Michael Green

Writer and producer

Glazing

In Greener Homes on

Heal your eco-unfriendly windows.

In a typical home, windows cause more heat gain or loss than any other part of the building fabric. “Standard windows are like a thermal wound in the building envelope,” says Gary Smith, from the Australian Window Association.

You can heal the wound, but it will take good advice and careful thought. “There are hundreds and hundreds of options,” Mr Smith says. As well as cost and style, you need to consider the best fit for the window’s orientation.

When you make your choice, be aware of both the warmth that passes through the window and the frame (conduction), and the radiant heat caused when sunlight hits the glass directly (radiation).

A window’s conduction is measured by its U-value. The lower the U-value, the better its insulating qualities, and the better for your home. For insulation, double-glazing is best – or you can improve existing panes by retrofitting with (much cheaper) secondary window systems. Remember that the frames also conduct heat; preferred options are wood, high-performance or thermally broken aluminium, fibreglass or uPVC.

In Victoria, we spend more time heating our houses than cooling them – with a bit of planning the sun can help you do it for free. Make sure north-facing windows get direct sun in winter, but are shaded during summer. For these windows, choose products with a high ‘solar heat gain coefficient’, but at the east and west cut the solar heat by installing glass or films that are tinted, reflective or coated (‘low e’ glass).

Good windows are expensive up front, but will add to resale value and more than pay back over the life of the home. For the budget-conscious, Mr Smith suggests starting with living areas. “Begin fixing the main places where you spend your time. Better windows and glasses give you a huge improvement in comfort.”

Windows might be transparent, but they’re complex. This information is only part of the story so research thoroughly, seek expert advice and shop around. The Window Energy Rating Scheme website is a good place to start.

Rainwater tanks

In Greener Homes on

In the first of a series on how to reduce the ecological footprint of your home, Michael Green takes a look at water tanks.

“Tanks do fill,” promises Nigel Finney from the savewater! Alliance. If you want to install one, do it before the good rain comes. “They fill in the wetter seasons,” Mr Finney says. “That’s when you can get maximum use out of them for your toilets and laundry.”

In January, the federal government introduced a rainwater tank rebate, adding to the Victorian government’s offer. Altogether, you can get up to $1500 back on your system – depending on its size and use. You get a higher rebate for bigger systems that are connected to your toilet and laundry by a licensed plumber.

A 5000 litre, plumbed tank will cost about $4000 to $5000, so even with the rebates it will set you back thousands of dollars. Mains water is very cheap, so the payback period is long.

On the plus side, a rainwater tank gives you an independent supply for your garden, so you can water your veggies even under tight restrictions. A tank also helps reduce stormwater pollution and eases pressure on dwindling dams.

What size tank is right for you? A good rule of thumb is enough capacity for four weeks’ supply. For use in the garden, laundry and toilets, that’s usually around 5000 litres – though be sure you have enough roof area to feed your tank. The savewater! Alliance website has a guide to average rainfall, roof-size and tank capacity (as well as product lists and handy advice).

“You can put a tank just about anywhere,” Mr Finney says. They come in all materials, shapes and sizes: steel, fibreglass, plastic or concrete; round, slimline or bladders; and capacities from 200 to 100 000 litres.

If you want value for money, go for plastic, round, large tanks. “The cost per litre drops off dramatically once you start getting over 2000 litres,” says Mr Finney.

Maintenance-wise, you’ll need to clean gutters and filters regularly. A ‘first flush diverter’ is useful to drain the dirty, initial water that comes from the roof during rain.

Vegetable Power

In Community development, Environment, The Age on

Joining an organic produce co-op can get you not only cheaper and better vegies but an introduction to like-minded neighbours.

IT’S 7.30am on a Friday. A dozen people, mostly young mothers, crowd a corrugated-iron back garage in Footscray, sorting fruit and vegetables. They’re hunched over two long rows of waxed grocer’s boxes, sharing out lettuce, leeks, beans, beetroot and much more.

The Seddon Organic Collective is holding its first sorting day. The members, and their toddlers, are making friends. The SOC is made up of 25 local residents. From now on, every week, they’ll buy cheap organic produce from the Melbourne Wholesale Market on Footscray Road, split it up, and dine in on the benefits.

