44 Ways #05: Design a Smaller (Smarter) Home

About this episode

In this episode, Amelia Lee discusses the importance of designing smaller, smarter homes as a foundational choice for sustainability.

Hello! This is Episode 405. This is the first episode of Section Two of the 44 Ways to Create a Sustainable Home series. Section One, which we completed in the last episode, covered the foundational climate and site strategies: orientation, breezes, passive heating and cooling, and climate zones. We are beginning Section Two with Way #5: Design a Smaller, Smarter Home. [For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, downloadable PDF transcript, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/405 ] Section Two is called Sustainable Design Strategies. This section covers the bigger-picture design and process decisions that make a home more sustainable from a strategic planning and design level, before we get into the detail of specific systems and materials. Interestingly, these decisions can often be the most impactful for your home’s sustainability as well. In my experience, when homeowners are considering sustainability, they’re often thinking of inclusions, upgrades and enhancements to their project. And design-wise, it can be common to be considering how many rooms you want, how much you can get for your budget, and how much functionality you can cram into the home…

People in this episode

Host: Amelia Lee

Topics covered

• sustainable design
• smaller homes
• home renovation
• design strategies
• sustainability

Keywords

• sustainable home
• design strategies
• smaller footprint
• home functionality
• passive heating

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Undercover Architect

Places: Australia

More episodes of Get It Right with Undercover Architect

• 44 Ways #08: Future Proof Your Design with Accessibility · June 11, 2026 · 16 min
• 44 Ways #07: Create an Efficient Structural Design, Collaboratively · June 8, 2026 · 19 min
• 44 Ways #06: Choose an Aligned Team · June 4, 2026 · 21 min
• 44 Ways #04: Know Your Climate Zone · May 28, 2026 · 16 min
• 44 Ways #03: Naturally Heat + Cool Your Home · May 25, 2026 · 16 min
• 44 Ways #02: Design for the Breezes + Wind at Your Site · May 21, 2026 · 15 min