Blog
WINNER! Sustainability Awards 2020
I was thrilled to recently announced as a finalist in two categories at the national Sustainability Awards 2020 Emerging Sustainable Architect/Designer Women in Sustainability I was very grateful to WIN what we like to call the “rising star” award (a.k.a. the Emerging Sustainable Architect/Designer!) The other finalists all do inspiring work, so I was surprised…
WINNER! BDAA National Design Excellence Award 2020
We were absolutely thrilled for Owl Woods Passive House to win not once, but twice at the BDAA 2020 Awards! This was completely unexpected, as entering awards is still new to us, so it was a big surprise to win not only our category, but also take out the BIG prize of the night, winning…
WINNER! Design Matters National Awards 2020
Wow!! We were so surprised & honoured to WIN an award for our Owl Woods Passive House at the Design Matters National Awards 2020! (Formerly the Building Designer’s Association of Victoria). WINNER: 2020 Design Matters National 25th Annual Building Design Awards – Residential – New House Up to $500K-$1M: Owl Woods Passive House, Talina Edwards,…
#SPPHC2020 Passivhaus Conference Wrap Up!
Thanks so much to the Australian Passive House Association for recently asking Talina if she’d write a conference ‘wrap-up’ following the #SPPHC2020 (South Pacific Passive House Conference 2020). This article was originally posted on the APHA website here. Wow! What a week of inspiring learning at the South Pacific Passive House Conference 2020! This…
Passivhaus in Australia – Book Launch #expectmore
Both I (Talina) and my colleague Mia are passionate advocates and ambassadors for Passivhaus* in Australia. In early 2019 we headed across the seas to Wellington, New Zealand for the South Pacific Passive House Conference 2019 #SPPHC2019 for a big dose of inspiration and to geek out on building science with other kindred folk in…
Sustainability Awards 2020 – we’re shortlisted!
What lovely news for our architectural practice – it’s been an emotionally-turbulent year, so it’s important to celebrate our small wins! Talina is honoured to be on the official shortlist in two categories in the 2020 Sustainability Awards: Women in Sustainability & Emerging Sustainable Architect/Designer A big Congratulations to all those who made the shortlists…
Conference Presentation: Owl Woods Wisdom
We’re excited to be presenting at the virtual South Pacific Passive House Conference 2020 #SPPHC2020 in just a few weeks time! The annual conference is hosted by the Australian Passive House Association #APHA and the Passive House Institute of New Zealand #PHINZ . “Owl Woods Wisdom” is a Case Study of one of Australia’s first…
Australian Architects Declare – Strategic Planning Statement
Prepared by Talina Edwards in collaboration with the Australian Architects Declare National Steering Committee Feb 2020 The twin crises of climate breakdown and biodiversity loss are the most serious issue of our time. Globally, buildings and construction play a major part, accounting for nearly 40% of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions whilst also having…
Australian Architects Declare – one year anniversary
Architects Declare is a network of architectural practices committed to addressing the climate and biodiversity emergency. The Architects Declare movement was launched in the UK in May 2019. Under the wider banner of ‘Construction Declares’, or ‘Built Environment Declares’ it has now spread to more than 20 different countries, with over 5,000 signatories, and has…
We are hiring!
*UPDATE* Please note we are no longer accepting applications for this role. JOIN OUR TEAM! Position Available: Architectural Graduate / Building Designer Who are we? We’re an emerging, award-winning architectural practice located in Ballarat on Wadawurrung country, recognised for our leadership in sustainability. We share a passion for creating healthy, beautiful, functional, comfortable…
Certified Passive House (Passivhaus) Designer course
I often get asked questions about becoming a Certified Passive House Designer (CPHD), and what’s involved in taking the course. As I’m passionate about Passive House (or Passivhaus if you prefer the European spelling). I’m a “passivist”. I regularly answer questions and share my experience with other architects/designers who are keen to learn more…however this…
HOUSES Awards 2020 – Sustainability Category
With everything that is going on in the world right now, we’ve been a bit pre-occupied… …so we completely forgot to announce that we’ve been shortlisted in the 2020 HOUSES Awards – Sustainability category for our Owl Woods Passive House project! “The Owl Woods Passive House is a leading example of an architecturally designed…
Sanctuary Magazine – 50th issue!
Congratulations to Sanctuary magazine for reaching 50 issues! I still have EVERY single issue sitting proudly on my bookshelves in my architecture studio…as I’ve been inspired by all the great content over the past 15 years! There is so much goodness in this current issue, including: * A gorgeous WA hempcrete home on…
Building a Passive House has just become even better value!
For years I’ve been saying that it would be a smart idea for the banks to offer discounted loans to customers building energy-efficient homes. To me it was a no-brainer – as the up-front cost to build to a higher standard could potentially be more* (but doesn’t have to be), but then operational costs would be much lower…
A Guide to Passive House Building In Australia
The Australian Passive House Association (APHA) have just released this FREE “Guide to Passive House Building In Australia” – it’s worth checking out if you’re at all curious about this international standard! We’re convinced of the benefits, and after reading this guide, you might be too! APHA aims to lead change by educating, promoting,…
Australian Bushfires #ourhouseisonfire
“I don’t want your hope. I want you to panic. I want you to act. I want you to behave like our house is on fire. Because it is.” – Greta Thunberg 2019 It is absolutely heartbreaking seeing our country burn at the moment – the scale of the loss and devastation is overwhelmingly…
It’s official! Certified Passivhaus! (Owl Woods Passive House)
We are thrilled to announce that our Owl Woods Passive House has been granted official “Passive House Certification” status! According to the International Passive House database, this means we are the 10th single detached family house to achieve this certification in Victoria, and only the 20th in Australia (for all Passivhaus buildings). We are proud…
WE WON! ArchiTeam Sustainability Medal 2019
We’ve been so focused on our current client’s projects, we almost forgot to officially announce this news! We were honored to be recognised by our peers, by being awarded the 2019 ArchiTeam Sustainability Medal for our ‘Owl Woods Passive House’ project! ArchiTeam Cooperative’s Annual Awards program showcases the very best in architecture from Australia’s…
Architects Declare, Architects Act – Melbourne Meeting
This is my summary, commentary and action plan from the Architects Declare, Architects Act Meeting held in Melbourne on Wed 4th Dec. My aim is to share this discussion with others in the Architecture community who could not be in attendance, and continue the conversation with a wider audience. Thanks to our hosts …
Sustainability Awards 2019 – Official Finalist
We were honoured to recently be named an official finalist of the 2019 Sustainability Awards (Single Dwelling – New), for our Owl Woods Passive House project! This was the first time we’d entered an awards, so were thrilled to be acknowledged for this sustainable Passivhaus home. If you’re new to the Passivhaus/Passive House standard, you…