BoSP Queensland – Sustainability, Stars and DTS
At the June Business of Small Practice (BoSP) event in Brisbane, leading practitioners shared how they’re balancing sustainability requirements, regulatory compliance, and design excellence in today’s evolving residential sector. Elise Robertson attended and has written an excellent recap.
For architects in small practice, one question inevitably arises: “How does everyone else do this?” A recent BoSP QLD/NT event set out to satisfy this curiosity and provide a forum for answers – and it delivered.
Sustainability, Stars and DTS: what are we all doing? was hosted at the Tongue and Groove showroom. The tiers of oak flooring provided the perfect amphitheatre for the event.
When the first speaker, Andrew Noonan, set out to design his own home, he was adamant he wanted to achieve a 10-star rating. He revealed that by aiming for a more modest 7.5 – 8 stars, he was better able to align with the wider goals of the project, including site and context. By accepting trade-offs in energy efficiency, he could accommodate overland flow through the site, use more affordable glazing, and better address embodied carbon and future climate conditions. This reframing led to a build that was ultimately simpler, more cost-effective, and more adaptable, while still prioritising occupant comfort.
Tori Walker, owner and principal assessor at Building Energy Ratings & Advice (BERA), knows exactly how energy-efficiency tools can support (or hinder!) an architect’s design goals, while allowing them to meet their regulatory obligations. Tori explained that while a ‘Deemed to Satisfy’ approach to energy efficiency can be appropriate in some cases, when designers and clients invest in a higher level of service, energy assessors can add significant value to both the design process and the built outcome. Through early collaboration with an experienced assessor, client expectations can be managed, budget blowouts minimised, and optimal compliance options achieved.
After a quick break for refreshments, the evening transitioned to a panel discussion led by Leah Gallagher of KIN Architects. Together with Morgan Jenkins (Nielsen Jenkins) and Andy Keefe (Maytree Studios), the panel described how each of their respective practices approaches energy efficiency and responded to questions from the audience.
As always with a BoSP, I left this event feeling motivated and with three key takeaways:
- Sharing our knowledge with our peers makes all of our practices better;
- There is always something more to learn and things to refine in my practice; and
- A feeling of gratitude for my peers in this industry.
The generosity of time, knowledge shared, encouragement received, and stories recounted is something special.
Elise Robertson is the Founder and Director of Weave Architecture.