Experiencing Sun City House, Dundee

As part of our sustainability module, our class made a visit to an eco demonstration house in the Whitfield area of Dundee.  The house exists as a means of demonstrating, advising, educating and informing the public about renewable energy in the home.  


The building was previously a poorly constructed and thermally inefficient janitors house in the 1960s.  Due to the refurbishment of the building, a successful sustainable building was born.

building before refurbishment

artists impression of  eco build, 'Sun City House Dundee'

The image above shows the artists impression of how the janitors house could be regenerated into a sustainable building.


The building today aims to showcase technologies, materials and methods of construction that can be retrofitted to existing housing stock.  It acts as a 'shop window' to offer ideas to everyone to help them reduce their home's impact on the environment.  This can be achieved by installing a solar water heating system, using low energy lighting or creating a sun space extension - advertised beautifully on the Sun City building itself.

this image illustrates the solar panels on the roof

the interior of the sun room, where the sun maintains the heat

the roof of the sun room intensifies the heat entering the building

the shutters on the interior of the sun room aim to control the heat within the space

the exterior of the sun room

the roof of the sun room

the windows in the sun room are designed to absorb the heat from the sun.

If you touch the windows from the interior you can feel the heat radiating off them.

The existence of this house is crucial in order to educate those in Dundee on the need to become sustainable.  Through visiting this house, I personally have become more aware of how sustainability works.