INTHEBLACK August 2025 - Magazine - Page 35
“Every square metre we don’t build saves 1.2 tonnes of carbon
dioxide. Why prioritise garages over gathering spaces?”
JEREMY MCLEOD, BREATHE ARCHITECTURE
GHA’s approach prioritises size-efficient
designs for tackling housing shortages,
using principles like building orientation,
thermal mass and airtight sealing to reduce
energy use by 70 per cent compared to
standard homes. Its energy-neutral
9.2-star home in Perth, Australia’s most
sustainable two-storey home, and its
8.5-star display home in Sydney, prove
that rethinking housing design for climate
resilience works at scale.
“These homes aren’t niche. They’re built
traditionally, with standard contractors,
but designed smarter,” Fabar explains.
BANK SUPPORT NEEDED
The real barrier to widespread adoption
of green building practices lies in outdated
valuation practices. “A 9-star, 250-squaremetre home and a 6-star home of the same
size are valued identically. Banks ignore
lifetime energy savings or resilience,” says
INDIA SHOWS THE WAY
Credit: Dexus/Atlassian
India’s pioneering projects demonstrate mass affordable housing does not need
to come at the expense of sustainability. With initiatives like the Pradhan Mantri
Awas Yojana (PMAY), a nationwide push to provide housing for all, India is
marrying large-scale housing with eco-conscious practices and offering lessons
for global policymakers.
Aniket Talati, partner at Talati
and Talati LLP Chartered Accountants,
explains how the country balances
these dual priorities.
“When you build at India’s scale,
affordability becomes inherent. But
sustainability is not an afterthought;
it is engineered into materials, policies
and community practices,” says Talati.
Central to this approach is the use
of fly-ash bricks, which are a byproduct
of coal-fired power plants, to replace
traditional clay bricks. “Fly-ash bricks
reduce mining demands and repurpose
waste, cutting emissions by 30 per cent
compared to conventional materials,”
says Talati.
Similarly, low-carbon cement
and modular construction methods
decrease build times and waste.
“Prefabricated components enable
faster, cleaner projects,” he adds.
Government incentives have been
pivotal. Tax breaks for affordable
housing developers and solar energy
subsidies for homeowners have driven
green building imperatives.
“Rooftop solar installations are now
ubiquitous. My own home runs entirely
on solar,” Talati notes. Rainwater
harvesting is also mandated in large
developments, easing pressure on
municipal systems.
Cultural practices amplify these
efforts. “[The practice of] reuse is
ingrained in Indian communities and
is a collective ethic,” says Talati.
India shows scale and sustainability
can coexist through policy foresight
and local innovation.
“Affordable, sustainable housing is
about reimagining systems. India shows
that when governments, industries
and communities align, everyone wins.”
intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 35
