Sustainable Home Workshop

Feel comfortable in your home, reduce running costs and unlock your home’s full green potential.

We will identify and prioritise the improvements that will make the biggest impact.

$1,999 +GST

This package includes a minimum of 7 hours of professional time.

  • You receive a questionnaire to give structure to recording your needs, wants, budget and visualising success.

  • You receive resources based on the Living Building Challenge to help you and your Architect GP look at sustainability holistically.

  • Your Architect GP arrives ready to your zoom session having reviewed the property information you have provided and planning context.

  • After a virtual tour, you will work together in real time to explore ideas and the most cost effective strategies.

  • Following the workshop you will receive a summary report, including local referrals to other relevant professionals and/or your next steps.

Architects are held to the highest standards of any design professional in Australia. A signed agreement protects your consumer rights and is applicable to all workshops. You can view the Agreement template here.

Book this Service

Your questions, answered.

If not, please visit our FAQs page or get in touch.

  • Everyone likes reducing their energy bills - especially as the price of electricity and gas keeps rising - but above all you want to reduce energy consumption to increase the efficiency and comfort of your home. But what do you prioritise? And what improvements and upgrades will give you the most bang for your buck?

  • Architects study building science and work with the approaches and products that make a tangible difference to your energy bills and your indoor comfort. We can explain passive solar design, double glazing, shading for different orientations, insulation, heating and cooling systems, heat reflectance, acoustic insulation, reflective films, air-tightness and how to get off gas and go fully electric.

    Often, big impacts can be made with low-tech and incremental interventions.

    (Did you know that double glazing is often less effective than draft-proofing, for example? And draught-proofing is a LOT cheaper and you can do-it-yourself?)

    We look at all of the possibilities thoroughly and holistically, and in the specific context of your home and site.

  • As architects, we intrinsically understand passive solar design - using the sun and wind to keep your home cooler in summer and warner in winter - and we can determine from a floor plan (and photo or two if you have them) whether a house is optimised for energy efficiency, year-round comfort and health.

    Poorly sited homes can result in problems arising from mould and condensation, which can lead to serious health issues. And homes that don’t make the most of passive solar design can be expensive and difficult to heat and cool.

    We can help you optimise your plan and then make strategic upgrades - by adding insulation, or shading windows appropriately, or installing new windows - to improve the thermal performance and comfort. We’ll help you draw up a plan to stage the works, so you can make incremental improvements over time as your budget allows.

  • Book this workshop and you will receive a minimum of 7 hours of professional time.

    pre-workshop Questionnaire to understand your environmental goals and drivers.

    A 90 minute online workshop where you’ll get:

    • The undivided attention of your Architect GP

    • A workshop agenda to structure the discussion and enable you to prepare, so you get the most out of it

    • A prepared Architect GP who has read your questionnaire, done desktop research, and is ready to work

    • A non-judgemental Architect who will tour your home with eyes only for what matter (piles of laundry and the mess of life are no big deal)

    • You provide printed copies of floor plans and other information - such as building inspection reports, energy efficiency ratings, etc - that you have on hand

    • Custom templates to record information for objective and insightful analysis

    • Architectural sketches to show passive solar design principles, design strategies and/or approaches for achieving ESD integration. This is about showing and working with you to identify the likely best strategies for your unique home and site

    • Discussions of your budget (yes, cost!) and the impact that might have on your decision making

    • The reassurance that comes from knowing that your decisions are based on real data and knowledge, having explored various scenarios and future potential for improvements

    • A verbal summary of the key outcomes and next steps

    • **Some architects have training in infra-red imaging or other analytical technologies. This is not available in all locations.

    After the workshop, your Architect GP will send an email report of the workshop, including follow-up on any other consultants they may consider useful referrals for you.

    • The value is you can act on the energy and momentum created by the workshop and start to implement the advice

  • $1,999 +GST

  • You can book additional consultations with your dedicated Architect GP anytime via the Architect On-Call booking window.

If you’d like to use the services of an Architect GP – but you can’t see a service to suit your predicament – feel free to email us here and we’ll do our best to help.

You can also book a 30-minute phone appointment with our founder, Sarah Hobday-North, here.

Sounds great? Book this service here.