Some of our favourite homes are those that prove great design and sustainability go hand in hand.
In 2024, we saw an impressive number of environmentally conscious homes, and below we’ve rounded up our top eight!
Discover these innovative sustainable homes below.
Dennis House by Olaver Architecture is a newly built family home in Northcote. Photo – Tom Ross.
This atrium garden brings the outdoors into every room. Photo – Tom Ross.
If you were to poll people about what makes a good home, we’d be willing to bet that light, space, and connection to the outdoors would be among the most popular features.
These were also the core pillars behind the design of a new Melbourne home by Olaver Architecture, who were tasked with creating a ‘simple home that is easy to live in’.
The resulting Dennis House is all that and more, enhanced by its sustainability credentials.
The exterior of Farrier Lane House by MDC Architects. Photo – Dion Robeson. Styling – Amy Collins-Walker.
Concrete floors help passively heat and cool the home. Photo – Dion Robeson. Styling – Amy Collins-Walker.
Photo – Dion Robeson. Styling – Amy Collins-Walker.
Architect Matt Delroy-Carr (of MDC Architects) designed his own family home as an experiment, hoping to test and evaluate the best ways to reduce carbon in a typical build.
On a small block in Perth’s inner suburbs, he’s created a serene timber and brick home that’s so sustainable, it’s one of only a few properties nationwide to be deemed as a ‘true net zero’ carbon construction.
Banksia by The Sociable Weaver is a sustainably renovated family home. Photo – Marnie Hawson. Styling – Hannah Nowlan.
A pergola covers the outdoor entertaining space. Photo – Marnie Hawson. Styling – Hannah Nowlan.
Plywood and low VOC timbers add character to the interiors. Photo – Marnie Hawson. Styling – Hannah Nowlan.
Banksia by The Sociable Weaver is a retrofitted house that serves as a masterclass in sustainable renovations.
Located on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, the family home was originally a typical brick build, with a poorly performing addition at the rear.
But in the hands of the B-Corp-certified design and construction firm, the humble residence now goes well past the minimum standards for energy efficiency, achieving an impressive 9 stars out of 10.
The new addition of the Coburg home. Photo – Tatjana Plitt.
The crazy paving flooring spills out from the dining area into the backyard. Photo – Tatjana Plitt.
Natural light enhances the textural dining space. Photo – Tatjana Plitt.
When it comes to what defines a well-designed home, sometimes the most important elements are the details you can’t see.
This is the mantra of Melbourne-based practice Steffen Welsch Architects, who took a holistic approach to the transformation of a family’s weatherboard in Coburg.
With sustainability and functionality in mind, the team created a compact addition that not only feels warm and welcoming, but is high-performing too, thanks to passive solar principles.
Tallowwood Cabin by Fouché Architects. On left: ‘Basking’ by Tamami Davidson.
One of the main requests was to design an undercover deck to accommodate the client’s pool table.
The gravel driveway leads to an undercroft.
The brief behind this cabin in Tallebudgera, Queensland, was to create a new two-bedroom home for a retired client on an expansive bushland block, where his daughter and partner also live.
Fouché Architects designed the abode to hover amongst the tree canopy, perched above a clever undercroft, while the dark-clad exterior helps the building camouflage into the natural environment.
Sweetwater House is the newly-built family home of Jackson Clements Burrows Architects principal Christopher Botterill and family. Kitchen joinery in Laminex Bayleaf. Photo – Tom Blachford.
Studies show CLT can lower the carbon emissions of large buildings by roughly 40 percent over traditional materials. Kitchen joinery in Laminex Bayleaf. Photo – Tom Blachford.
The intensity of the facade’s galvanised steel finish will patina over time, eventually transitioning into a soft grey that echoes the hues of the landscape and will further immerse the home into its setting. Photo – Tom Blachford.
A new stage in life recently inspired Jackson Clements Burrows Architects principal Christopher Botterill and his family to move from inner-city Melbourne to bayside Frankston South.
Here, the architect designed and built a new home that showcases an inventive response to multi-generational and sustainable living.
The resulting home is a direct response to its creekside location, serving to honour and revitalise the vital natural landscape.
Kabina is a relocatable, sustainable cabin that can be flat packed, transported, and assembled on site without using any screws or nails. Photo – Javier Miguens. Styling – Gabriela Molina
The 3.6 metre long cabin can only be made using a CNC machine that precisely cuts 40 pieces of marine structural plywood. Photo – Javier Miguens. Styling – Gabriela Molina
In the words of architect Facundo Ochoa, a sustainable product is one you can repurpose, resell, or relocate when no longer fit for purpose.
This thinking — paired with Facundo’s lifelong desire to design small and portable cabins — inspired the creation of Kabina.
What appears as a simple A-frame cabin utilises an innovative interlocking system and precisely cut marine plywood pieces that can be flat packed, transported to site, and assembled without power tools in just four hours.
Take a close look at the very first Kabina, located on the Northern Beaches of Sydney.
The pod is a collaboration between Steele Olney (of Studio Dot) and builder Evan Graham. Photo – Alex McIntyre. Styling – Monsoon Living.
Timber and natural materials have created a calming atmosphere inside. Photo – Alex McIntyre. Styling – Monsoon Living.
The pod was inspired by the design of a quintessential Australian miner’s cottage. Photo – Alex McIntyre. Styling – Monsoon Living.
This sustainable ‘pod’ is a prefabricated cabin that’s been designed with ‘endless possibilities’ in mind.
Newcastle-based architect Steele Olney (of Studio Dot) and builder Evan Graham created the unique dwelling for people to use as a weekender on a rural property, a studio in someone’s backyard, or to accommodate multi-generational living arrangements.
The Passive Prefab project allows people to experience the benefits of a compact passive house that balances good design, comfort, health, and sustainability — all in a 25-square-metre cabin.
