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In Melbourne, Australia, there is growing evidence that deeper changes in human behaviour and understanding are required to achieve a sustainable outcome at the residential scale, and that sustainability issues are environmental symptoms of a human problem. This book presents the results of an investigation of domestic architecture, as experienced by thirteen people, eleven of whom have voluntarily chosen to design, build and live in sustainable houses around Melbourne. The qualitatively different ways the respondents describe their understanding and experience of house, home, place and sustainability, and the relationships between these, are explored. Using phenomenography as a research approach, insight into these understandings and experiences is achieved through the use of unstructured, in-depth interviews and a purposefully designed mixed-media package (cultural probe) which aims to provoke inspirational and creative responses. Conclusions are drawn regarding the interplay of notions of house, home and place and sustainability, and the ways in which the relationships between these phenomena influence sustainable behaviour.

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Caroline has a bachelor degree in architecture, a master degree in urban planning and environmental management, and a PhD. She currently lives in Melbourne and works for the Victorian Government in urban policy development.

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