Ken Johnson, the clean-cut president, is puzzling over paperwork, trying to tally the boxes, the money and the orders. He believes organic produce is both healthier and better for the environment. “This is a way to access organic food more cheaply,” he says.

The key to cheap supply is bulk buying from the wholesale market, and for that, the group must be incorporated.

In less than 15 minutes all the boxes are sorted. Each is bursting with more than a dozen kinds of fruit and vegies. While Johnson keeps pondering his lists, the other members chat and sip tea.

Leah Avene is thrilled to be a part of the new co-op. “I’m from Tuvalu, in the Pacific. It’s sinking due to global warming so I made a decision a year ago to try to live more sustainably. The first thing that we did was go vegetarian and start eating organic.”

The 23-year-old journeyed to the wholesale market at 6am to buy the produce from the wholesalers, Biodynamic Marketing. “For $20, it’s amazing value. I used to get a seasonal box from a local place, which cost me $45 a week and it was probably a bit smaller.”Big savings aren’t the only plus. “There’s a real community buzz growing among us, which is really lovely,” she says. “When we established the group it wasn’t just about organic eating. We also wanted to build friendships with like-minded people.”

The Seddon group is following a model begun by the Western Organic Collective in 2001. The WOC, based in Footscray, usually has an extended waiting list.

Long-term member Nick Ray says the group formed out of a desire to buy good organic food cheaply and without too much trouble.

“The quality of the stuff is extreme. None of that wrinkled-up organic produce that some people say isn’t quite up to speed. It’s a feast.”

As well as the weekly veggie box, WOC members buy bread from Pure Bread and run quarterly bulk dry-goods purchases. They also meet socially for “Seasonal Celebrations”. “Once a quarter we have a meal together,” Ray says. “People bring food along, we share news and we often have a theme. We talked about food miles at the last one.”

By 8.15am contented SOC members are leaving the garage, lugging boxes for themselves and others for delivery. The co-op has only just begun and there are still some kinks to iron out — they made three boxes too many today. But already there’s someone on the waiting list. Cheap organic produce is in demand, says Johnson. “It would be great if this model could spread around the city.”

How does it work?

EVERY Friday morning, two people buy the fruit and vegies from the Melbourne Wholesale Market. They drop the produce off at a designated house, where four people sort it, then deliver a box to each house. Voila!

Every member must contribute to the running of the collective. The work is done by roster: sorters must help out for a couple of hours every four to six weeks. Other people take on committee roles or organise the money, rosters and buying.

“It’s not a system that would work for everyone,” warns Nick Ray, from the Western Organic Collective. “You can only forget (to show up) so many times before you’re blacklisted!”

From experience, the collective has found that about 25 members is the right number. Any higher and the quantity of food required becomes too large to manage.

To make sorting and delivery as easy as possible, it’s best if members live close to one another.

First published in The Age, Epicure

Book review: The Best Australian Political Writing 2009, edited by Eric Beecher

In The Big Issue on

Two and a half stars

We’re already drowning in news. That’s what makes this collection of political articles curious: why would anyone read last year’s fish-and-chip wrappers? Then again, as editor Eric Beecher observes, 2008 was an extraordinary year. From Rudd’s debut and apology to the stolen generations, through to the global financial crisis and the election of Barack Obama, last year was nothing if not newsworthy.

Beecher sources his material from a very narrow range: the serious newspapers – mainly the Australian – with cameos from the Monthly, Griffith Review and (his own) Crikey. The content is generally unsurprising but occasionally thought provoking, with the collection on Indigenous affairs (as well as the full text of Rudd’s apology) by far the standout. Here, the writers (including Marcia Langton, Paul Toohey and Don Watson) challenge our assumptions, hearts and minds.

But this section also betrays the book’s limitations: while it’s interesting to read Noel Pearson’s nuanced analysis from the day before the apology, what did he think after it? And what does he think now? This is a book for newshounds and political animals. 

To the lighthouse

In Architecture and building, The Age on

First published in The Sunday Age, M Magazine

A naturally light-filled home means daylight saving all year round. Michael Green visits an illuminating Malvern renovation.

Andrea Arendsen and husband Matthew used to live in a dark and dreary Malvern house. “It was gloomy because there was no light,” she says. “No light could get in because there were no windows.”

