The 2010 LookHome™ Green Design Awards are now open. Get your entries and votes in now and be in the running for a range of great prizes. This is a national awards series, judged by a high-calibre expert panel, as well as you, our online voters. Entries must embody sustainable and innovative design as well as demonstrate affordable construction approaches.

As well as national exposure, the Experts’ Choice winners will attend the worlds biggest green building conference, Greenbuild, in Chicago USA, November 2010. Voters can choose the Popular Choice winners by voting for projects they like and win prizes to help them along with their renovation or building journey.

Enter and vote now.

 

• Comply with obligations under the Energy Efficiency Opportunities Act 2006 and Energy Efficiency Opportunities Regulations 2006; and

 

• Provide stakeholders with relevant information on James Hardie Australia’s implementation of the Energy Efficiency Opportunities Program.

Download the report here.

In the third episode of our interactive web streamed tv show myLOOKHOMEtv we focussed on Safe design. Archicentre Managing Director Robert Caulfield and fire consultant Paul England from Exova Warringtonfire talked us through the latest regulations and thinking about  designing and building in bushfire zones. Caulfield also outlined the bushfire design concept service that Archicentre is running for the Victorian Building Commission and shared thoughts about designing for an aging population, based on the insights from the 4500 inspections Archicentre conducts each year for older people.
In addition, in his capacity as the Kidsafe Victoria Vice President Caulfield discussed the common injuries children suffer in the home and how to better design homes with families in mind. Architect and entrant in the Look Green Home Design Awards, Scott Whiteoak, shared the design approach used on a home that incorporated safe design principles for both young and aging occupants for developer Stockland. Vierwers stole the real trade secrets from experts Paul and Robert on the panel. You can see the episode here.

In the second episode of our interactive web-streamed tv show, Brett Blacklow, the designer of the Smarter Small Home™ that you may have seen featured on A Current Affair was live in the studio with host Suzy Yates. He was joined by  Craig Riddle, the builder behind Living Green Designer Homes who shared some top Trade Secrets with us. We also took a close look at the Look Green Home Design award entry Alluvium House to find out the most affordable approach to building on a steeply sloping site and we found out about affordable housing projects on the drawing board with architect David Randerson from DKO. Brett and Craig were on the live panel to answer viewers' questions. You can watch the episode that went to air here.

The most exciting thing on our calendar this year is the launch of the Look Green Home Design Awards. This is a national awards series, judged by an expert panel that includes Archicentre’s Robert Caulfield and Houses magazine’s Sue Harris. They’ll be looking for the renovations, as well as the new custom and demonstration homes, that best demonstrate affordable, innovative and sustainable design.

The winners will receive fabulous prizes, including a trip for two to the world's largest green building conference, Greenbuild. They'll also be featured in the LookHome™ Design Annual out in October. Find out more about entering, voting AND prizes here.

While it’s reassuring to know that around 77% of LookHome™ readers  “love” our magazine, when we planned the LookHome™ program for 2009, we thought: “Why stop at a magazine?” We know that our readers want more information about green design (and renovating, redecorating and, yes, mulching!) so why not deliver this on a web-TV show that’s truly interactive? Think of it as talkback radio — but you can watch and listen on the net. Find out more about myLOOKHOMEtv  here.

Of course, there are still mags. So if you want the free magazine it really pays to read, and want to nab the back issues while you're at it, then subscribe now.

LookHome™. Even if you never lift a hammer, LookHome is the one tool you really need.

Channel 9’s ACA story went to air nationally on Friday 27th March at 6.50pm. By 7pm smartersmallhome.com.au was inundated with enquiries. Four days later and over 7,500 people have visited the site.

Everyone it seems wants a Smarter Small Home and it’s easy to see why. Here are just a few of the clever features:

• Low embodied energy materials help keep the home's carbon footprint and costs low
• The decking is made from recycled plastic bottles
• Lightweight Scyon™ cladding has been used on the walls inside the house, to save on plastering and tiling
• The new generation ceiling is an all in one product, that can be installed in a day
• The dining room is back to the future with a good old eat-in kitchen
• An all in one switch turns all your stand-by appliances on and off - right from the front door

The really smart thing though is that this home is not just smart, stylish and sustainable, it's also very affordable. The Smarter Small Home is open for public tours from April 18 and you can book your tour online here.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that a high percentage of Australia’s 4.2 million baby boomers own their own homes, yet their 11 million children (Generations X and Y) are now looking at long term rental rather than spending up to 86 per cent of their income on a home of their own.

 

A team of architects, suppliers and builders led by property identity Kevin Doodney is tackling the issue of housing affordability head on by launching a new concept home designed for first home buyers and low to moderate income earners.

 

“There has been a lot of talk about the housing affordability crisis over the years but I think the public is tired of talking and want a solution,” Mr Doodney, Director of LJ Hooker Land Marketing said.

 

Kevin Doodney has spent 30 years researching property trends and has dedicated the past three years alongside major partners LJ Hooker, James Hardie and Earth Spirit Home to find a genuine solution to the crisis.

