The Innovators

Ashley Beaumont

Director, Ecoliv

Ashley has been creating sustainable lifestyles through building design for more than 25 years. Designing sustainable homes and commercial buildings, he leads his sustainable design philosophy throughout the practice. His primary expertise lies in the creation of energy-efficient, engaging and environmentally responsive living and working spaces. 

Ashley brings a wealth of knowledge to the business, ensuring each project transitions smoothly from design through to completion. Recognised for his design excellence, Ashley and his team have won multiple industry awards nationally.

Jenny Edwards

Owner, Managing Director and Lead Scientist of Light House Architecture & Science

Jenny heads the multi-award-winning practice that integrates science (theoretical modelling and physical testing) into the design process to deliver highly efficient, all-electric, climate-resilient homes — new and renovated — in the Canberra region. She’s a scientist not an architect.

The Light House crew includes 11 architects/designers and five staff on the science team. With more than 180 integrated architecture and science projects, and hundreds of smaller-scale science retrofits, in Canberra, Light House has shown there’s growing demand for smaller, smarter, sustainable, gas-free housing.

Liam Wallis

Founder and Managing Director of HIP V. HYPE

Trained in architecture and urban design, Liam founded HIP V. HYPE in 2015. The practice aims to influence and build the more equitable, resilient and prosperous future that people deserve. Liam ensures the alignment of activities across the HIP V. 

HYPE business group, providing strategic advice to the leadership teams and guiding delivery of the firm’s multi-award-winning development projects. He’s a strong advocate for better outcomes in our built environment, participating in advisory panels and discussions to support the sustainable growth of our cities and regions.

What sustainable goals will you focus on in your business over the next 12 months?

Ashley Beaumont

In 2024, we will continue to focus on our primary goal which is being a regenerative building company, and supporting a healthy planet, resilient local ecosystems and a thriving local community. At Ecoliv, we believe our customers’ homes and our workplace can add more to the environment than they take, enriching people’s lives and inspiring others to do the same.

In our efforts to become a regenerative business, we’ll push the boundaries to restore and renew the environment, provide benefits to people, and demonstrate how this can be achieved at our EcoHub Off-Grid Construction Facility and Sustainability Centre at The Gurdies.

We aim to make sustainability and energy efficiency the norm in the homes we build and how we build them, transforming the housing industry itself.

We are committed to developing a network of Australian business partners who share our values and support our need for materials that are produced ethically and sustainably. We will share what we learn with the housing industry and inspire others to follow our lead by providing educational opportunities to the broader community and supporting local sustainability initiatives.

Jenny Edwards

This may seem like a slightly strange response but my focus for 2024 is the sustainability of my team. With such high demand for what we do (take note other businesses – don’t believe those who say there’s no demand for smaller, smarter, sustainable housing!), looking after the mental and physical health of my team is a very high priority. 

We may be leaders in this space, but we’re also a small business and a team of people with finite time and energy. We can’t keep creating sustainable housing unless we sustain ourselves.

Liam Wallis

Advocating to raise minimum industry standards is a goal for HIP V. HYPE over the next 12 months. Our aim is to share the evidence base gathered from post-occupancy research and skills developed in delivering our own development projects to better support the decisions of our clients and collaborators to achieve better outcomes at scale.

What challenges exist for the residential building industry as it transitions to net-zero buildings?

Ashley Beaumont

The transition to net-zero buildings presents a complex landscape to builders who haven’t prioritised energy efficiency and sustainability to date. These challenges include sourcing sustainable materials, adapting to changing regulations, and fostering the skills required for sustainable building, all while balancing quality craftsmanship and housing affordability.

At Ecoliv, we’ve been designing and building 7-star energy-rated homes for more than 14 years. Our continuous improvement approach has resulted in our volumetric prefab modular construction methodology and adapting to change to further enhance the energy efficiency and operational efficiency of the home.

A Life Cycle Assessment by ETool on our Eco Generation display home has resulted in the home’s climate positive status. A climate-positive home moves beyond the net-zero or zero-carbon benchmark by making additional ‘positive’ energy contributions. Over a year, the home will produce more renewable energy than the home requires, and feed that excess back into the grid.

The EcoGeneration Display home will be complete and open to view next March.

Jenny Edwards

The industry must come to grips with size and repurposing. If you’re serious about sustainability, which is all about reducing embodied and operational energy, then the number-one thing you should do is less. Smaller, better designed homes require far less embodied and operational energy – they are more affordable to build and to run.

Reusing, repurposing and retrofitting existing homes is even more efficient in terms of dollars, energy and resources. Many Australian homes have so much more potential than people realise. Our industry must stop defaulting to knockdown rebuild and get serious about renovation and retrofit.

Please don’t think that doing the same old thing and putting a big PV system on the roof is the answer. We must reduce the amount of energy needed to keep homes at comfortable and safe temperatures as well as combining it with renewable generation. Smaller, well-designed homes are the key.

Liam Wallis

Before 2011, new housing didn’t have a minimum energy-efficiency standard. The latest change to the National Construction Code (NCC) 2022 has only just seen the 11-year-old 6-star standard for single dwellings and apartment buildings uplifted to 7 stars – not to mention that many of the key amendments to the NCC won’t be adopted until 2024, and in some states, not at all.

