Get It Right with Undercover Architect

Hello! This is Episode 404. This is Way #4 in the ‘44 Ways to Create Your Sustainable Home’ series. It’s also the last episode of Section One, which takes you through Designing for Climate and Site.
Over the past three episodes in this ‘44 Ways’ series, we have covered orientation, natural ventilation from breezes and protection from harsher winds, and how to design a home to naturally heat and cool itself through passive solar design principles.
This Episode will help tie all of that together and give it a specific context for your project.
[For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, downloadable PDF transcript, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/404]
None of the strategies I’ve discussed so far apply identically everywhere. What works best in a hot and humid tropical climate is different from what works in a cool, elevated climate. And so, the best way to understand which strategies apply most powerfully to where you are building or renovating is to know your climate zone.
Because knowing your climate zone is what helps you understand how to utilise these design strategies in a climate responsive way, to make your home more sustainable, comfortable and functional overall.
In this episode, I take you through what a climate zone is and why it matters so much, what the main climate types are and how they shape design priorities, how to find your climate zone, and how to use it as a filter when you are making design and specification decisions.
As always, if you'd like to access a full transcript of this episode and links to any resources I mention, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/404.
Now, let's dive in!
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST:
For links, images and resources mentioned in this podcast, head to >>> www.undercoverarchitect.com/404
Accessing my free '44 Ways' E-Book will simplify sustainability and help you create a healthy, low tox and sustainable home. It will give you an overview of what we’ll be covering in this podcast series. You can download your free copy here >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/ways
Access the support and guidance you need to be confident and empowered when renovating and building your family home inside my signature online program >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/courses/the-home-method/
Just a reminder: All content on this podcast is provided by Undercover Architect for reference purposes and as general guidance. It does not take into account specific circumstances and should not be relied on in that way. You should seek independent verification or advice before relying on this content in any circumstances, including but not limited to circumstances where loss or damage may result. The views and opinions of any guests on the podcast are solely their own. They may not reflect the views of Undercover Architect. Undercover Architect endeavours to publish content that is accurate at the time it is published, but does not accept responsibility for content that may or has become inaccurate over time.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello! This is Episode 403. This is Way #3 of the 44 Ways to Create Your Sustainable Home series.
Over the last two episodes, we have discussed designing for your site’s orientation, and considering how your home is positioned to work with the movement of the sun and prevailing breezes, and how your home is designed to maximise natural ventilation, whilst protecting you from harsher wind events on your site.
In this Episode, those two design considerations come together into something larger.
[For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, downloadable PDF transcript, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/403]
This is where passive solar design becomes a whole-of-home strategy. Where orientation, breezes, shading, thermal mass, and the building envelope work, not as separate decisions, but as an integrated system, designed to keep your home comfortable across the seasons without relying on mechanical or artificial heating and cooling.
From a sustainability point of view, understanding your home as a building system is incredibly powerful. And what I consistently find is that, when these principles are applied well, the result is a home that feels different the moment you walk into it, and where you can feel much better and more comfortable, day in and day out.
In this episode, I take you through how passive heating and cooling actually works in practice, the role that thermal mass plays in stabilising temperature, how to approach these principles for different climate types, and when mechanical systems are still appropriate and how to approach them intentionally.
As always, if you'd like to access a full transcript of this episode and links to any resources I mention, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/403.
Now, let's dive in!
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST:
For links, images and resources mentioned in this podcast, head to >>> www.undercoverarchitect.com/403
Accessing my free '44 Ways' E-Book will simplify sustainability and help you create a healthy, low tox and sustainable home. It will give you an overview of what we’ll be covering in this podcast series. You can download your free copy here >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/ways
Access the support and guidance you need to be confident and empowered when renovating and building your family home inside my signature online program >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/courses/the-home-method/
Just a reminder: All content on this podcast is provided by Undercover Architect for reference purposes and as general guidance. It does not take into account specific circumstances and should not be relied on in that way. You should seek independent verification or advice before relying on this content in any circumstances, including but not limited to circumstances where loss or damage may result. The views and opinions of any guests on the podcast are solely their own. They may not reflect the views of Undercover Architect. Undercover Architect endeavours to publish content that is accurate at the time it is published, but does not accept responsibility for content that may or has become inaccurate over time.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello! This is Episode 402. This is Way #2 of the 44 Ways to Create Your Sustainable Home series.
In Episode 401 we covered orientation, and understanding how the sun moves across your site and how positioning your home to work with that movement can transform its comfort, help it feel amazing to live in day-to-day, and reduce its energy use and requirements for artificial heating and cooling.
In this Episode, we are covering another natural asset that is freely available on your site, and that’s breezes.
[For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, downloadable PDF transcript, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/402]
Natural ventilation can be one of the most effective, lowest-cost strategies for keeping a home comfortable. And like orientation, it works best when it is designed in from the beginning, because the floor plan layout, window types, and building form all determine how well a home is able to ventilate naturally.
In this episode, I’ll take you through why breezes matter so much for both comfort and sustainability, how to understand the specific wind patterns on your site, how to design your home to capture prevailing breezes, and how to protect it from the harsher wind events that may also occur.
As always, if you'd like to access a full transcript of this episode and links to any resources I mention, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/402.
Now, let's dive in!
