We’re continuing our ‘Holistic Homes’ interview series with Breathe Architecture co-directors Jeremy McLeod and Tamara Veltre. The award-winning Melbourne-based practice have been at the forefront of sustainability and design since their inception in 2001 and continue to advocate for change in critical areas such as affordable housing and renewable energy integration in buildings. In our conversation with Jeremy and Tamara, we uncover the profound effects of prioritising the health of the planet and its population within the design and construction industry.
What does ‘living holistically’ mean to you?
Jeremy McLeod: Our view of living holistically is being able to solve multiple problems simultaneously through design. It’s also about understanding what we as humans need in our homes to thrive – things like fresh air, sunlight and good acoustics. We want our homes to re-energise us.
We incorporate many principles around ‘biophilic design’, which involves connecting homes back to nature. Humans respond both physically and psychologically to biophilic design. This can be as simple as specifying natural materials or orientating the house so it gets the north sun in winter.
Tamara Veltre: At Breathe, we serve the client, the community and the planet – a project isn’t complete unless it satisfies all three.
How do health and wellness practices go hand-in-hand with design?
Jeremy McLeod: We’ve noticed post-covid that people are much more invested in their own health and well-being. The briefs for our projects are increasingly incorporating features that support this, such as spaces to meditate or do yoga; spas and saunas are other examples. Something else that’s becoming more prevalent is a connection to nature. A connection to nature is imperative to human health and well-being.
Tamara Veltre: If you go back to the absolute foundation of what we do, our priority is always natural light, ventilation, and a connection to greenery on some level – those things are non-negotiables for humans and, therefore, also in design. This is all the more important in urbanised cities like Melbourne, where it can sometimes be hard to find greenery. Even just having plants in your office can make a huge difference to your well-being.
What are your favourite sustainable materials to work with and why?
Jeremy McLeod: When designing a home, we try to think about the whole life of the building. The fundamental idea of a sustainable building is that it has to last a long time. We like using bricks for several reasons: they keep the weather out, can be used to grow plants, and give structure to buildings. There’s a great company called Brickworks that have a carbon-neutral line. We’ll usually specify a robust hardwood floor inside a building, typically recycled and finished in a wax finish, which means there’s no off-gassing of harmful materials. We also lay our floors to ensure they can be re-used at the end of the building’s life. If we’re doing benchtops or tables, we try to work with environmentally-conscious brands like Dekton, who have just released a new carbon-neutral range.
Tamara Veltre: Hemp is another one – it’s plant-based and uses very little water to make. We’ve actually written a guide to sustainable materials, which is available on our website. It’s constantly evolving and offers a great resource for sustainably-minded architects, builders and homeowners. For every material we bring into the office, we investigate its entire supply chain to ensure it’s sustainable, ethical and healthy.
In your practice, you strive to identify the barriers that stop governments and planners from finding sustainable solutions, then work to dismantle them. Could you give some specific examples?
Jeremy McLeod: What’s interesting is that Australia is the third richest country in the OECD nations, but we’re one of the lowest-ranking regarding affordable housing and sustainability. You can sit back and complain, or you can do something about it.
Projects like our Nightingale project, which is a multi-residential housing project, are about acknowledging that we live in a broken system and doing something to change it. The project is sustainable, community-centred and affordable. Making all those things happen simultaneously required a minimalist approach, where basic human needs like natural light, safety and a sense of community were prioritised.
The other thing we push hard on is the size of the housing. Some of the most incredible inner-city apartments in the world are under 25 square metres. Yet, the Victorian government previously deemed this a size that didn’t fit all the necessary amenities of a livable apartment, so the bank didn’t allow mortgages to be taken out on them. However, through projects like Nightingale, we’ve been able to show that smaller footprints can make for very livable and more affordable houses. After much back and forth, the banks agreed to write mortgages on them.
Tamara Veltre: A big part of what we do is advocate for policy change; we’re constantly trying to educate people on why we should design more sustainably and affordably. We spend a lot of time speaking with local governments and organisations trying to make these changes happen.
Jeremy McLeod: One of the things I was most proud of with our Nightingale project was that we wrote a ‘pay the rent’ scheme into the contracts of sale. So if you buy a Nightingale house, you must pay the traditional owners the rent.
Nightingale Ballarat by Breathe Architecture
Nightingale Ballarat by Breathe Architecture
What major changes do you hope to see over the next 5-10 years with regard to sustainability and design?
Jeremy McLeod: We’d like to see inclusionary zoning introduced in Australia. This means that 20 per cent of the projects you build must be social/affordable housing as an architect or developer. This means that every builder in our city is responsible for housing everyone in our society. Over time, that could solve our housing crisis.
Tamara Veltre: I would like to see the industry integrate renewable energy sources into all their buildings – to see all buildings go electric. Closing the loop on the materials we use is another big thing.
If you could deliver one message to the architecture and design community right now what would it be?
Jeremy McLeod: No more gas. The only way to net-zero is to go completely electric.
Hideout House by Breathe Architecture
Hideout House by Breathe Architecture
Hideout House by Breathe Architecture
“When we are designing a home, we try to think about the whole life of the building. The fundamental idea of a sustainable building is that it has to last a long time.”
– Jeremy McLeod
Warehouse Greenhouse by Breathe Architecture
Warehouse Greenhouse by Breathe Architecture
Warehouse Greenhouse by Breathe Architecture
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