When clients talk about ‘sustainable design’, not everyone is on the same page.

The design of a distinct yet practical family home by mature-aged student Ethan McMartin from Skillstech TAFE, Queensland, has caught judges’ eyes in the recent Lysaght Inspirations Design Awards (LIDA), earning him a coveted commendation.

A recently-completed prep and year one school building in the Brisbane suburb of Goodna, has won the commercial and industrial category of the 2020 ‘Lysaght Inspirations Design Awards’ (LIDA).

THE PROJECT Located in Canberra’s inner south, the suburb of Kingston is highlighted by its close proximity to the Jerrabomberra Wetlands Nature Reserve and is also a stone’s through from Parliament House.

Following several cold winters, the young owners of a partially completed project home that had stood unchanged on the eastern spur of Linden in the lower Blue Mountains since 2003, decided it was time to renovate.

Despite its location just 7km north-east of the Melbourne CBD, Alphington is a quiet, unassuming part of the world with mostly small weatherboard or brick houses.