Thornleigh Passivhaus
By Envirotecture
Sydney’s first certified Passive House!
This compact two-storey home replaces a defunct cottage. Nestled in between a busy road, a magnificent tallowwood and a train line the home will offer a haven of peace and quiet.
The insulated, air tight construction with heat recovery ventilation (HRV) system provide superior indoor air quality without the need to open windows (but you can if want).
Project Details
The building form responds to the sun path across the site, maximising solar gain for winter while providing high levels of shade to keep cool in the summer months. The large north facing roof allows for a significant photovoltaic system, sufficient to be energy positive over the year.
The living spaces are orientated to enjoy the view of the tallowwood tree that is at the geometric heart of the site. The large ‘lift & slide’ doors provide an intimate connection to the rear yard and the deck wrapping the tallowwood. This seamless flow will work well when the weather permits and still ensure the visual connection when the weather is less accommodating.
The structure is a direct response to site conditions and the desire to preserve the tallowwood. The raised structure protects the root zone of the tree, and is thus lightweight, lacking thermal mass. This is less significant in a passivhaus than in passive solar however, as thermal mass still provides positive benefits the house has 10 internal water tanks to assist in regulating internal temperature.
The tanks act as a room divider, framing the entry, while also capturing the sun through a huge north facing window that has a retractable shading blind for summer sun control. The tanks will be filled after construction and are not connected to the other rainwater tanks, as the temperature of rainwater can be problematically low and poses a condensation risk if put straight into the building.
The house is compact with three bedrooms, a study/guest room for overseas parents and two bathrooms (no ensuite). The laundry houses the HRV and hot water tank as well as the usual functional items.
The cost-effective windows are uPVC with an aluminium external skin. Imported, they come triple glazed as standard – double glazing would be a special order and add cost!
The construction methodology allows for on-site construction while reducing the risk of damaging the air tight membrane. The final blower door test yielded a result of 0.35ACH50. This is well within the Passive House limit of 0.6ACH50 and compares favourably with the average for a new Australian home of 15.4ACH50; 44 times less leaky!
At the 2020 Building Designers Association of Australia National Design Awards, the Thornleigh Passivhaus was the winner in the New Residential category (up to 250m2).
Photography by Petri Kurkaa and Brandee Meier
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Thornleigh Passivhaus
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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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