A Study in Contrasts
From Sanctuary issue 11. More articles like this
Sanctuary magazine issue 11 – A Study in Contrasts – Spring Hill, Brisbane green home profile
Words Danielle Dunsmore
Photography Christopher Frederick Jones
Excerpt: Twelve years ago, architect Brian Steendyk bought a cottage in Brisbane’s Spring Hill. It was freezing in winter and riddled with termites and borers, but it had potential. Brian would sit on his back (north facing) steps and think how glorious it was to have a coffee in the winter sun. “I knew I could do something to turn it around,” he recalls. “All buildings talk to you and there are things you learn by inhabiting them.” Fast forward to today. Brian still enjoys his coffee in the winter sun but in his living room, not on the back step. The house has been transformed, and in many ways it has become his own personal experiment in sustainable housing. “When I started, things like water tanks and solar hot water were expensive. I was building sustainably because I wanted to have this house as a manifesto, as a statement of belief of what you can achieve.”
