Patricia Gill, Denmark Bulletin
A thermally-efficient house put together from insulated panels and triple-glazed windows shipped in five sea containers from Poland is expected to be occupied in May.
Though not a certified ‘passive house’, Christine and David Lovell’s home which is under construction on a corner block at Bambrey and Morgan roads will rate 9.3-9.4 stars in the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme.
Living in a caravan on family property on Denmark’s outskirts, the couple look forward to moving in having watched the construction over a little more than three weeks in December.
Canberra-based architect Michael Drage came up with the L-shape bespoke design which has three bedrooms and is single storey and wheelchair accessible.
The 70-year-olds plan to ‘age in place’ in the home which is smaller than the average of today’s build.
Home taking shape after long sea voyage
A north-facing living area comprises a ‘couple of hundred square metres’ and the house includes a wide library area leading to the bedrooms, as well as a big workshop and garage.
The Lovells did not want a passageway so made the area wider with glass doors to one side on to a deck and they will line the other side with books.
Windows and doors will be installed in coming weeks so that by the end of this month the house will be at lock up stage.
Emeritus Professor at the University of NSW based in Canberra, David said Steve Madaffari’s team from Westruct had started work with the laying of a concrete slab which had needed to be sunk into place deeper than at first thought.
Evidence of water was found requiring further excavation before the slab could be laid and a retaining wall was installed more than 2m high on the north and northwest side of the block.
“We’ve been really impressed by Steve and the tradies who worked with him,” David said.
A feature of the house will be a heat recovery ventilation system which provides fresh, filtered air while recovering heat (90 per cent) from stale exhaust air, improving indoor air quality.
“Most of the heat is generated inside the house by simply living in it,” David said.
“It’s a very energy efficient way of living – the temperatures inside the house for most of the year will be relatively constant.”
Gaining regulatory approval for a Bushfire Attack Level rating for the European-built windows took a long time, despite that they were triple-glazed and air-tight.
All the insulation is non-allergenic wood fibre sourced from saw mills in Germany and wall panels came with plaster board already attached and pre-drilled for electric wiring.
The outside walls will call in noncombustible insulative cladding and is cement rendered for the final effect.
Christine, nee Bayley, formerly head of outreach at the Australian National University’s College of Law, looks forward to establishing a garden of mostly native plants.
Returning to her hometown after 50 years, the past 40 living in Canberra, Christine was keen to ‘downsize’ from a two-storey home on 2.4ha at Carwoola, 15 minutes from Queanbeyan.
Christine grew many West Australian native plants in her renowned garden.
The master bedroom has a view of the Denmark/Kwoorabup River and Christine looks forward to being ‘handy to town’.
The Lovells bought the block with an old house which was dismantled and transported in two sections to Collie.
They say the most ‘carbon intensive part of the build for them has been transporting the sea containers by road from Fremantle to Denmark.
“The sea trip across (from Gdansk, Poland) was almost carbon neutral and all the wood (insulation fibre) was from a sustainable forest,” David said.
Christine and David smile as they say how they ‘hear a lot of stories about what they are ‘doing and not doing’ with the build.
“There’s been a lot of interest,” Christine said.
This article appeared in Denmark Bulletin, 29 January 2026.
