Studio Nimbus 

Design Ethos in the Jungle

Studio Nimbus can be found as one of  the  "The Best Green Homes of the Tropics" published  in 2016 by Renew and Sanctuary Magazines. The book describes how to design for the tropics and features sustainable and energy efficient house profiles from tropical Australia.

Studio Nimbus is constructed from steel / foam / steel SIPS (Structural Insulated Panels) attached to simple structural steel rectangles. Construction is quick, simple and can be done on restricted, remote sites under adverse weather conditions. 

The rainforest is a beautiful place. Through thoughtful design, it is possible to to live comfortably and sustainably in the jungle. 

This website runs through the design and construction considerations of building a house in the jungle in a bit more detail than possible in the magazine 

Renew Technology for a Sustainable Future, 

Building Materials Special 

Innovative Sustainable Materials 

SIPs in the Tropics, Habitat in the Clouds 

Issue 132 article p 54-57

for the Alternative Technology Association.

 Design Ethos In the rainforest, you use different senses. 

Sight is diminished, you can see a hint of movement, the flick of leaves or the out of pattern oscillation of a leaf but rarely the creature responsible. 

Sound and smell are the senses that predominate. 

Sound takes on dimensionality, calls given, distant replies receding into infinity. 

Smell is musty, complex with nuanced changes as you traverse you way through. You can smell areas peaty wet and flinty dry, logs sweetly rotting, the fragrance of flowers out of sight high in the canopy, recent and not so recent kills. 

Sound and smell are senses closer to your soul, primeval senses harking back to ancient primate ancestral lines. 

In our jungle home we want to be able to hear the waterfalls, approaching showers, the wind blowing through the canopy, the birds. We want to smell the flowers. 

The architecture of Studio Nimbus transports us from being mere observers inside a conventional disconnected air-conditioned bubble to becoming entwined with the landscape.