Geraldine Chua . Articles Five ‘Best of the Best’ Sustainability Awards winners from recent years We look back at five recent Sustainability Awards 'Best of the Best' winners, and the reasons they clinched the top gong. The difference between air conditioning and natural ventilation is not just hot air Regardless of whether they prefer to live in a single-family home with a backyard, or in a unit in an apartment tower, most Australian homeowners and renters place a premium on one residential feature: air-conditioning (AC). ‘The Mental Health House’: a liveable “experiment” that blends home and office “My-House is an experiment that I live in. It is a home that I dare not impose on my clients,” Maynard jests. “It breaks many important rules, often not in a good way.” New handbook details 50 best-practice measures to achieve net-zero buildings With our built environment being one of the largest contributors to carbon emissions, there has been an increasing focus on making our existing and new buildings more energy-efficient and, ultimately, net-zero carbon. Stealth density in suburbia: Step House a sustainable first home for Gen Y Australians The Gen Y House is out to prove that medium density can be achieved in a single home lot. Three tips for sustainable residential alterations and additions As conversions of existing homes to be fit for purpose, alterations and addition are, by definition, a measure of environmentally-sustainable design. However, architects working on A&As are not exempt from the same sustainability challenges faced with new builds.