permaculture

[Fiona Campbell + Russ Grayson <pacedge@magna.com.au>]

Hello...
Here in Australia we have a number of publicly-accessible sustainable 
building project
demonstration buildings.  The history of such initiatives dates abck to the 
mid-1970s
with Sydney University architecture students consstructing their 'autonomous 
house'
from recycled materials.

Regarding thr performance, embodied energy and environmental/ health aspects 
of
building materials, there are two Australian books which may be useful:

1)  Sustainable House; Mobbs M, 1998; Choise Books, Sydney. ISBN 0 947277 48X.

This describes Michael Mobb's research and retrofitting of an inner urban 
Sydney
terrace house for resource (energy, water, materials) efficiency.

2) Building Materials and the environment; Lawson  B  (Solarch - School of
Architecture, University New South Wales) 1996; Royal Australian Institute of
Architects (2a Mugga Way, Red Hill, ACT 2603, Australia).

Research on embodied energy in building materials (reviewed in Green 
Connections, the
Australian permaculture magazine, last year.


Regards...

...Russ Grayson

gardenbetty@earthlink.net wrote:

> This summer I am hoping to start a sustainable building demonstration 
> project
> (my new house!) and wish to use the MOST environmentally/human-friendly
> materials available. In addition to using these materials, I want to produce
> literature comparing these materials to conventional and other types of
> alternative materials.
>
> Well, there are a lot of materials that go into a house and I am trying to
> find research and data comparing the TOTAL economic benefit of different
> building materials. For example: how does fiberglass insulation compare to
> cellulose, cotton, straw, etc. for price, environmental impact, health 
> impact,
> labor impact, insulation quality, recyclability, etc...
>
> I am hoping to find this info for roofing materials, wall materials 
> (interior
> and exterior), windows, doors, insulation, flooring, etc.
>
> Haven't had a lot of luck so far, just hard to read studies on the water
> run-off quality from asphalt shingling versus metal roofing, etc. Any
> anecdotes, assistance or pointers would be greatly appreciated.
>
> --
> dawn
> aka gardenbetty
>
> We will be known by the tracks we leave behind... —Dakota proverb
>
> ---
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--
PACIFIC EDGE PERMACULTURE
Russ Grayson and Fiona Campbell
PO Box 446, Kogarah NSW 2217 AUSTRALIA

Phone   02-9588 6931    (IDD-61+2+9588 6931)
Email: pacedge@magna.com.au

Permaculture education, publishing, design.
NSW contact, Australian City Farms and Community Gardens Network.
APACE Kastom Garden Program, (village agriculture), South Pacific.
PaD (Permaculture and Development) Project .