Arendsen is sitting at a neat wooden dining table, in a large, bright, living and kitchen area – it’s hard to believe this radiant Victorian cottage is the same home. Her summery blonde bob is bathed in natural light and her young son Christian rests on her knee. Four glass doors concertina open to a small, sunny courtyard.

In 2007, after eight years in their dark house, the couple decided to renovate. They engaged Albert Mo and his firm Architects EAT, and asked for more space and light. “We couldn’t have people over because it was just too small,” Arendsen explains. “But we didn’t want an extension which was a square box on the back of the house.”

Mo is sitting at the table, too, leaning back in his chair and gossiping with his client like an old friend. His concept was for a factory-style sawtooth roof, low over the kitchen section and angling up either side, with highlight windows gleaming down from the ‘teeth’.

The unusual roofline illuminates the extension. “Ceilings are normally just flat, white ceilings, but this one has got a profile almost like a wing that wants to take off. It gives a lighter feel to the house,” Mo says.

As well as the living area, the renovation added a study nook, a laundry and an ethereal bathroom. Tiled only in white, with a bright skylight flooding the shower, it sparkles like a bleach marketer’s paradise.

Mo says that for his firm, natural light is a priority in every residential project. And that’s not just at the extremities, where windows normally shed light, but also throughout the house.

The advantages are stark. “From a practical and sustainable point of view, you don’t need to use artificial lighting throughout the day,” Mo says. “In summertime, you can have plenty of daylight coming in until eight o’clock, if you’ve got good skylights.” He believes there’s another, less tangible benefit too. “It’s kind of a weird thing, but you just feel healthier when you have natural light.”

The Evandale Road home presented a few problems. It’s on a long, narrow block, very close to the neighbours on either side. Heritage overlay frontages meant that any renovation couldn’t be visible from the street.

Initially, the Arendsens wanted to build a second storey, but Mo talked them out of it – the upstairs space would be very small, after setting back from the street and from the houses on either side. “Part of the architects job is to educate the client, through discussion, meetings and site visits,” Mo says.

The couple agreed with his advice and built the sawtooth roof. “I love being able to see the sky so much,” Arendsen says, as her toddler Christian generously offers Mo biscuits from his bowl. “It’s a bit deceptive because from the front you could be in another small Victorian [cottage] and then you get a surprise when it’s so light and open down this end.”

Albert Mo, Architects EAT

In 2000, just after graduation, Thomas Pai rang fellow Melbourne University architecture students Albert Mo and Eid K. Goh. Did they want to do something before they all got jobs? Yes, they said, and Architects EAT began.

Mo, now 32, was born in Hong Kong and later lived in Singapore, before coming to Melbourne to study in 1992. In those crowded, mixed cities he first dreamt of designing more liveable urban spaces.

It was a good idea – years on, his practice has been a big success. In 2007, the firm’s Windsor Loft project won the Belle Apartment of the Year and this year, their design for the Maedaya Bar in Richmond won the Interior Design Award for Hospitality.

Mo says that Architects EAT are interested in the phenomenology of design – the way we experience the building materials through touch, sound and sight, as well as through the mix of natural light and shadow.

He recently renovated his Richmond house with his wife, also an architect. Is it well lit? “I have to practise what I preach,” he says, laughing. “We do have skylights. They are something I definitely cannot do without.”

Let there be skylight

Skylights can let in more than three times the light of a same-sized vertical window, according to yourhome.gov.au. They save energy, make life easier for your eyes and come in all kinds, sizes and prices – from a few hundred to thousands of dollars.

Plastic dome skylights are opaque bulges that set into your roof. They have shafts that lead to a diffuser panel in the ceiling, giving soft, even light. Tubular skylights are similar, but smaller. The tube’s reflective silver lining directs the sunlight downwards and into the room.

Roof windows – panes of glass punched through the roof – are a more expensive option. They’re most popular in attic rooms, but also work with a shaft on flat ceilings. Some models can open to let heat out on hot days.

Custom glass roofs are even more stylish, and yet more expensive. Architects will design these in any shape or size. Highlight windows can also be placed high up on walls – like in the Evandale house – to beam in natural light.