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For the unacquainted, passive house or Passivhaus is a rigorous, voluntary standard for a building’s energy efficiency.
This ethos outlines how buildings should be constructed and designed in line with five key principles to ensure a home is supremely sustainable, comfortable, healthy, and built to last.
But G-LUX Builders director Jesse Glascott knows more about this than the average person, or even the average builder. Having gained his Passive House tradesman qualifications, he is also the founder and director of the Sustainable Builders Alliance.
And his own home in Warrandyte is a shining example of what a passive house can be.
The project started when Jesse and his wife Monica came across a vacant block in the coveted leafy neighbourhood.
‘There was no existing dwelling or architectural style to work with,’ he says. ‘This gave us complete freedom to create a new home from the ground up.’
‘I’ve always had a creative mind when it comes to building design, so I wanted to design my own house.’
In addition to meeting the stringent principles of Passivhaus — including being superbly insulated, airtight, with high-performance windows and doors, and a mechanical heat recovery ventilation system inside — Jesse sought to create a home with a strong connection to its natural surrounds.
The brief was for lots of natural light, exposed timbers, and a swimming pool with a shipping container turned pool house, primed for entertaining as a family.
All of these elements are captured perfectly in the resulting design, which was tweaked by architect David Halford to meet Passivhaus standards. Jesse used mass timber (engineered timber panels) to reduce waste and build time, while Monica designed the interiors, using striking black elements as a contrast to all the natural timbers.
Jesse says the home, known as Panel House, is one of ‘only a handful of certified Passivhaus Premium projects in Australia’. This is the highest passive house accreditation possible, requiring a building to generate more energy than it consumes.
‘The design prioritises passive solar performance, with northern orientation to capture winter sun, and carefully sized eaves to block heat during summer,’ Jesse says.
‘The house operates entirely on stored water, sitting above a 41,000-litre rainwater harvesting and filtration system, and is powered by a 20kW solar PV array that significantly reduces grid reliance.’
Best of all, it’s a home that’s both visually striking and beautiful to live in — now a worthy reference point for anyone interested in sustainable design.
