[Invited Papers] Solar Architecture in Australia, Past, Present and Future and the Work of Ecotect-Architects

Solar Architecture in Australia was originally built on the intuitive climatic styles of the colonial architecture of early European settlement in Australia. With the advent of accurate thermodynamic calculation methods in the early 1960´s and the growth in the use of computers, Passive Solar Design to became a science rather than just simply an art. The Energy Crisis of 1973 resulted in heightened interest in the concept of Passive Solar Design of buildings, mainly housing. In the late 1980´s and the early 1990´s the Greenhouse Effect began to place pressure at all levels of society there was a mandate for these ideas to be applied to a new generation of Commercial and Institutional buildings. Since 2000, Australia has taken steps to increase the practice of the ideas explored and developed by pioneering architects in the last three decades ofthe 21st century. ANZSES and the ANZ branch of ISES played a critical part in this evolutionary process. During each phase the author and his long standing practice has been involved in each phase of the adoption of Passive Solar Principles and the application of emerging low-energy and solar technology. The paper covers key milestones of the work of the author´s practice along with the work of key colleagues in the profession and solar energy industry over this period. Future trends and emerging directions are also explored.