DARREN BOWMAN DESIGN

As a past student of the Diploma of Sustainability I was honoured to be asked to give a brief talk to prospective students at the 2012 introductory session last night.  I outlined how I have put what I learnt during the course into practice and how I have applied the knowledge to my business.  I included the main elements of Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD) as well as our sustainable office practices; things like energy efficiency and paper use.  I also touched on ...

The site was buzzing with tradesmen yesterday; brickies, electricians, carpenters, all working seemlessly together to advance progress on this most exciting project. As the brickwork climbs up along the eastern side, carpenters are fixing the Scyon Matrix cladding to the front of the house. A burnt orange colour sample that rests on the scaffolding hints of an adventurous colour scheme to be full revealed shortly.

Interna...

On a steep site like this the biggest challenge is always getting to floor level. We worked from survey drawings to model the site in 3D to determine heights for this project. According to builder Kane Twomey, the floor levels worked out "spot on". Perfect is good enough for me! With that challenge complete Kane is now framing walls.

Kane and Dave from Twomey Building put the reinforcement in the trenches as our latest project gets off the ground.  The boys are hoping for good weather until the concrete is poured.

With over 5 metres of fall over the house the design for this house took some nutting out, but it promises to deliver a great result.   Once out of the ground framing will go up quickly.  Ecocrete concrete will be used fo...

The 6-star standard came into effect yesterday in Victoria. Don't panic! Although more onerous than the 5-star standard that it supersedes achieving 6 star compliance isn’t difficult if basic design principles are considered from the start. The right orientation is now even more important. The standard also considers glazing, insulation, draft-sealing, etc as it did before and it still includes a requirement for a rainwater tank or a solar hot water system. The 6-star standard also r...

I called in to see how our Elizabeth Street project is coming along yesterday. Internal linings are complete.  Externally the brickwork is up and rendering has commenced. The carpenters are installing the Scon Stria cladding. The double-glazed windows are installed and the builder has foam sealed around them to ensure that there will be no drafts. I'm looking forward to seeing the render and external cladding ...

I recently made the following comments on BuildingGreen.com in response to an article about ceiling fans.

In my experience ceiling fans are very useful in winter where houses have higher ceilings. We use a slow combustion wood burner as our main heating source as we live in the country in Victoria, Australia. Our main living area has a feature cathedral ceiling ...

A recent magazine article prompted me to write to the editor.  As is typical in a lot of print media available now I felt that the sustainability was overstated.  Many magazines now sell the idea of sustainability in housing.  What concerns me is that sometimes houses that are excessivly large (and have huge heating demands) or are overglazed or use products that have a particularly devastating effect on the environment are promoted as sustainable living because they incorporat...

Sharing sustainable living stories at DarrenBowman.shmeco.com

Creating our new website has forced me to think about how we share information.  I'll now include information about current and past projects in our photo gallery.  Of course I'll insert some snippets of information about projects here on our blog too, but this is primarily where I'll share relevant news.  If you are a gossip junkie and want to read more sustainability stories check out my page at

RE-MILLED OREGON FRAMING

Our Dereel project is coming along with framing almost complete now. Nearly all of the framing used is plantation pine with the exception of the roofing battens, which are hardwood to match existing exposed battens. Veranda framing was recycled and re-milled from Oregon beams gained in the demolition of the existing carport. 150 x 50 Oregon rafters were simply re-used as veranda ra...

Ever wondered what happens to glass at the end of it's life? Unfortunately a lot still finds it's way into landfill, but increasingly glass is recycled. Recycled glass has been used to manufacture fibre-glass insulation for some time, and it is now being used as a sand substitute in road construction. More info here: Recycled glass a sustainable alterna...