Victoria’s best sustainable homes: Our standout sustainable designs, including first 10-star home

From a “mini skyscraper”, to a Bend of Islands ‘Glass House’ and our first 10-star home — these are the state’s top eco designs. See how they rank against the nation’s best. HAVE YOUR SAY.

Alita McMenamin, Luke Middleton and their sons, Ned, 8, and Charlie, 6, live in one of the state’s most sustainable homes, MM House in Northcote. Picture by Wayne Taylor

Victoria is home to some of the nation’s most impressive green houses.

A woolshed-inspired Beaufort pad is believed to be the country’s only almost completely recyclable house, while a “treasure trove” of recycled materials is a standout sustainable build in one of Victoria’s – and Australia’s – most eco-conscious suburbs, Bend of Islands.

A Kallista passive house that resembles a fallen log contains one of Australia’s first “magic box” heat-recovery ventilation, hot water, and heating and cooling units, according to creators Maxa Design.

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The Recyclable House, Beaufort by Quentin Irvine of Inquire Invent. Picture: Nic Granleese

The Glass House at Bend Of Islands, by Hamish Knox.

Maxa Design’s Passive House in Kallista contains a “magic box”. Picture: Chris Neylon

The Sunday Herald Sun has selected these residences among 22 standout sustainable homes across the state, which combine art and science to be both aesthetically striking and eco-friendly.

Three of the 22 are within The Cape ecovillage in Cape Paterson in Victoria’s southeast, including the state’s first 10-star energy rated and carbon-positive home to be built to a zero-waste philosophy.

Sociable Weaver co-founder Dave Martin at The 10 Star Home – the first in Victoria with a 10-star energy rating. Picture: Jason Edwards

Coast at Cape Patterson, where annual energy bills are close to zero.

Core 9 Project, also Cape Paterson, has a 9.1-star energy rating.

Adding to the appeal of the 10 Star Home, by Sociable Weaver and Clare Cousins Architect, is the fact it can be built anywhere in Greater Melbourne and Gippsland for just $590,000.

Also within this estate, Coast and Core 9 Project run on essentially no electricity costs.

Other homes on the list are doing their part for the next generation of sustainable design. The University of Melbourne has monitored the efficiency of East Melbourne’s 5x4 House – aka the “mini skyscraper” from Grand Designs Australia – as well as EME Design’s MM House in Northcote and Passive Butterfly in Armadale.

Ralph Alphonso, pictured with dog Rani, at his East Melbourne “mini skyscraper”, 5x5 House. Picture: Mark Stewart

Passive Butterfly in Armadale, by EME Design. Picture: Amorfo

MM House in Northcote, by EME Design. Picture: Luke Middleton

EME Design director and owner of MM House Luke Middleton said doing this showed him “where we can improve” future designs, calling on “every high-profile or award-winning sustainable project” to follow suit and publish performance results.

“Those projects are the exemplars, people copy them,” he said.

“There’s a lot of rhetoric in this field, and often it’s not backed up by thorough analysis.”

Mr Middleton’s home – which he shares with partner Alita McMenamin and their sons, Ned, 8, and Charlie, 6 – runs “electricity positive” thanks to a 5kW solar system and passive-design principles including a northern orientation, double-glazed and strategically placed windows, heat-storing rammed-earth walls and an airtight build.

This means minimal electricity bills in winter, and earning a rebate in summer.

Melbourne Design Studio's Biophilia – Slate House in Northcote is another of Victoria’s standout sustainable homes, with the pool working as a “battery”.

Davison Street Collaborative by Archier, Brunswick, followed a “Collaborative Development” model described as a “solution to the problem of sky-high Melbourne property prices”. Picture: Tess Kelly

Even dirt dug out to accommodate a lower level was reused in the creation of The Tree House in Coburg by Adapt Architecture.

The family also enjoy better air quality and comfort – even on freezing winter mornings.

“Often I’m underdressed when I go outside because I don’t realise it’s freezing out there,” Ms McMenamin said.

Mr Middleton said the process of buying or building a home that was truly sustainable could be difficult to navigate. He recommended buyers ask to see a property’s energy bills for an indication of its true efficiency, and builders ask designers or architectures how many homes they had created that were “well above the 6-star requirement”.

He noted interest in sustainable housing was ramping up, as people realised the way they lived could “make a difference”.

-with Christina Karras

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