 

The dedicated group of specialists has been secretly building a new display home over the past three months inside an empty  Brisbane factory. The Smarter Small Home is now about to be revealed.

 

“This home is smarter, greener and more compact than your average house and can fit comfortably on a 300m2 or 400m2 block of land while still keeping a good size backyard for the kids to play cricket,” Mr Doodney said.

 

“Very soon, we expect to be able to offer this home including land for around $275,000 (less in regional areas) and given the average home in South East Queensland sold for over $400,000 last year, this will be a god-send for many Australians desperate to get out of the ‘rent-race’", he said.

 

Public tours will be available from April 18th and bookings can be made online.
 

North Queensland-based builders River City Homes was presented with a challenge when designing a home for the retired Chairman of Mackay-based Porters, a large hardware and building supplies group. The Porters wanted a home that looked better than a rendered concrete block house and one that didn't need 24/7 air-conditioning in summer. When River City Homes explained the benefits of Scyon™ products, the Porters didn't need much convincing. Now they've got their dream energy-efficient home – and it looks cool too. Go to page 2 of the case study area now to read more.
 

Report prepared by James Hardie to provide stakeholders with relevant information on James Hardie Australia’s implementation of the Energy Efficiency Opportunities Program.

Download now.

On a brisk Sunday in November fifteen James Hardie employees and associates participated in the annual Sydney to Wollongong bicycle ride.

 

The ride is organised each year by the MS Society and all proceeds raised go to that charity in the fight for a cure for the debilitating disease.

 

Together with the help of family, friends and eager co-workers the team raised over $26,000 after James Hardie co-contributed towards the cause.

 

The money raised will go straight towards helping those who deal with MS every day in their efforts to minimise the effect the disease has on their everyday lives.

 

To help the MS Society help people suffering from the disease please donate online at click here.

 

 

Building experts agree that one of the most common defects they're called on to fix is water leakage through showers. If a bathroom is on a second or upper floor, moisture damage can spread to downstairs rooms. This can be very unpleasant and expensive to fix. The key to avoiding this is a combination of the right materials and correct installation.

With the introduction of Secura™ wet area flooring, there's now a simple way to help protect against moisture damage in wet areas. Made from Scyon™ - an advanced lightweight cement composite with heavy-duty performance - Secura™ wet area flooring not only removes the need for full waterproofing outside enclosed shower areas, but even if it does get wet, it won't deform, or lose its structural integrity.

Did you know that rendered masonry has risen from only 3% in 1995 to over 32% of the external cladding market by 2005? Research also shows that this look tends to appeal to consumers who like a minimalist, understated and smart look for their homes.

 

Of course, painted render isn’t the only look that appeals to people who like an understated look. Scyon™ Stria™cladding takes the look of decorative render and evolves it into a contemporary classic.

 

It’s a product that takes the hassle out of pleasing consumers. Instead of laying bricks, rendering, scoring and painting (with all the associated mess and scheduling of different trades), Stria cladding involves just two trades: carpentry and painting.

 

In a recent study prepared for James  Hardie on the costs of various construction systems used by large volume builders, building with Stria cladding instead of render on the double storey home studied could shave costs by about 30%. Now that’s a smarter way to build. Find out more about smarter ways to build in The Smarter Construction Book.

TOOL UP!

The latest issue of our magazine Look Home™ gives you the tools to take on home building and renovating with confidence. Packed with the latest home design ideas, backed up by money (and headache!) saving professional advice on how to achieve them – Look Home is the free magazine it pays to read.

 

If you haven't already registered for your FREE COPY copy, do it now at www.lookhome.com.au

Simonds Homes designer Bill Giannikos says in the recently published Smarter Construction Book that "brickwork on its own has been done to death as a look". He claims that what's "absolutely king" is being able to mix and match lightweight claddings and brickwork together.

 

Giannikos says that the key to making this work is good design. If that's been achieved, then he feels that once people see products like those in the Scyon™ range in the field, then "it's good night Irene".

 

The Smarter Construction Book is designed to help builders and designers builders build in smarter ways. It's the third in a series that includes the Smarter Green Book - about designing and building sustainably, and the Smarter Design Book - about creating distinctively Australian built form character.

One of the most common defects builders and rectifiers are called on to fix are "botched balconies". That's when the waterproofing might have failed for example, leading to swollen substrates, and tiles that crack, lift and pop. 

 

Now a new product, Scyon™ Secura™ exterior flooring, gives you a simple way to help protect tiled balconies against moisture damage.  Packing a protective punch, the advanced polymer coating and integrated reinforcing mesh add to the heavy-duty performance of the Scyon™ material to help your balcony's substrate remain structurally sound against nature's elements. 

Smarter construction. It's about easy and cost-effective building through the smart combination of products, systems and processes. It's a balancing act - and it can be achieved without sacrificing aesthetics or sustainability. The Smarter Construction Book gives builders and designers insights into the right approach for the job, and at the same time, questions a few "accepted" myths.

 

The Smarter Construction Book is the third in a series of books which includes the Smarter Design Book and the Smarter Green Book.