From a 30sqm house to a slice of urban parkland: Australia’s most sustainable homes of 2023 – in pictures

The sustainability shortlist in Architecture Australia’s annual Houses Awards demonstrates new ways of thinking about the places we call home, whether it be replacing a large garage with a place to “stare up at the stars”, or the first true net-zero home in Western Australia. House Awards jury chair Alexa Kempton said: ‘The jury was pleased to see … examples of homeowners taking agency over their homes’ environmental impacts.’

She hopes that this is ‘as much a consequence of a growing demand from consumers as it is a result of advocacy from the architects. The tenets of reduce and reuse also apply to building, and the jury saw many examples of creative and prudent adaptations that regenerated existing housing, rather than building new.’

• Fashion greenwashing glossary: what do ‘biodegradable’, ‘closed loop’ and ‘degrowth’ really mean?

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Living happily — and calmly — alongside 80 houseplants

A conversation with blogger and Instagram personality Tracey Hairston about how she uses plants to anchor her very personal space.

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How a school renovation in Belgium turned into a top class co-built community

What started as a single family project in Ghent soon blossomed into homes for 10 families

On her first visit, 15 years ago, to the abandoned school complex that was to become her family home, Veva van Sloun was in for a surprise. Located in a busy area of Ghent, the old school was shielded from the main street by bamboo planting. Beyond white gate she discovered it had a hidden courtyard garden, not to mention its own chapel. The site was much bigger than she anticipated. “It was so dilapidated that when I leant against the wall some of the bricks crumbled and fell off,” she recalls.

Undeterred, she decided to take on the renovation. The chapel had been extended to house the school kitchen and gymnasium. These elements were removed to restore the chapel as a separate entity, giving van Sloun, her husband, Jan, and their children more space. “We had to take off the roof and rebuild it brick by brick because it was in a horrible condition,” she says. “I didn’t know enough about what I was getting into when I bought it – especially the costs of modernisation.”

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* This article was originally published here

Fake books? Charles Dickens got there first | Brief letters

Shelf-esteem | Gardening tips | Gruff justice | The power of voting | Scathing school reports

Fake books are older than you seem to think (Fake books: the controversial interiors trend for literary pretenders, 1 May). Charles Dickens created “faux-aged spines” to line the door of his study at Gad’s Hill Place, his house in Kent. He gave them such titles as History of a Short Chancery Suit in Twelve Volumes, and Hansard’s Guide to Refreshing Sleep. I doubt it was to show people that he was literate.
Harland Walshaw
Lympstone, Devon

• I would love to see Adrian Chiles’s gardening show (The unspoken truth about gardening? It is a relentless, unwinnable war, 4 May) as I too come from the Attila the Hun school of gardening, and feel I never got far enough to learn from the others.
Margaret Squires
St Andrews, Fife

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* This article was originally published here

* This article was originally published here

Fake books? Charles Dickens got there first | Brief letters

Shelf-esteem | Gardening tips | Gruff justice | The power of voting | Scathing school reports

Fake books are older than you seem to think (Fake books: the controversial interiors trend for literary pretenders, 1 May). Charles Dickens created “faux-aged spines” to line the door of his study at Gad’s Hill Place, his house in Kent. He gave them such titles as History of a Short Chancery Suit in Twelve Volumes, and Hansard’s Guide to Refreshing Sleep. I doubt it was to show people that he was literate.
Harland Walshaw
Lympstone, Devon

• I would love to see Adrian Chiles’s gardening show (The unspoken truth about gardening? It is a relentless, unwinnable war, 4 May) as I too come from the Attila the Hun school of gardening, and feel I never got far enough to learn from the others.
Margaret Squires
St Andrews, Fife

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* This article was originally published here

I’m not kidding: a goat is a gardener’s best friend | Brief letters

Gardening | Tuition fees | The coronation oath of allegiance | Moss threat

If Adrian Chiles’s garden really gets his goat (The unspoken truth about gardening? It is a relentless, unwinnable war, 4 May), then he should do just that – get a goat. It will clear the thicket in a trice, leaving only the most stubborn bushes for his shredder to devour. BBC Radio 4’s Farming Today might commission a feature.
Jonathan Hauxwell
Cross Hills, North Yorkshire

• Regarding Keir Starmer’s views on university tuition fees (Report, 3 May), has he considered a graduate tax? This could spread student debt over a lifetime of employment, with the better paid graduates paying a higher rate and the badly paid or unemployed paying little or nothing.
Marilyn Mason
London

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* This article was originally published here

Two French gourmets, one petite kitchen. Here’s how they make it work.

The key to living with a small kitchen is ruthless editing. Keep only the cooking equipment and dishes that are essential to your lifestyle.

* This article was originally published here