Sustainability is about using what we need, living well, and leaving enough for future generations. Sustainable homes support a sustainable lifestyle.

SHaC 09 asks collaborative, tertiary led teams to design and build a sustainable home, and develop a campaign to inform the public about how their design supports sustainable living and pass on information and techniques about their design to the building community.

Team outcomes will be judged in the following categories.

• Energy
• Water
• Materials
• Waste
• Indoor Environmental Quality
• Affordable and Suitable for Purpose
• Supporting a Sustainable Community
• Communications Campaign

Each category has a number of possible parameters that you may want to consider. Your team will supply a report with reasoned arguments, simulation and modelling results, and other research outputs to convince the judges of the benefits you expect in each category.

How you make the trade-offs necessary to realise your vision will be based on how people in your region live, and will want to live in your affordable, sustainable house and community in five years time. Judges will assess SHaC teams’ performance and outcomes based on each team’s set goals. Excellence will be recognised in each of the categories identified above.

In October 2009, judges will review the house, your communications campaign, the resources you develop for designers, and your final report. Your final report will describe the house and show the improvement your design exhibits when compared with your reference case and regional averages.

An overall prize will be awarded to the team who has produced the best outcome (based on their brief) in the eyes of the judges.

Whilst competitive in nature, SHaC aims to ensure that there are as many winners as there are competitors!

Note that, although reference is frequently made to "your house", solutions are also welcomed for proposals for multi-unit housing proposals.