Archicentre

The removal of the overhanging eave from Australian homes has proved to be a major national environmental mistake Archicentre said today.

Edward Lukac, South Australian Archicentre spokesperson said people buying new homes or renovating could increase the water harvesting potential of their roofs by 20% with the added advantage of shade over windows and walls conserving power by including the traditional over hanging eave in their design.

Mr Lukac said a new report by Australia's major water utilities estimating demand for water will increase by almost 1 trillion litres by 2056 based on a population of 31 million should be a catalyst for a major re-think in relation to roof design on new home building in Australia.

"The roofs of Australia's 7.2 million homes represent the biggest major urban dam potential in Australia with water being able to be captured where it can be used without expensive infrastructure.

"Historically the eave was a fundamental part of Australia homes, however, in the last decade its removal for fashion and mock building design has seen the building of hundreds of thousands of homes poorly equipped to cope with climate change demands such as increasing temperatures."

Mr Lukac said the sky rocketing costs of water and energy mean the return for investing in a larger roof including eaves will be repaid more quickly and houses with eaves will be have added re-sale value.

"We believe the water crisis will see governments in the future consider legislation which will make it compulsory for people to install rain water tanks, water efficient shower heads and dual flush toilets.

"Home buyers requesting Archicentre pre-purchase inspections have increasingly indicated an interest in the environmental aspects of properties including rain water tanks and solar heating."

Mr Lukac said the future increasing costs of power and water will also be a driving market force to support government policy of the introduction of national binding building codes.

www.archicentre.com.au
Archicentre, the building advisory service of the Australian Institute of Architects

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