Who we are
This blog documents the story of Emma and Greg’s house build project.
Emma is a sustainability consultant and the driver of the project. For the past 19 years Emma has been frustrated by the poor design of houses she’s lived in. Particularly poor thermal comfort, needing to use active heating and cooling and still not being comfortable, poor lighting and light control, and inefficient kitchen layouts. In that time, Emma has designed and managed interior renovations to her little two-bedroom villa in Scarborough (Perth, WA) and has designed a tiny house. Emma loves the process of optimising and prioritising to meet needs.
Greg is a solutions architect (IT professional) and also takes a user-focused design approach. He wants to live in a house he owns and to not have to move again! He is excited to design the networking and smart devices for the home, and to have a big say in solar PV, batteries and electrics.
We grew up in Perth but couldn’t find anywhere in Perth or regional WA that we wanted to make our permanent home. After Christmas 2021, with six consecutive days over 38 degrees C (four of these above 40 degrees C) we resolved that we didn’t want to live in WA! This was further catalyst to move to Melbourne in early 2022 with Greg’s work.
Things we love about Melbourne are the variable weather, local suburban shopping strips accessible by train or tram, a plethora of good places to eat and things to do, excellent regional train network, and the lovely community of friends and cycling buddies that we have fostered.
Why we want to design and build a house
We are passionate about good design – things that are well thought out and meet user needs.
Even before we moved to Melbourne, we had discussed wanting to build a house together, and these are the reasons we listed that still apply:
- We want to own the house we live in.
- It would be a joy to live in a place that just works for our needs. That is well designed and built, quality, low-maintenance, light, and has fun elements to make us smile.
- We want to live in a house that aligns with our sustainability values – renewable electricity that meets our demands, good thermal design suited to the climate, low embodied carbon, small physical and ecological footprint.
- Our home should support our personal health – low volatile organic compounds, able to resist bushfire smoke entry, quiet and calm.
- We want a sanctuary that is resilient to external factors including increasing heat and extreme rainfall from climate change.
- We know our needs will change, but we want to build once and live there long-term, so our house should be adaptable now and for potential future needs.