A striking architectural home with sustainability at its core, Govetts Leap Bach represents resilience and endurance, and demonstrates the positive impacts that can be achieved when working at a modest scale.

As a home of only 81-square-metres in floorspace, the design capitalises on the attributes of the site, responding directly to and respecting its context and the challenges it poses. Govetts Leap Bach is located on Dharug and Gundungurra country, and straddles the interface between the suburban and the bush on the outskirts of Blackheath, New South Wales.

Designated BAL-40 and BAL-FZ, the home has been designed in response to its bushfire risk, while Passivhaus principles and low and no VOC products and finishes have been implemented internally to preserve the health of its inhabitants. Govetts Leap Bach combines passive solar design principles with Passivhaus modelling to create an energy efficient and comfortable home which offsets the energy demands of its occupants. Materials selected have also minimised the embodied carbon of the home to achieve a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 13 kilograms of CO2/m2/year over a 50 year lifespan. A thoughtful and resilient home, Govetts Leap Bach is an example of enduring architectural design.

Furniture: Jardan, Armadillo, Utopia Goods, Sketch Interiors, Ethnicraft, Planet. Lighting: Ross Gardam, The Lighting Guild, MFL by Masson, Beacon Lighting, Lighting Collective, Lucci Decor, Beacon Lighting, LEDLux, Beacon Lighting, MFL, Beacon Lighting, Tovo Lighting, Urban Lighting. Finishes: Plytech Green, Plytech, Paperock Solid, Paperock, Ecolour Eco Living Interior, Ecolour, Paulownia timber lining boards, Australian Timber Ceilings, Australite, Austral Masonry, Hanson Bronze, Hanson Australia, StarSeal EF, Vexcon, Tile and Bath Co, Surface Gallery. Fittings & Fixtures: Oliveri, Winning Appliances, Zip, Winning Appliances, Hideaway, Kessebohmer, Hafele, Blum, Linear Standard, Moebe, Design Stuff, Designer Doorware, Altro, Altro Architectural Building Systems, Astra Walker, Nood Co, Di Lorenzo, Brodware, AXA, Reece, Posh, Reece, Moda, ACS Bathrooms

Photography: Damien Milan, Nick Bowers