Our commitment to minimising energy consumption in the operation of a home, and awareness of the ecological 'footprint' left behind by the construction of a building, are fundamental to our design approach. As pragmatic as our concerns may seem, our design solutions intrinsically incorporate an essence of the poetic, which any building that respects the earth cannot be devoid of.

The majority of our domestic projects have been for average families who cannot necessarily afford to allocate money to architectural indulgence, but whose need for comfortable, energy efficient, and environmentally responsible dwelling is emphatic. To achieve this on a modest budget we believe in basic principles of passive micro-climate moderation, where every element of the building is complementary and co-operative in creating a comfortable habitat for all seasons. Time proven techniques from global vernacular tradition have taught us that solar gain and thermal storage within a well insulated envelope are vital for winter warmth, as is sun shading and cross-ventilation for summer cooling. An analysis of the climate determines the orientation and volume of rooms, and the proportion of wall to window. Any suitable materials local to the region may be used and manifest in the building a regional identity.

When a building is constructed, occupied and maintained, the effect on the environment can be gauged in terms of an 'ecological footprint' which indicates the demand on the Earth's resources as compared with our planets productive capacity. The productive area of the Earth's surface available to supply all our food, energy, and infrastructure requirements corresponds to 1.9 hectares for each person on the planet. In 1999, Australian's alone consumed 7.58 hectares each. This is clearly unsustainable. Through our design and building practices we hope to achieve an ecological footprint which is significantly lower than that of conventional volume building in Australia, as a positive contribution towards reducing greenhouse gas emission levels which unfortunately tarnish out country's international reputation at present.

For us, environmentally sustainable design encompasses and is a balance of technology, renewable materials of low-embodied energy, renewable energy sources to operate the building, economical building design which minimizes waste and reduces cost, and passive micro-climate moderation. However, environmentally sustainable design is not just about the responsibility to reduce energy consumption, but it is also about creating a regional aesthetic appropriate for its place and time, and which is befitting of the landscape, of the climate, and of its occupants.