Sustainable House Day is an event from Renew that provides the opportunity to explore some of Australia’s most inspiring homes, and learn from the people who designed them, built them, and live in them.

Following a day of open-home tours around the country on Sunday 4 May 2025, a month of webinars offer a deep dive into a range of sustainability topics. Australia's best architects, designers, tradespeople and experts will offer guidance, and homeowners will offer first hand experience. If you're considering a sustainable build or renovation, this series is for you, with lots of time for Q&A.

Tickets

To view the recording of this webinar, please purchase a ticket. You will receive a confirmation email with a link to watch the recording.

Renew is a small not for profit organisation that needs to raise money from ticket sales to cover the costs of hosting this event.

You can book this webinar independently, or grab a Webinar Series Pass to attend all 8 webinars at a discounted price. Members of Renew receive a further discount on Webinar Series passes. Feel free to grab a membership or subscription to Renew or Sanctuary magazine before you book to access the discount code!

Some local councils have partnered with Sustainable House Day and are offering a 50% discount on the Webinar Series Pass to their residents only. Participating councils include; Bass Coast Shire, City of Boroondara, City of Kingston, Manningham City, Merri-bek City, Mitchell Shire, Mornington Peninsula Council, City of Newcastle, City of Port Phillip, City of Stonnington, Willoughby City Council, and City of Yarra.

Webinar 5: Small & Affordable: Exploring Tiny Homes, Co-Housing, and Secondary Dwellings

Description

Explore innovative and affordable housing solutions like tiny homes, co-housing, and secondary dwellings, addressing the opportunities, challenges, and planning considerations when building differently.

Featuring

Tone Wheeler, environa studio

Tone Wheeler is an architect, author, educator and consultant with an abiding interest in the triple bottom line in architecture: social, environmental and economical design. Tone founded environa studio in 1986 and has designed individual and multiple housing projects, commercial buildings and urban design schemes, all with a strong emphasis on social and environmental concerns. The practice has won numerous awards and competitions, including the Milo Dunphy award for sustainable architecture for the Wayside Chapel project. Tone has been on faculty at Sydney University, UTS and Canberra University, and is currently Adjunct Professor in Sustainable Design at UNSW. He has is the current president of the Australian Architecture Association, has been chair of the AIA National Sustainability Committee, on the Boards of the NSW Building Professionals (BPB) and the Association of Building Sustainability Assessors (ABSA). He is a frequent writer and speaker on architectural issues. He writes weekly for the Architecture & Design newsletter, has spoken at conferences and seminars for the (R)AIA, the BDAA and the PIA, has been a regular contributor to ABC Radio and TV, on Radio National ‘By Design’; on ABC702 as a ‘Woodie’ and ‘Homie' and as a judge on “the New Inventors” program on ABC Television. Over 12 years he has designed and helped build 4 electric cars.

Donna Carey, Narara Ecovillage

Donna Carey is a founding member of a sustainable community called Narara Ecovillage, situated on 150 acres on the Central Coast, NSW, founded on the principles of connection and environmental stewardship. In the community, she has served as a Board director, a member of the internal Building Review Panel, and on numerous teams. She wanted to design a home that incorporated sustainability, liveability into old age, food security and comfort throughout the seasons and resilience to a changing climate. A little more than 5 years ago, she moved into her new 8.3 star, 130 sqm 3-bedroom home made from a variety of natural materials, namely hempcrete, rammed earth and light straw. She grows much of her own food, sharing the surplus with neighbours, is an avid forager, and is currently writing a recipe book focussed on the many ways to use foraged and home-grown ingredients.

Janine Strachan, Insulation Council of Australia and New Zealand
Janine Strachan is the Chief Executive Officer of the Insulation Council of Australia and New Zealand (ICANZ) and champions the benefits of insulation products for their role in providing thermally efficient homes. She has extensive experience in: sustainable building materials and design to achieve energy efficient housing; environmental management and planning; and regulatory pathways and hurdles for moveable tiny houses. For more than 35 years Janine has managed national sustainable housing and water conservation campaigns, taught sustainable building design and environmental management in the Diploma of Building and Construction, promoted sustainable building practices to the housing sector, and built and championed tiny houses as an alternative housing solution. Janine is passionate about sustainable and healthy housing choices and enjoys sharing her knowledge and experience to help create climate resilient housing, for a changing climate.

Hosted by

Anna Cumming, Renew

Anna Cumming is a writer, editor and communications professional with a longstanding interest in the built environment, in particular the design of sustainable, energy efficient and comfortable homes that tread lightly on the earth. She has held a variety of communications roles at national not-for-profit Renew since 2010, and in 2019 took over as Managing Editor of 'Sanctuary: modern green homes' - Australia's premier magazine dedicated to sustainable house design. She loves being part of the mission to inspire and educate people about the design strategies, materials and systems available to achieve truly sustainable, delightful homes.

Terms and Conditions

By purchasing a ticket, visitors agree to comply with the event terms and conditions to ensure a safe, respectful, and enjoyable experience for all attendees.

Our Sponsors

Sustainable House Day wouldn't be possible without our amazing sponsors, we are so grateful for their support. You can learn about our sponsors here.

Pictured here is Passive Prefab Studio, a SHD2025 featured house. Photo by Alex McIntyre.