au.

Queensland has more listings with these features than any other state and also has more off-grid properties.

At the Verrierdale ‘tent house’, you can literally sleep under the stars. Picture: Foxtel/Grand Designs Australia.

REA Group economic research director Cameron Kusher said energy efficiency had become an increasingly important consideration for home hunters.

“Despite clear consumer demand for energy efficient homes, only a small percentage of listings on realestate.com.au advertised sustainable features,” Mr Kusher said.

This property at 25 Boston Street, Clayfield, also made our list of Top 100 sustainable homes.

“Most suburbs in which energy efficiency features are being declared are in new housing areas. This is most likely due to the fact that these homes have been built to the minimum energy efficiency requirements, whereas older existing homes have not.”

To see the full list of the nation’s top 100 most sustainable homes, head to couriermail.com.au.

This property at 4 Plum Pudding Close, Hamilton Island, made our list of Top 100 Sustainable Homes.

QUEENSLAND’S TOP 10 SUSTAINABLE HOMES

1. ‘Vanquish’, 39 Owen Lane, Auchenflower, Brisbane

2. ‘Domic’, 17 Seaview Terrace, Sunshine Beach, Sunshine Coast

3. ‘The Long House’, Long Road, Tamborine Mountain, Gold Coast

4. 25 Boston Street, Clayfield, Brisbane

5. ‘Solis’, 4 Plum Pudding Close, Hamilton Island

6. ‘Dreamcatcher’, 5-7 Tranquil Place, Smithfield, Cairns

7. ‘Tent House’, Verrierdale, Sunshine Coast hinterland

8. ‘Reflections’, Camp Mountain, Moreton Bay

9. 2 Harkness Pde, Idalia, Townsville

10. 4 Explorers Dr, South Mission Beach, Cairns