The New York Times calls him “a poster boy for zero waste living”, but he is also a florist, a collaborater, an artist, an enthusiast, a thinker, a doer, and a designer. And some of the things that he is thinking, designing, and constructing have very interesting things to teach us about Sustainable Energy Efficient Homes.
In a recent article in The Weekend Australian Magazine (March 21-22, 2015), Joost Bakker describes three aspects of his own home’s design that he incorporated to make the home more thermally comfortable, and safer.
1. Crushed Brick Exterior
Bakker noticed that when he placed his hands on a solid mass of concrete that had been in the sun, it was boiling hot. But when he did the same to some gravel, it was cool. The gravel did not absorb as much heat from the sun, and released it much quicker, because it was loose. This led Bakker to install a mesh wrap around his straw-bale house, and fill it with crushed recycled bricks.
2. The Rio Columns
Bakker pioneered the vertically stacked columns that allow the external walls of a building to be hung with teracotta pots and filled with plants. His current home is covered in strawberry plants, which would be very popular when they are fruiting! There are now quite a few copies of this system available, but the insulating and cooling properties of this system are also becoming more widely appreciated and enjoyed.
3. The Soil Roof and the Fire Experiment
Perhaps the most interesting of Bakker’s innovations has been his flat earth roof concept.
Although there are exceptions, most houses built today have hollow roof cavities build over wooded beams. But these provide both oxygen and fuel for a fire. Bakker thought that if he used a lightweight (recyclable) steel frame instead of timber, and placed insulating fireproof soil on the roof, not only would he have beautiful grass or productive roof on his home, but he would also be fire-proofing his building at the same time.
With the addition of some fireproof windows and some external boards coated with magnesium oxide cladding, he was able to sumbit his house to the ultimate fire test. The CSIRO’s Bushfire Urban Design team subjected the house to 1000°C fire conditions, and the temperature inside the house peaked at a very safe 31°C.
This design would provide great peace of mind if you were living in a bush-fire prone area, but it would also create a thermally comfortable home that would retain its warmth in the winter, and be blissfully cool in the summer.
If you would like to see some of the features of his home (and the beautiful interiors), have a look at this Design Files article.
If you would like further information regarding House Energy Star Ratings, and making your home more thermally comfortable, please contact us at BERA.