Passiv Courtyard
By Envirotecture
This home breaks all the Passivhaus rules; poor orientation, sprawling form, complex roofs, too much volume; yet it works like a charm! It is a demonstration of Passivhaus at its best, performance-driven design showing that, in the right hands, Passivhaus is a flexible, adaptable standard that can deliver healthy, comfortable buildings on ‘imperfect’ sites.
This home replaces a defunct weatherboard cottage that was well past its use-by date. Once renovation was ruled out, the challenge of the north to the street and a sloping block to the south was wholeheartedly embraced.
Project Details
A north-facing courtyard gives sufficient solar exposure for winter warmth while providing a sheltered space for outdoor dining when desired. The courtyard drives the planning which resolves elegantly in a connecting green roof that bridges the traditional appearance of the street elevation with the need for volume to the rear.
The curve of the ceiling accentuates the drama of the double-height void while concealing the ventilation ductwork necessary for high-performance homes. The simple lighting provides a great backdrop for the evolving artwork of this growing family.
The main bedroom enjoys the privileged view of the green roof which is taking now hold and providing visual relief as well as doing its part for mitigating the urban heat island effect.
A hardwood timber staircase and batten screen partition the living and dining areas. The forest-like rising of blackbutt adds depth and texture to the space, contrasting well against the burnished concrete floor.
The home is all-electric with just a single split system providing climate control as a supplement to the passive performance. High-performance uPVC windows with aluminium facing externally provide a low maintenance solution.
Locally sourced, low embodied energy cladding materials were specified to limit the footprint of the home as much as practical.
Photography by Petri Kurkaa
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Passiv Courtyard
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About the
Professional
At Envirotecture we design beautiful, sustainable buildings that work for you, your family or your business.
With over 35 years’ experience in sustainable architecture, we can offer you a full range of building design and consulting services to deliver the best possible built outcome for your build.
Facilitate and future-proof your lifestyle with our cost-effective designs that provide stylish design solutions. See our sustainable design portfolio.
We Design for Comfort
Our designs, using state-of-the-art materials and passive design principles, will keep you cool in summer and warm in winter.
We Design for Style
You want you to enjoy spaces that inspire your soul. We will design your building so that it not only works really well, it looks great too!
We Design for Value
We can give you the biggest bang for your buck. Our sustainable designs are an affordable alternative to traditional design and will significantly reduce your long-term operating costs.
We Design for the Environment
When you chose our sustainable architectural solutions your build will have a direct beneficial impact on the environment by helping to:
- protect the ecosystem
- reduce emissions
- improve air and water quality
- conserve water
- reduce waste
- conserve and restore natural resources
We Design for the Future
Our architectural solutions will help create you a responsive, beautiful, energy efficient home that will continue to work for you and your family as your needs changes.
Sustainable design will also optimize the life cycle of your building and increase your property value.
We use the latest technology to ensure clever, creative design solutions that last the distance.
We Design for Business
You want your commercial building to provide environmental, economic and social benefits to your business.
We can design your building to:
- help reduce your operating costs
- improve workplace environment
- optimize the life cycle of your building
- increase your property value
- improve your employee’s attendance and productivity
We Believe in Giving Back
At Envirotecture we always have a pro bono project, or ‘love job’ on the go.
The current Love Job is for the Read Triplets who are wheelchair bound with muscular dystrophy
Previous love jobs include:
- Wakisa Foundation's shelter for homeless pregnant girls in Kampala, Uganda
- the Laotian School project
We Believe in Sustainable Architecture
We have over 35 years’ experience in sustainable design, and our team are all leaders in their fields.
We each bring different skill sets to the business but we all are inspired by sustainable design because we see the difference it makes on so many levels.
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