about zara

Zara D’Cotta, Founder of The Healthy Home, Building Biology New Build Consultant, and Keynote Speaker, discovered her passion for environmental health after going through cancer and environmental illness.

These transformative experiences led her to a profound realisation: our homes, the very places meant to shelter and nurture us, are inadvertently contributing to many of the illnesses and ailments we see today.

Specialising in healthy building materials and healthy home design, she is on a mission to empower building industry professionals with the knowledge and tools they need to guide clients towards choices that are better for their health, and our environment.

Zara’s Healthy Building Materials Mastermind has become the go-to course for Australia’s leading builders. Through it, they’re not only able to fulfill the sense of responsibility they feel to their clients, but also mitigate business risks, and add value during the pre-construction stage, without delving into thousands of hours of research themselves.

As a graduate of the Building Biology Institute in the USA, Zara’s commitment to this emerging field is unparalleled. After beginning her studies in Australia in 2020, her insatiable desire for deeper knowledge led her to two years of further study, sunder the mentorship of pioneers in the Building Biology New Build space in the US and Canada, with expertise in Building Biology, Building Science, Natural Building, & Architecture.

In 2023 Zara completed a week of intensive Electromagnetic Radiation Specialist training in North Carolina in the USA, with the Building Biology Institute, mentored by world leading global experts in electromagnetic radiation.

Zara’s Healthy Building Materials Mastermind has become the go-to course for Australia’s leading builders. Through it, they’re not only able to fulfill the sense of responsibility they feel to their clients, but also mitigate business risks, and add value during the pre-construction stage, without delving into thousands of hours of research themselves.

At the heart of Zara’s endeavours is a clear and compelling vision: a world in which every home is designed and constructed with health in mind, using materials that will enable us to thrive, while minimising our impact on the environment.

Click here to see Zara’s credentials.

To read more about Zara’s studies, click here to read the blog post: Why I studied in two countries.

Speaking
Her commitment to raising awareness about the least understood health challenges of our time has seen her deliver presentations and keynotes for the Australian Institute of Architects, Association of Professional Builders, Building Designers Association of Australia, Sustainable Builders Alliance, Surfers for Climate, and National Breast Cancer Foundation.

She has been interviewed on Undercover Architect, Level Up with Duayne, Professional Builder’s Secrets, Ten News, The Project, Today, and been featured in Domain, and Herald Sun.

To find out more about Zara’s speaking work click here.

"I believe that Zara is an absolute gift to the construction industry. With such a genuine passion for healthy homes, it's evident that her own personal health journey has played a significant part in driving this pursuit.

Zara has completely opened my eyes to the numbers things that can be detrimental to my health when it comes to the homes we build and live in. I'm so grateful she tirelessly commits herself to continual learning in this space, and is willing to bring this invaluable knowledge to the rest of us.

Whether you're a builder, designer, home owner or even a tenant, I strongly encourage you not to glance by these learnings."

- Dan Purdie-Smith, Builder, DPS Projects