Buys, L and Barnett, K and Miller, E and Bailey, C (2005) Smart housing and social sustainability: Learning from the residents of Queensland’s Research House. Australian Journal of Emerging Technologies and Society 3(1):pp. 43-57.

The article above, focuses on smart housing in Australia. One fifth of all greenhouse gas emissions in Australia are generated by everyday household activities. In order to cut these emissions, more consumers need to be aware of the impact of housing on the environment and be familiar with sustainable housing alternatives. One problem that is harmful to the progress of sustainable housing is consumer resistance, based on perceptions of eco-housing as being less aesthetically pleasing and less economically attractive than traditional homes.

Unfortunately, not a lot of knowledge about what everyday living in sustainable houses might be like, until now. The articles traces an Australian family who lived in a “research house” for a two year period, where they monitored product performance and household economies in a sustainable house.

Smart Housing involves design that reduces a house’s impact on the environment and the community by conforming to sustainability principles. There are three key concepts of Smart Housing that make a house socially sustainable, a) heath and well-being, b) safety and security, and c) Universal Design. Universal Design not only minimizes energy consumption, but maximizes living comfort by orienting the house to improve airflow and natural light, insulating ceilings and walls, and designing an open floor plan with flat reduce-slip flooring. Smart Housing also incorporates “future-proofing”, providing features in the original construction phase, that can be adapted, and not requiring costly modifications in the future.

The study reported favorable perceptions about the livability of the house from the research family. The family stated that they felt safer when living in a spacious, airy and secure sustainable home. They were able to give feedback to enable product improvement and help assist other consumers looking to make the move to sustainable housing. The next challenge is to make the consumer society more aware of the essential need and enjoyment of living in a sustainable home.