THE benefits will be mutual when architects talk to members of the public for 15 minutes each in Albury next week.
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Speed Date A Designer, part of this month’s Sustainable Living Festival, offers people the chance to ask a professional about eco-friendly plans for their homes.
But it will also allow those professionals to highlight the long-term advantages of thinking green when designing a house.
Twenty-four free speed dates with Border and North East architects Suzanne Pasko, Andre Quaglio, Ross Beaver and Paul Simpson can be booked at the QEII Twilight Market on Thursday, November 10, between 5pm and 8pm.
Mr Quaglio said ensuring the right design from the beginning would save a homeowner money in the long run.
“But more importantly it is the ongoing energy use and the legacy of the buildings we leave to future generations,” he said. “A well-designed building will not become a burden on its occupants, its owners or the environment.”
Mrs Pasko said sustainable ideas could more easily be included from the earliest stages of a house plan or subdivision. A section of home builders already considered these aspects but she hoped larger developers would also be interested.
“That’s a good feature to sell houses, long-term it’s a really good investment,” she said.
“And it’s very good for the people who are living in the house, it’s a much better environment for them to live in.”
Mr Quaglio said many design points, like orientation, insulation, cross-ventilation and shading, were not highly technical.
“They’re very basic, you know, thousand year old principles that we've gone away from,” he said.
“Like, termites know how to design a house that works, animals, they all do it.
“We used to do it, we just forgot, so it’s good to get back to the basics.”
The architects agreed potential speed daters should think about their questions beforehand to make best use of the limited time available.
As well as its usual stalls, the market has been expanded to include green ideas that can help visitors reduce, reuse and save money.
More information about the QEII Twilight Market on November 10 and 50 other Sustainable Living Festival events is available at alburycity.nsw.gov.au/slf2016.
