Designs on sustainability
THROUGH THEIR WEBSITES AND THEIR WORK WITH OTHERS SUCH AS LOCAL GOVERNMENT, THIS TIRELESS COUPLE HAS HELPED TO PROMOTE A MORE SUSTAINABLE APPROACH TO CONSTRUCTION,
A passion for sustainable tropical building design has been a focus for George and Emma Thirkell (above) for the past decade.
A PASSION for sustainable tropical building design has been a focus for George and Emma Thirkell for much of the past decade.
The founders of Thirkell Consulting Engineers have used a considerable network of contacts within traditional building industries and new innovators to push a new way of building in the Far North.
The pair also started greenbuild.com.au, a hub of sustainable building products and construction services in tropical Australia, and recyclebuild.com.au, an online site for buyers and sellers of recycled materials, to tap in to an evolving industry.
“It’s a way of thinking. There’s always the budget to consider but people are starting to realise these days they just need what they need, they don’t need a big everything,” Mr Thirkell said.
“You can still be sustainable in any way you choose.
“If you can reuse as much as you can and reduce waste, to me, that goes a long way.
“Cost has prohibited people in the past, but there’s been a transformation from a typical family project home into a customised renovation.
“I think it’s public awareness that’s making it mainstream. Maybe it’s technological reliability or the belief in sustainability. I think there’s no doubt of the belief of it, everyone knows we need to take care of the planet.”
Mrs Thirkell, a chartered surveyor, and Mr Thirkell, an engineer, have also been champions of Sustainable House Day, a chance for the public to view already finished homes that encompass environmentally friendly designs and innovations.
John Netz’s Redlynch home on Cascades Dr will be one of the Cairns buildings on display on September 11.
The former teacher built his one-storey home in the rainforest to “demonstrate to others how they can live in a comfortable house in the tropics without airconditioning”.
“For me it’s all about CO2 emissions and greenhouse gas emissions and reducing our impact there,” he said.
“The reason our solar system is so big is so that even on an overcast day we’re still getting more power than we need.”
A source of pride for Mr and Mrs Thirkell has been the many national awards which Far North businesses have picked up in recent years.
“We did that by helping those businesses connect solutions and bring together designs,” Mrs Thirkell said.
“Once you champion one, it
GEORGE AND EMMA THIRKELL PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE BUILDING PRACTICES AND RECYCLING THROUGH THEIR WEBSITES GREENBUILD.COM.AU AND RECYCLEBUILD.COM.AU
THERE’S ALWAYS THE BUDGET TO CONSIDER BUT PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO REALISE THESE DAYS THEY JUST NEED WHAT THEY NEED, THEY DON’T NEED A BIG EVERYTHING GEORGE THIRKELL
sets an example of what can be done,” she said.
“We ironed out some of the barriers, including some building code issues.
“Generally businesses are taking on some risk with new innovations, so this helps everybody.”
The pair also work with James Cook University students to write case studies of innovations and changes in the area of sustainable, tropical design.
Mrs Thirkell said the case studies recorded and provided a benchmark of progress.
Through their businesses, the Thirkell’s also work with the Department of State Development and Tourism Investment Queensland to help organisations with sustainable business ideas.
“We had a lot of work to do and now we’ve got to the point where we’ve satisfied a lot of goals and we’re maintaining the projects we’ve started,” Mrs Thirkell said.
“The end goal for us is to allow Cairns to grow as a world-class, tropical, sustainable city.
“We’re definitely very prodevelopment and know Cairns can grow as a city like this.
“We get disappointed when activists block developments when we know envinronmentally sustainable design and engineering underpin projects today.”