The Flywire House : A Case Study in Design Against Bushfire

In 1983 permaculture co-originator David Holmgren responded to the tragic Ash Wednesday fires with a project called The Flywire House. The case study design property had been burnt out in the catastrophic fires in the Dandenong Ranges of Victoria. The ideas are applicable to all fire prone regions.

It was an opportunity to showcase permaculture as a wholistic, integrated approach that went well beyond simple house design and construction. Teaming up with architect Maggie Fooke, the book covers; Fire Behaviour, How A House Burns, Choosing The Site, Site Layout, Broadscale Plantings, Water & Fire, Plantings & Services, House Design, Construction and Management.

It was used by the Department of Planning in a travelling display of information that toured the bushfire affected regions of Victoria. The design also informed much of David Holmgren’s design work including his own property Melliodora, documented in an extensive case study.

Originally published in 1991, this classic book has been reprinted and is still compatible with latest understandings, providing a unique case study approach.

A new foreword reviews the material in the context of the devastating 2009 'Black Saturday' bushfires in Victoria, Australia.