“The loft [alone] is designed to sleep 12 grandchildren[.]” (http://www.jamesstockwell.com.au/projects/leura.htm) The bedrooms have their own wing. I think we can agree that our definition of “excessive” in regards to shelter differs.

You are correct that the article does not mention any use of marble. My comment in this regards was predicated on my observation of the bathroom. I am confident that the material is not Blue Mountain native sandstone. Perhaps it is some type of marbled igneous rock (again, not native to Australia), but I doubt it. It looks to me like marble, and to my knowledge Australia has no substantive deposits of marble. Thus, the marble would have to have been imported from somewhere (although, China, the closest large producer of marble products, is not half way around the world).

The lower regions of the Blue Mountains receive enough rainfall to sustain an expansive lawn, but I think most environmentalists would agree that given global demographics lawns are a luxury and, in the long term, unsustainable.

Steps forward are always desirable over no steps at all. And I would naturally prefer to see this home built versus an ostentatious McMansion. But, I must reiterate that the question that must be asked, “If everyone did it, would the world be a better place?” (I had to change my previous “could the earth survive” because it would of course survive.) If everyone in the world had a vacation home for themselves, their children, their grandchildren, and their friends then I think the world would be a worse off place. The path to sustainability starts with ourselves, and requires the commitment to living with less, not more.

Please, do not misunderstand me. Inhabitat is my single favorite blog. I religiously check this blog every day. So much of the posts spark my imagination and make me believe that we may just survive. Thank you for your hard work. Please, just remember that sustainability must be equitable, and equity for 9.7 billion people in 2150 means much smaller shelters.

Sincerely,

morellid

The space doesn’t look excessively large to me, the interior shots look generous but the exterior shows the true scale of the building, and it’s hardly a McMansion. The rammed earth walls are beautiful, and the quality of light is simply stunning.

Frankly, until recently it was near impossible to get clients in the Australian market to do something as basic as installing a water tank, so the fact that we now have houses such as this which produce their own water and power and can be heated and cooled via hydroponics is definitely a fantastic step in the right direction.