Design> Historical

The concept of a sustainable home is not new. The Queensland Workers’ Dwellings The State Advances Act of 1916, which provided grants to low income earners to erect suitable homes for themselves, offered some suggestions on how to build sustainable homes back then…

“…To assist applicants by providing a maximum of comfort and convenience in their homes consistent with their financial circumstances, the following suggestions are offered:

• When about to set out the plan of your home, carefully consider the site in its relation to the dwelling proposed to be erected.

• If possible, place the sleeping verandah on the eastern side of the building and thus gain the benefit of the morning sun.

• Avoid a common practice of wrongly planning the position of the bathroom and thus blocking the cool evening breeze from your sleeping verandah.

• Plan the kitchen away from the western side of the building if at all possible.

• Arrange the position of the front and back steps (back steps particularly) so as to ensure the least possible number of steps. …”

In the days before air-conditioners, this 1916 Act encapsulates environmental, economic and social principles of sustainable design by identifying ways to incorporate fundamental passive design principles to better suit the Queensland climate.

The old Queenslanders and Workers Cottages were homes that used orientation, ventilation, shading and building materials to make them naturally cooler in summer and warmer in winter.

Last updated August 2006