Read time: 11 minutes
Welcome to the Jungle House (WTTJH) is a home designed to fit within the existing building’s reconstructed masonry fabric and is an archetypal model of future sustainable carbon neutral living. It is located on a 98sqm triangular site in an inner-city Sydney heritage-conservation area, typified by late Victorian row terrace housing and post-industrial warehouses.
It provides a model for design innovation and sustainable living, where sustainability, landscape and architecture exist symbiotically; where food, nature, garden, environment, energy, waste, water and architectural aesthetic deliberately coexist in harmony, all the while reinstating its corner block significance from a previously decrepit two-storey shop top house.
Sustainability benchmarks — particularly with regard to water, thermal comfort and energy —far exceeded NSW State Government BASIX requirements through a rigorous implementation of systems such as a solar panel facade, rainwater storage, aquaponics system, native and productive plantings, recycled timber and energy-efficient appliances and lighting.
This case study is part of a new series that explores sustainable design in practice, responding to the themes of Integration, Community, Country, Water, Economy, Energy, Well-being, Resources, Change and Discovery.