Choosing a designer

The design of your solar passive home is perhaps the most important element. This is your opportunity to specify exactly what you require in your new home. Here are a few tips to bear in mind when choosing an architect or designer to design your home:

• Check the formal training of the person who will be drafting the design – were sustainability principles a core part of their training?
• Which professional bodies are they affiliated with such as the Building Designers Association, the Housing Industry Association (and Greensmart), the Master Builders Association?
• Find out how long they’ve been in business.
• Ask them for some plans and case studies of other sustainable homes that they have built, at least three jobs they’ve done in the last two years. Is this a core part of their business or just an add-on?
• Ask them what environmental considerations were taken into account when they designed the case studies they provide. If you familiarise yourself with some of the issues raised in our information sheets you’ll soon get an idea of their depth of knowledge and commitment to sustainable design practices.
• Find out if you can visit any of the homes they have designed and see if they can give you details of past clients to talk to.
• Perhaps most importantly, check the human factor! Do you think that this person will understand your needs and that you will be able to work well with them?