Limestone House Toorak.

To meet the dual standards of strong landscape connections and a high-performance building envelope, Diego says they needed to triple-glaze the courtyard and it was more effective to extend this protection across the house.

“Triple-glazing is uncommon in Australia, but in this case, the glass had to work harder to achieve the courtyard and meet Passivhaus standards.”

Wardle Studio worked with Tasman Windows & Joinery (based in Hobart, TAS) to find a quality window and door solution for the Limestone House, which meets both the Living Building Challenge (LBC) and Passivhaus standards. German Passivhaus thermal break aluminium window/door systems were sourced from Schüco through Capral Aluminium and fabricated by Tasman Windows. The AOC 50 TI.SI system combined with Recycled Blackbutt Timber was used for the curtain walls and rooflites, and Schüco AWS 90.SI+ system was used for the tilt & turn window/door openings. For the sliding doors Tasman Windows custom made Recycled Blackbutt Timber lift & slide doors with German hardware. Australian Glass Group manufactured and supplied the triple glazed Insulglass LowE Plus^® units that meet the Passivhaus standards for the project.

“Greg Sheedy and his team run a very sophisticated operation. We were inventing systems, and it was vital to collaborate with the best people to design and produce the windows.”

Diego says Passivhaus homes are traditionally simple and compact to meet exacting principles. However, this house needed to push boundaries architecturally, with windows designed as portals to define views. One double-storey window provides scale and frames the view to an existing mature Chinese elm.

“The home’s windows also provide a visual generosity – for instance a private guest realm upstairs has a complete wall of glass looking onto the deck and back onto the house.”

Diego says more clients now have environmental agendas.

“It’s important to have clients who champion the environment and are prepared to take the journey.”