Australian Living has developed a seminar series called the ‘Five Keys to a Sustainable Home’, which provides an educational insight into designing a high performing sustainable home.

"We are holding these seminars to pass on our experience of sustainable home building practices to entice the industry to raise the bar." says Cameron Rosen, owner of Australian Living.

The first run of seminars will be held in May, targeting architects and interior designers, and will focus on the 8 star (thermal comfort) home that is currently under construction as part of Australian Living’s Eco-Challenge in Rose Bay, NSW.

The seminar will provide information on thermal comfort, material choice, permaculture and the variable factor - the resident.

Presenters include Cameron Rosen, Australian Living; Caroline Pidcock, Pidcock Architects; Graham Hunt, G.E. Hunt; Rav De Silva, Dynamic Composite Technologies; and Cameron Little, Sustainability Systems and Services (University of New South Wales).

"Sharing ideas and information is a critical part of sustainable design and development - by talking about what worked and what was difficult helps everyone to move forward more quickly," Pidcock says.

Australian Living will be rolling out seminars to help prepare other industry groups such as engineers, builders, valuers, suppliers, real estate agents and consumers.