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST:
For links, images and resources mentioned in this podcast, head to >>> www.undercoverarchitect.com/402
Accessing my free '44 Ways' E-Book will simplify sustainability and help you create a healthy, low tox and sustainable home. It will give you an overview of what we’ll be covering in this podcast series. You can download your free copy here >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/ways
Access the support and guidance you need to be confident and empowered when renovating and building your family home inside my signature online program >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/courses/the-home-method/
Just a reminder: All content on this podcast is provided by Undercover Architect for reference purposes and as general guidance. It does not take into account specific circumstances and should not be relied on in that way. You should seek independent verification or advice before relying on this content in any circumstances, including but not limited to circumstances where loss or damage may result. The views and opinions of any guests on the podcast are solely their own. They may not reflect the views of Undercover Architect. Undercover Architect endeavours to publish content that is accurate at the time it is published, but does not accept responsibility for content that may or has become inaccurate over time.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello! This is Episode 401. And we are beginning something on the podcast that I’m really looking forward to sharing with you, especially if you’re wanting to build or renovate in a more sustainable way, but feeling curious, confused or even overwhelmed about what that might mean.
This is the first episode of a podcast series called ‘44 Ways to Create Your Sustainable Home’. It’s inspired by my free e-guide of the same name, but in this series here on the podcast, I want to take some time to dive into more detail, actions you can take and ways you can apply this in your new build or renovation project, wherever you’re located.
[For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, downloadable PDF transcript, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/401]
And the first ‘way’ I’m kicking off with is, for me, what I believe is the single most impactful decision you will make for your home’s sustainability and comfort.
In over 30 years in this industry designing residential homes, I believe this way is also available to every one and every project, but only if you know and think about it early and embed it into your project’s design from the start.
It’s where I’ve always started my projects, it’s where I teach my HOME Method members to start their home design, whoever they’re working with, and its significance cannot be overstated in how much it can improve the sustainability, functionality, feel and performance of your home overall.
We are talking about designing for your site’s orientation. This is about knowing how your existing or new home is or will be positioned on your site or block of land, and how its overall layout is designed to respond to the movement of the sun across your land.
All so you can keep your home cool in Summer and warm in Winter, without it costing a fortune in energy bills and artificial heating and cooling, whilst feeling fantastic to be in.
In this episode, I take you through what orientation actually means in practical terms, why it belongs at the very top of any sustainability strategy, how to think about the sun’s movement for your site, and how to apply these principles in your project, whether you’re building new or renovating an existing home.
As always, if you'd like to access a full transcript of this episode and links to any resources I mention, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/401.
Now, let's dive in!
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST:
For links, images and resources mentioned in this podcast, head to >>> www.undercoverarchitect.com/401
Accessing my free '44 Ways' E-Book will simplify sustainability and help you create a healthy, low tox and sustainable home. It will give you an overview of what we’ll be covering in this podcast series. You can download your free copy here >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/ways
Access the support and guidance you need to be confident and empowered when renovating and building your family home inside my signature online program >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/courses/the-home-method/
Just a reminder: All content on this podcast is provided by Undercover Architect for reference purposes and as general guidance. It does not take into account specific circumstances and should not be relied on in that way. You should seek independent verification or advice before relying on this content in any circumstances, including but not limited to circumstances where loss or damage may result. The views and opinions of any guests on the podcast are solely their own. They may not reflect the views of Undercover Architect. Undercover Architect endeavours to publish content that is accurate at the time it is published, but does not accept responsibility for content that may or has become inaccurate over time.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello! This is Episode 400 - can you believe it? How exciting! And so I want to take the opportunity to celebrate a little, and share something a little different in this episode.
Whilst we’ve done more than 400 actual episodes on the podcast, I do believe that hitting Episode 400 officially is a big milestone. That’s over four hundred conversations. Me talking directly to you. Me talking with homeowners at every stage of every kind of project. Talking with architects and designers and builders and specialist consultants and industry professionals of every description.
So today I'm not here to teach you a framework or walk you through a process or have a conversation highlighting a specific subject matter. I want to do something a bit different, which is share what I believe I’ve seen over those 400+ conversations, in the hope you find it super helpful, especially if you’re just starting out on your project journey.
[For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, downloadable PDF transcript, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/400]
My experience as the architect behind Undercover Architect uniquely places me with a front row seat to far more projects and homeowners than being an architect working 1:1 with clients ever did. It’s enabled me to be involved in projects, in homeowners’ thoughts, hopes and fears at a scale I really never anticipated when I started Undercover Architect back in mid 2014.
Being your secret ally in Undercover Architect means you share a lot more with me than when I was simply Amelia Lee, the architect working 1:1 with clients.
Additionally, my involvement with builders, architects and designers both in Australia and across the world, and the networks I’ve built also with other industry professionals, suppliers and manufacturers, provides me with insights and an intimate understanding of what you, as a homeowner, are really contending with out there as you navigate your projects.
The great, the good, the bad and the ugly.
And so, with that in mind, I’d love you to consider this Episode the conversation I wish someone had with every homeowner before they started their journey of building or renovating.
As always, if you'd like to access a full transcript of this episode and links to any resources I mention, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/400.
Now, let’s dive in!
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST:
For links, images and resources mentioned in this podcast, head to >>> www.undercoverarchitect.com/400
Accessing my free '44 Ways' E-Book will simplify sustainability and help you create a healthy, low tox and sustainable home. You can download your free copy here >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/ways
Access the support and guidance you need to be confident and empowered when renovating and building your family home inside my flagship online program >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/courses/the-home-method/
Just a reminder: All content on this podcast is provided by Undercover Architect for reference purposes and as general guidance. It does not take into account specific circumstances and should not be relied on in that way. You should seek independent verification or advice before relying on this content in any circumstances, including but not limited to circumstances where loss or damage may result. The views and opinions of any guests on the podcast are solely their own. They may not reflect the views of Undercover Architect. Undercover Architect endeavours to publish content that is accurate at the time it is published, but does not accept responsibility for content that may or has become inaccurate over time.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.