A desire to test passive and environmentally sustainable design methods led architect Simon Anderson, director of Sydney-based practice Anderson Architecture, to create an off-grid, bushfire-resistant holiday home for his family in the Blue Mountains of NSW. “I thought it would be a great chance to explore lots of things that we do in our day-to-day life for other people,” says Simon, whose award-winning firm specialises in sustainable design. “The idea was to make mistakes ourselves and then use that wisdom on each client. Most experiments worked, but you live and learn!”
Simon and his wife, Kim Bell, were looking for a bush block around Blackheath when they discovered a 3.2-hectare property in the Megalong Valley, two hours’ drive from Sydney.
