An environmental prototype house: a case study of holistic environmental assessment.

An environmental prototype, single family dwelling has been constructed on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The project was an attempt to produce a house that represents the best practice in the environmental design of a new house. A holistic environmental assessment is being undertaken on the house, post-construction. This paper presents the methodology underlying that assessment. The aim of the assessment is to produce data that will represent a high level of environmental performance in the house design. This will act as a benchmark for future projects, using an action/reflection model of architectural practice, both in terms of individual environmental performance areas, and as an overall product. The assessment consists of a number of studies, these are: Life-Cycle Energy Audit, Indoor Air Quality Audit, Electro-magnetic Field Assessment, Lighting, Thermal and Ventilation Audit and a Post-Occupancy Evaluation.