Sapphire a certified passive house located on a large bush property in the Blue Mountains. Nestled among World Heritage-listed wilderness, the design aims to strike a delicate balance between the environment and the elements, maintaining connection to the landscape while providing protection from the region’s cold winters and hot summers.

PurePassiv is a pure expression of high-performance design. A street-to-north orientation will see the front yard dominated by food producing raised garden beds in front of an optimised façade that captures just enough solar heat for winter warmth. Located in the Northern Sydney suburb of Asquith, the design approach follows the simplicity of the Passivhaus Standard with simple geometry and optimised window openings yet also challenges the conventions of window placement.

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 the Passivhaus Standard at its best, performance driven design showing that, in the right hands, it is a flexible, adaptable standard that can deliver healthy, comfortable buildings on ‘imperfect’ sites.

APHA Members Linden Thorley Architect. Not yet certified - targeting EnerPHit certification

APHA Member Alexander Symes Architect. Targeting Passivhaus certification

APHA Member Dieppe Design. Not yet Certified, targeting Passivhaus Plus Certification.

APHA Member H4 Living. Targeting Passivhaus Certification.

APHA Member Dieppe Design. Targeting Passivhaus Certification.

APHA Member Dieppe Design. Targeting Passivhaus Certification.

APHA Member Blue Eco Homes. Targeting Passivhaus Plus Certification.

APHA Member Mark Davis Design. Targeting EnerPHit Certification.

APHA Member Blue Eco Homes. Targeting Passivhaus Classic Certification.