INSIDE | RENOVATE
happy homes
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ringing positive change to building and
connecting people to nature, community and themselves through beautifully designed, sustainable homes is what Reece Stubbs is all about. Through his Melbourne company, The Sociable Weaver, he is doing just that. And the changes start small. On the firm’s construction sites, workers are handed KeepCups and attend regular meditation sessions. “We are trying to bring a softer, more connected culture to an industry with a reputation for being quite tough,” says Reece, the firm’s general manager, who works with a team of 25 people. It’s ambitious, but that hasn’t stopped The Sociable Weaver team before. They hold the record for the first 10 Star home in Victoria, built in collaboration with Clare Cousins Architects. It self-heats and cools so the occupants will never see a utility bill. Building self-sustaining homes for long-term use while leaving a barely there human footprint is how they roll. To top it off, they plant 300 trees for every completed home at various locations around the area, in partnership with conservation group Odonata. Co-founded by Dave Martin, the head of numerous building companies, and OAM recipient Danny Almagor, who studied aerospace engineering before launching Engineers Without WORDS CARLI PHILIPS
Borders and co-founding the social enterprise Small Giants, The Sociable Weaver is the real deal. And everything – from building to design – is done in-house, to streamline the process and expedite any changes along the way. Clients get all the specs and costs at the start so there are no surprises later on. “Our homes are practical, economical and available at a price point that makes architecturally designed, functional, healthy and environmentally conscious homes accessible to more buyers,” says Reece. It’s a philosophy they hope will make sustainable building and design the norm rather than the exception. Think materials built to stand the test of time – concrete slabs for good thermal mass (crucial in passive solar design); recycled brick (readily available from demolished properties); locally sourced radial sawn timbers for their hard-wearing properties; and hoop pine joinery, favoured for its strength and longevity. On a non-tangible level, clients are also offered ‘building biology’ services, such as feng shui, the identification of on-site pressure points (or energy build-up), space clearing (keeping a new home in harmony with the nature it’s in or surrounded by) and geopathic stress tests (to obtain information from the earth). “They’re not for everyone,” says Reece, “but part of our mission is to create non-toxic, healthy homes that are thoughtfully considered in every possible way.” The Sociable Weaver has projects from inner Melbourne to bush sites and, more recently, in Byron Bay. It’s also knee-deep in The Cape, a new eco-village in the Victorian coastal town of Cape Paterson, where Reece has completed his own weekender. By completion, there will be co-working spaces, electric car charge stations, gym stations, an orchard and 80,000 trees. The community vegetable garden is already full of tomatoes harvested for their annual Passata Day. Residents can engage The Sociable Weaver or any other contractor as long as they comply with a list of rules that includes no front fences and agree to native landscaping and dwellings with a minimum 7.5 Star energy rating and 10,000L water tank. “It’s a new way of living,” says Reece. “Our homes encourage living lightly on the planet. It’s how houses should be built.” The Sociable Weaver, Melbourne and Cape Paterson, Victoria; (03) 9068 3030 or thesociableweaver.com.au
PHOTOGRAPHY (ALL EXCEPT KEEPCUP): DAN HOCKING. ARTWORK (OPPOSITE) BY CAROLINE WALLS
Renovating and building from scratch has taken on a whole new meaning for sustainable builder The Sociable Weaver, a holistic company named after a tiny African bird that builds spectacular communal nests
Opposite Designed in collaboration with Clare Cousins Architects, the 10 Star Home by The Sociable Weaver in Victoria’s Cape Paterson is 160 sq m of non-toxic living. This page, clockwise from top left The kitchen of the 10 Star Home. At the back, a beam is used to grow greenery along. Clare Cousins’ sketch of the front exterior. Another kitchen view, with Hannah Nowlan’s artwork Solar Sleeping Sun. Two of the 10 Star Home’s bedrooms. Workers stay refreshed with KeepCups. Another design is the Tiny House.
“ We don’t dictate size but ask our clients to consider that, instead of two living areas, maybe they could just have one?” REECE STUBBS, THE SOCIABLE WEAVER
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