Coombs Sustainable House Tour

Join this special Sustainable House Tour in Coombs to be inspired to implement sustainable living practices into your own house or find your dream new sustainable home. This special house is currently looking for new owners and SEE Change has been asked to reach out to our community to find buyers who will appreciate the design and features of this sustainable home.

The Blue House is a perfect home for the Canberra climate. Designed and built in 2016 by award winning sustainable builders, Bespoke Building Services, it features an effective passive solar design, plenty of salvaged and recycled materials, and an innovative whole-block water harvesting system. Blue House is a great example of smart interior design and custom spaces, has warm and inviting social areas and takes great advantage of wonderful views and aspects of the Molonglo River corridor. It’s aligned so that all main rooms have northern windows, and a big deck provides a good connection to the lush gardens. 

Highly insulated and very effectively sealed, with double glazing, good cross ventilation, a concrete slab for thermal mass, a heat pump for hot water and 3kW of solar PV all assist with the home’s thermal performance and energy efficiency. 

The water harvesting system consists of 95 metres of aquifers dug into the ground: trenches lined with a water-impermeable bentonite liner and filled with washed river sand. “When the sand is wet, it will hold a third of its volume in water,” says Tim Edmonson, former Horticulturalist of the Year and the designer of the system. Rainwater runs from the roof into the aquifers, which can store around 2,850 litres; it then travels via capillary action into the soil and is taken up by the plants, much like a giant wicking bed. 

Blue House is charming home, but more importantly, an excellent working example of a house built fit for Canberran conditions, wonderfully comfortable and low cost all year round.

Everyone is welcome on this Sustainable House Tour - if you're interested in buying Blue House or if you want to learn about sustainable housing

Please note the house is not wheelchair accessible. 

Please do not attend if you are unwell or have been a recent contact of someone with COVID-19. You are welcome to wear a mask.