whole, drawing on climatic and normalised rainfall data for individual locations. South Australia Guidelines for building developments in each project are outlined in the bylaws. The bylaws include various permutations of grey water reuse, reuse of stormwater, capture of rainwater, use of solar panels for electricity and hotwater, solar passive building design and community gardens and landscaping. Victoria Melbourne has a rapidly growing environmental consciousness, many government subsidies and rebates are available for water tanks, water efficient products (such as shower heads) and solar hot water systems. Western Australia In Perth, Western Australia, there are at least three different projects that incorporate the principles of green building. The Office development located in Murray Street, West Perth being designed by Eco Design Consultant in collaboration with Troppo Architects is one of them. The other two are mixed development along Wellington Street, in the city centre. Guidelines for building developments in each project are outlined in the bylaws and the Green Building Council of Australia. Queensland The Queensland government has published some advice on state requirements, codes and laws for sustainable house design and construction. Desirable criteria Green building means building sustainably. Ideally a sustainable house will have some or all of the following characteristics: Able to retain a comfortable steady year-round temperature Minimum heating, cooling, running costs, and embodied energy Minimum overall environment impact. Natural lighting, energy generation, efficiency and storage Inclusion of renewable, reusable or second hand materials, like wood, stone and bricks minimum of offcuts to landfill during construction carbon neutral, (net energy generated equals the net energy consumed) if not carbon zero (no net annual emissions from direct fossil fuel combustion) or carbon positive (producing more energy on site than the building requires). The size of the house also matters as a larger house typically has greater embodied carbon costs in its construction and greater operational carbon costs for lighting, heating etc. during occupation. A smaller house is more sustainable. To minimise its environmental impact, a sustainable house is as self-sufficient as possible in energy, water and food Since Australia is in the southern hemisphere, houses are ideally oriented North, South of the Tropic of Capricorn. North of the Tropic, cooling breezes take priority. Special resources for home owners, builders and designers The Australian government publishes Your Home: Australia’s guide to environmentally sustainable homes, as a comprehensive guide for homeowners, builders and designers to provide sustainability inspiration. The