FEATURE: Things are moving fast in the market for Passivhaus buildings in Australia, according to chief executive officer of the Australian Passivhaus Association (APA), Alexia Lidas.
“It’s a bit of a bell curve in what we’re seeing in Passivhaus (PH) certification. To give you some context, the APA has existed in Australia for just over 10 years. To date, there are around 70 buildings in Australia that have been certified.” Most of these are private residential homes.
“But at the moment there are almost 200 more in the certification pipeline,” says Lidas.
Is Australia joining the popularity of Passive House internationally, which has even managed to gain celebrity attention?
Bryan Cranston, for example, American actor and filmmaker best known for his role as the tortured Walter White in crime drama series “Breaking Bad” (don’t worry I had to look him up too) built himself a certified PH beach retreat in California a few years back.
Cranston is just one of many who have adopted this standard as an internationally recognised code for high performing, low energy buildings.
Growing interest and confidence in the Passive House standard
According to sustainability consultant and researcher Gregory Mason, the PH method is “particularly effective as it combines energy efficiency, thermal comfort and moisture management into one design and construction standard, and is based on scientific evidence from extensive building physics research.”
According to Lidas, growing interest in PH has created the need for four new certifiers in Australia, who have recently been appointed.
“We’re also seeing a lot of new projects appearing in different sectors.”
These include buildings Australia-wide in the commercial, hospitality, education, multi-residential, social housing and community sectors, with both new builds and retrofits of existing buildings.
The 2023 International Passivhaus Open Days, run by the APA, comprised over 50 tours across 19 sites throughout the country, and were attended by about 1300 people.
In addition, both banks and government agencies are showing an interest.
“We’ve spoken to two major banks that are earmarking PH as a potential tool to address their environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting, and they’re seeking to adapt their products to ensure they are suitable for PH project loans,” Lidas says.
“We’ve also had an enquiry from a government agency to train 300 of their staff in PH, which for me demonstrates a huge nod in this direction.”
These developments indicate not only an increasing interest in PH in Australia, but also growing confidence. This is likely in response to a number of factors which have developed over time.
Questions about Passivhaus in the Australian context have been answered
As more and more PH projects have been completed in Australia’s varying climatic zones, architects, designers, developers and landowners have had the opportunity to see the benefits of this method in creating energy efficient, comfortable and healthy buildings.
Some of the questions about the applicability of this originally German method to the Australian context, particularly in hotter and sub-tropical climates like Queensland, have also been answered. This has been through both research and public discussion, as well as the success of built projects in these climates.
PH is a growing alternative to NatHERS
For example, recent research by Mason and Leardini shows that the PH standard is better than the somewhat outdated Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) at modelling the true energy efficiency of airconditioned buildings in hotter climates.
NatHERS, which was developed in the early 1990s, is currently Australia’s main method of showing compliance with the National Construction Code (NCC).
Mason and Leardini recommend that the best-practice requirements of the PH standard be used to update and bring NatHERS up to scratch nationally, noting that PH is already an approved alternative to NatHERS in some parts of NSW.
Other questions about PH, such as if windows can be opened, if the airtightness causes mould, and whether it’s like being in an esky, are based on misinformation, Lidas says.
These and other concerns have been reviewed and discussed over the past decade, including by the APA, The Fifth Estate and many others, and have largely been answered. “Anything new can be a little bit scary,” she says.
And easy to take to net zero
She also points out that, as well as being an excellent tool in meeting Australia’s rapidly developing mandatory ESG reporting requirements, PH buildings are easy to take to net carbon zero, which the Australian government plans to reach by 2050.
Passive House expansion in Australia reflects the international context
On an international level, this expansion in Australia’s PH market is not unique, as the market overseas grew in the same way.
“It starts off with single dwelling residential projects, which are initially viewed as superior products, which are seemingly inaccessible.
“Over time costs and requirements become more accessible, and as the entry threshold lowers, you start to see different types of clients entering the PH space. This results in a variety of commercial and other types of projects, and this is what we are seeing in Australia.”
This final step is what really excites Lidas — the explosion of PH projects in a wide variety of sectors. The commercial sector is one exciting area with plenty of potential.
“PH has a strong return on investment for commercial asset owners, because they’ve got a high quality, better performance asset which is more attractive to tenants.
“The maintenance and operation costs are also reduced, such as heating and cooling in PH projects.”
Research also shows that high performance buildings attract better rental yields. For example, a 2023 study by commercial real estate services and investment firm CBRE found that in Australia, commercial buildings with higher energy ratings have significantly improved occupancy rates.
