LAND'S EDGE

It took years of plotting and perfecting, but this sustainable passive house on a canal in Brisbane offers a peaceful lifestyle for its outdoorsy family

- STORY HANNA MARTON | STYLING HAYLEY JENKIN | PHOTOGRAPHY MARNIE HAWSON

There's an African proverb, 'Patience can cook a stone', and Brett and Cindy, the owners of this new waterfront home in Brisbane, have enough to bake the Rock of Gibraltar. It took two years to design, and about four years to build, as Brett was determined to craft the most sustainable house possible for Cindy, their two adult sons and their dog, Rocko. Many of the techniques and materials used verged on experimental — council rejected a proposed black (human) waste-treatment system — and there were a few hiccups. “The day before the manufacturing of the cabinetry was due to start, the cabinetmaker’s factory burned down,” recalls Brett. “We had to start from scratch.”

Sitting on the deck overlooking the twinkling bay and native landscaping, it’s hard to imagine that ‘Canal Haus’ sits on a former swamp. In the ’80s and ’90s, a 12-kilometre series of canals was excavated and the land was fortified to create this heavenly waterside estate. The block remained untouched until Brett saw it, almost a decade ago. “I had been looking for a north-facing property with a view that wasn’t constrained when you sat down to, well, reflect on life,” he says. “We were lucky enough to come across a piece of land that had never been built on.”