V-ZUG x HIP V. HYPE Sustainability Project

It’s thanks to the likes of design-led developers such as HIP V. HYPE and premium lifestyle solutions brand V-ZUG that we’re seeing how sustainability, as a function and feature, can enhance our daily lives. Whether designing a home or the modern conveniences within that home, these forward-thinking innovators have created design-led, environmentally conscious living solutions that deliver sophisticated functionality, enhanced aesthetics, and improved personal wellbeing.

A perfect partnering of mind and mission, HIP V. HYPE’s Ruskin Elwood development in Melbourne, featuring V-ZUG’s energy-efficient kitchen appliances, sets a high bar for modern sustainable living. On a site that originally accommodated two energy-inefficient terrace houses, HIP V. HYPE, with architects Fieldwork, has created four homes that are premium in amenity while also being low-impact and 100 percent electric. Here, solar battery technology has been employed, via rooftop solar panels that link to a Tesla Powerwall, so solar power generated by day is consumed by residents at night.

With an emphasis on wellbeing, comfort and high performance, the design of the homes “provides residents with consistent internal temperatures to enhance healthy living, and strong passive design principles to reduce energy required to [cool and heat] the homes,” says Liam Wallis, founder and director of HIP V. HYPE. Fieldwork with HIP V. HYPE has also taken a considered approach to materiality, selecting locally sourced bricks (from the clay pits of the Grampians in Victoria), Australian hardwood timber cladding, and Australian manufactured fixtures.

When it came to fitting out those all-important living zones, like the kitchen, HIP V. HYPE engaged long-time collaborator V-ZUG. “V-ZUG was a natural fit for Ruskin Elwood,” Liam says. “The kitchens feature a full suite of V-ZUG appliances, which are durable, high-performance appliances that enhance the craft and experience of cooking and entertaining. [They also] run on green power generated from solar panels.” Along with V-ZUG’s environmentally sustainable approach, residents have been most impressed by the quality and ease of cooking. “The V-ZUG induction stovetop cooks so evenly and naturally that I have more accuracy with cooking temperatures and have lifted my kitchen ‘game’ significantly. I have never cooked so much, nor so well … so I’m told.”

V-ZUG advocates sustainability in the economy, in society and in the environment. Its commitment is incorporated both in the design and through the production process to the end user. Investing in V-ZUG’s innovative appliances saves valuable energy and water resources every day, positively impacting household budgets and the planet. With considered design, there is no need to sacrifice convenience and comfort to meet the highest energy and water efficiencies.

V-ZUG has a true commitment to sustainability, which means a holistic approach and embodying that ethos in all they do. From rooftop to kitchen bench, Ruskin Elwood reduces the impact of built form on the environment while also responsibly densifying Melbourne’s inner suburbs. And, through considered partnerships with world-leading brands such as V-ZUG, quality of life remains very much ‘the value’, rather than the compromise.

Explore the V-ZUG range here.