Case study
“Cornerblock”
at the Gold Coast – home for a movie show
One of Alexia Lidas’ favourite Passivehaus commercial projects is the Cornerblock building on the Gold Coast, which opened last year.
This project is believed to be a world-first in that it was built to meet three international and Australian standards for sustainability, energy efficiency and health: PH, Green Star and the WELL Building Standard.
The production company behind Australian crime drama Black Snow moved into the building in January 2024 to produce and film their second season.
According to Cornerblock designer, Ben Sinclair, this company originally chose the building because of its proximity to other major movie studios. They also liked the aesthetics and flexible spaces they use for every aspect of production, from logistics and accounts to costume making and filming studios.
“Their motivations weren’t necessarily around the technical PH aspects of the building as such. But they are certainly enjoying the space and we’re getting a lot of positive feedback.
“They are very interested in the energy saving side of things in terms of the reduction in airconditioning load, as in their previous buildings this has been a significant portion of their budget. They’ve had a couple of power bills now and are seeing the benefits.”
They are also enjoying the great acoustic properties that come with the PH double glazing and sealed wall systems, as well as the thermally comfortable working environment, which is not a given in many studio spaces.
This has necessitated some tweaks in the cooling load, and a minimal amount of extra airconditioning is being added to cater for a wide range of future tenants. Sinclair is confident, however, that “all of the benefits are still there”, as this is a minimal cost and won’t significantly change energy consumption.
Overall he is happy with the results to date, having creating a sustainable, healthy and future-proofed workspace for the wider community.
“I feel like once people move in and experience what a space can be compared to what they typically expect, they become converted.
“But it’s hard for them to really understand the benefits until they’ve felt it for themselves on a day-to-day basis.”
Examples of Passivhaus projects in other sectors
HOSPITALITY
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) Hotel in Melbourne’s CBD is an eight level, 29-room hotel which sits behind and above the restored heritage façade of a historic hotel. Built to the PH standard, it includes both new and retrofitted sections, and provides stunning and affordable accommodation for ANMF members.
EDUCATION
According to Ms Lidas, PH is particularly suited to educational needs, due to the continuous airflow and quiet, comfortable environment which promotes concentration and learning. Examples include Melbourne’s Clifton Hill Primary School, which built a new PH vertical campus for its senior students last year, and Torrens Early Learning Centre in Canberra, a daycare and kindergarten which is the only privately-owned PH educational facility in the world.
MULTI-RESIDENTIAL
Property development company C.Street are currently planning and building two groups of townhouses in Melbourne in their “Echo” project, which is Australia’s first off-the-plan certified PH multi-residential project. This includes eight townhouses in Hawthorn to be completed this year, and a further four in Abbotsford to be finished in 2026.
SOCIAL HOUSING
In a best practice social housing project in Sunshine, Melbourne, Homes Victoria and Baptcare Affordable Housing partnered up to build 20 new sustainable homes. Eight of these were built to the PH standard, to provide energy efficiency and cost savings to tenants, as well as comfort, quality and durability into the future.
COMMUNITY SECTOR
Victoria already has two community centres built to the PH standard. The first of these, Glenroy Community Hub, was completed in 2022 and includes a library, health services, neighbourhood learning centre and kindergarten. The second is Berninneit Cultural and Community Centre in Cowes, Phillip Island, which opened in November 2023 and has a theatre, library, gallery, museum, community function rooms and offices.
Challenges of exponential growth in Passive House
One of the challenges the APA is facing is having to scale up operations to meet growing demand for its advice and services.
Another major hurdle, according to Ms Lidas, is internal advocacy, particularly the approval processes inside organisations.
She finds that building and infrastructure teams can usually see and understand the benefits of PH fairly quickly.
“But when they go to have conversations internally with staff that don’t understand the built environment and building performance in the same way, such as finance or marketing teams, they’re asking questions about the direct payback for the additional costs involved.”
This requires education, and the APA is working to develop suitable resources to meet this need. Their latest offering is The Passivhaus Playbook, which provides a clear nine-step pathway that covers all aspects of a PH project, from funding to design, supply chain and even storytelling.
Meanwhile the profile of PH continues to grow, with several projects receiving awards in 2023. These include Yellow Rock Passive House in NSW, which won two awards at the prestigious Housing Industry Association (HIA) Australian GreenSmart Awards, and Springlake Passive House in Mount Barker, which won the Master Builders South Australia residential category award for environmental and sustainable construction.
Getting some more celebrities on board might just accelerate uptake of PH even further. Forbes magazine, for example, is hoping that Taylor Swift might one day write a song about the climate crisis. Maybe all we need is for someone to convince her to write one about Passivhaus.