This is despite many examples of commercially successful projects achieving more than 8 stars. Our most recent apartment project, Ferrars & York in South Melbourne, achieves an average energy rating of 8.6 stars.

When compared to a two-bedroom apartment meeting current energy performance requirements, HIP V. HYPE’s post-occupancy research demonstrates that a typical two-bedroom apartment at Ferrars & York is experiencing yearly cost reductions of 30 per cent for heating and cooling, 21 per cent for domestic hot water and 32 per cent for cooking. 

Greater legislative ambition, together with policy clarity and consistency across jurisdictions, will be required to support the required industry shift to move towards net zero within the required timeframe.

How are you fostering a culture of sustainability within your business? 

Ashley Beaumont

Fostering a culture of sustainability is ingrained in all elements of our business. We aim to be a regenerative business that’s part of a diverse system of people, values and other organisations. Nature drives our purpose and core business values.

Our commitment to positive change also extends to taking responsibility for our social and environmental impact by obtaining independent certifications. 

Jenny Edwards

We don’t take on projects unless they align with our sustainability goals. As it says on our website: ‘We simplify the sustainable design process, to create comfortable, clever, energy-efficient homes; homes that are light-filled and light-footed. We also provide independent, science-only, retrofit advice for people wanting to thermally improve their existing home.’

Liam Wallis

Sustainability is deeply integrated into the identity and culture of HIP V. HYPE. Our business’s view of sustainability aligns closely with the UN’s definition of sustainable development; development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Our own statement – ‘Our responsibility is to leave our cities and regions in a better condition than we found them’ – takes inspiration from the UN’s definition. 

What sustainable solutions hold your interest or do you hope to see available to residential building professionals?

Ashley Beaumont

At Ecoliv, we are particularly interested in innovations that align with our core values. We have a number of research projects that aim to improve our operations and address the following issues that face the residential housing sector.

We have solutions that address the current housing crisis by developing sustainable, affordable, resilient and energy-efficient homes. We explore rising building costs and material shortages via new locally manufactured construction materials that achieve high-quality outputs which are still comparable in cost to less sustainable equivalents.

We also address rising costs of living via renewable energy developments. In addition, we minimise waste in construction beyond prefab modular methods by focusing on advanced manufacturing processes and automation.

Jenny Edwards

I hope to see more builders collaborating with designers (house and landscape) and building scientists who specialise in sustainability. The hive mind can achieve great things. We can’t all know and do everything. Together we’ll have much greater impact, a more enjoyable and rewarding process and better outcomes.

There are energy assessors across Australia with varying degrees of experience and interest in energy efficiency and broader sustainability. I encourage people to broaden their networks, have conversations, be willing to learn and change their approach.

The changes required are not as drastic or expensive as people imagine. We don’t all need to move to the Passivhaus standard – there are cost-effective, thermally effective and healthy options between the industry standard and Passivhaus. We also leave room for a surrounding landscape design that further supports the thermal performance and climate resilience of the home. More green space around our homes is good for the mental and physical health of residents and the temperature of our suburbs.

Liam Wallis

In June, I attended a study tour with Wood Solutions to learn from landmark completed timber projects and existing off-site fabrication manufacturing technologies and systems across Sweden and Norway. The trip exposed me to the potential of engineered timber products together with off-site fabrication/manufacturing technologies and systems to deliver lower cost, higher quality buildings with significantly reduced carbon emissions. 

How can builders seamlessly integrate more energy-efficient designs and technology innovations into new homes? 

Ashley Beaumont

There are simple ways to integrate energy efficiency in new homes. However, to optimise results, a holistic approach that combines a number of key elements is required. For example, passive solar design considers orientation, shading, insulation, glazing and sealing to work with the climate, not against it. 

This maintains a comfortable temperature in the home year-round without the need for expensive heating and cooling. Locally sourced timber – natural or renewable – is the optimal choice for our buildings. Research shows its use can save up to 23 tonnes of carbon per home.

Jenny Edwards

Recent changes to the NCC are finally forcing builders to take sustainability, energy efficiency, climate resilience and health more seriously. Our climate is changing (both environmentally and financially). It’s critical for builders to appreciate the impact of house size and design on their clients’ quality of life. A smaller, well-designed home is more affordable in the short and long term, and can have a profoundly positive impact on the lives of its residents.

There is demand but the problem is supply. Currently, the mass market has largely offered the same thing – over-sized homes that are not designed well for their site and climate. Be brave to offer something different. Collaborate with other design and building science professionals. Interdisciplinary collaboration is the reason the Light House model has been successful.

Liam Wallis

Builders take on the bulk of the risk associated with a building’s performance, which can understandably translate to a status quo-based mindset. Alternatively, proven technologies are increasingly available to the Australian market, which, along with technical support, are designed to enable efficiencies in installation, reduce impact on workers and increase operational performance – just to name a few of the benefits.

Social media and other digital channels provide builders and trades with immediate and practical access to learnings from real projects being delivered around Australia and the world.

The shift towards better performing, lower emission homes is an exciting and dynamic transition for the building industry. It presents significant opportunities for existing and future generations to leave an invaluable legacy, while enabling workers to support themselves and their families.

All that’s required is a curious mindset and an understanding of the importance of the role builders and trades have to play in delivering better homes for people and the planet.

First published on 24 November 2023