Sustainable House Day 2026: Inside Jenny Edwards’ “Shine Home”
May 2026
Sustainable House Day returns on Sunday 17 May 2026, opening the doors to homes across Australia that showcase practical, real-world solutions for building homes that are more efficient, comfortable and climate-ready. If you managed to secure a ticket to the sold out apartment tours hosted by Light House Archiscience founder and Managing Director Jenny Edwards, you’re in for a real treat.
Recycled Teak benchtops and Tallowwood salvaged flooring
Jenny has been a strong supporter of the work we do here at Thor’s Hammer for many years. Through her work at Light House Archiscience, Jenny has long championed housing sustainability and the use of recycled materials to reduce waste and conserve embodied energy.
Recycled timber is an ideal building material for sustainable homes, offering exceptional durability, unique character and a significantly lower carbon footprint by extending the life of existing materials rather than relying on newly harvested timber.
Many homes designed by Light House Archiscience have specified Thor’s Hammer recycled materials for flooring, cladding, decking and benchtops, and Jenny’s own apartment is no exception.
“Using sustainable timber for the flooring and benchtops, alongside highly cost-effective finishes such as coloured Laminex to joinery and coloured paint to walls and ceilings, completely transformed the feel of the apartment psychologically”
Tallowwood Salvaged Flooring
The “Shine Home”
Jenny refers to the apartment as the “Shine Home”, a nod to its proximity to Canberra’s iconic Shine Dome.
Throughout the apartment, Jenny selected Thor’s Hammer recycled Tallowwood salvaged flooring, salvaged from the former Marsden High School in North Sydney. Tallowwood is renowned for its density, strength and stability, making it exceptionally well suited to high-wear surfaces like flooring.
We rarely receive large quantities of recycled Tallowwood, but it’s always worth speaking with our Design team to see what material is currently available for upcoming projects.
Rare Recycled Teak from the CSIRO Phytotron
Jenny was also fortunate enough to secure some of the very rare recycled Teak salvaged from the former CSIRO Phytotron on Black Mountain in Canberra.
The project carried a personal connection for Jenny, who moved to Canberra to undertake postgraduate studies in plant molecular biology through ANU while based at CSIRO Plant Industry. During that time, Jenny grew Arabidopsis (often described as the plant genetics equivalent of the fruit fly) within the Phytotron itself.
Built in 1962, the Phytotron provided an extraordinary source of recycled Teak, which Jenny used throughout the apartment for the kitchen benchtop, shelving, desk and additional joinery surfaces.
Teak is a recycled timber we very rarely salvage here in Australia. Through our recent partnership with Wood be Good, we’ve now begun importing recycled Teak from Indonesia to help meet growing demand for this highly durable and sought-after material.
Reclaimed Indonesian Timbers Have Arrived! Recycled Teak and Ulin
Our first container load of reclaimed Teak and Ulin (Ironwood) arrived from Indonesia on Friday and has been unpacked. The timbers look great and survived the sea journey in perfect condition.
Moisture content on the Teak flooring ranges from 9-11% which is ideal for installation in Australia, and as promised, the Ulin decking consists of nice, long lengths with nothing shorter than 2.4m and ranging up to 3.8m. If you are interested, drop in; we now have more samples ready, and we can take you out the back to look at the packs.
Planning a Sustainable Build or Renovation?
There are still tickets available for several ACT homes participating in Sustainable House Day, with a number of additional homes also offering online tours. Several featured homes incorporate Thor’s Hammer recycled timber products throughout their designs.
If you’re planning a new build, renovation or retrofit project, make time to speak with the Thor’s Hammer Design team about recycled timber options for your project.
And if you’re looking to improve the comfort, efficiency and thermal performance of your home, it’s well worth having a conversation with Jenny Edwards and the team at Light House Archiscience about sustainable design strategies and thermal upgrades.
