Building a future: How Passivhaus design is revolutionising childcare in Canberra

It's no wonder that membership for the Australian Passivhaus Association has grown by 40% in the last two years; the Passivhaus standards are one of the leading solutions when it comes to building a sustainable future. A perfect example of this is the Torrens Early Learning Centre.

"We have knowledgeable design and construction experts in all states and territories," says Alexia Lidas, CEO of the Australian Passivhaus Association.

"As we advocate for building to the highest sustainable quality, we’re constantly educating and supporting architects, developers and builders to upskill to ensure they understand all of the key benefits and how a building must work as a system to reach Passivhaus certification.

"While there is a housing shortage, we must still look to building higher-performing quality homes, workplaces and care centres that can provide better healthcare outcomes and save enormously on energy costs. Passivhaus certified buildings are future-ready."

Torrens Early Learning Centre and Operator Natalie Colbert is aware of the ever-present fire dangers that January’s dry weather system can bring. 

Like most Canberrans, the memories of the 2020 Beard and Orroral Fires don’t feel like five years ago and the 2003 fires that saw 70% of the Australian Capital Territory burn are never forgotten.  

Colbert owns three childcare centres in Kambah, Majura Park and Torrens. The Torrens Early Learning Centre was built in 2018 and received a Premium certification to Passivhaus Standard, which she says provided a haven of clean air space for both her children – and the children she cares for – during what is now known as the Black Summer bushfires.  

She sits down with Architecture & Design to discuss the Torrens Early Learning Centre project, built according to Passivhaus standards, and what’s at stake in the current environmental context and challenges.

Architecture & Design: Can you describe the initial vision for this project and how it evolved over time?

Natalie Colbert: I envisioned a high-quality healthy childcare that would provide energy efficiency and set a benchmark for sustainable education facilities. I set out create the healthiest and most energy efficient building in Australia! 

Our approach and methodology developed over time, as we became the first commercial Passivhaus building in the Southern Hemisphere and the first Passivhaus early childhood facility globally – receiving premium certification due to the centre’s impressive specifications and operating performance. 

What were the biggest challenges you faced during the design and construction phases, and how did you overcome them?

Doing things in a new way can be a challenge for older institutions – but it can certainly be overcome! I was initially constrained by traditional banking processes, with our lenders reluctant to fund pre-manufactured buildings that didn’t meet a normal install schedule, and having a significant concern about paying 100% up-front for the windows and blinds from Germany. So this did cause a few delays but I think, like designers, the banks are learning too. 

Interestingly, there is an assumption that to build to Passivhaus certification it will be costly, but our construction costs worked out at $3,347 per sq m for a premium early learning centre, which is considered very low for commercial build in Canberra.

We also had issues with some assigned contractors mis-understanding the scope of their contracts in regards to air-tightness, and not being completely on board with what we were trying to achieve.

This led to some poor on-site actions that were affecting the overall quality and potentially our ability to be Passivhaus certified – and we had some costly repairs to damaged air-tightness layers. You have to find the right people who are committed to quality and making things that will last and perform well and fortunately both knowledge and skills in Passivhaus are growing all the time. We were building this seven years ago. 

How did you ensure that the project met the client’s needs and expectations?

The project/construction management was all internal, in that the client and the construction manager were the same person – me.  This was only by necessity, as we couldn’t find an alternative construction manager in Canberra then who had experience in a Passivhaus project, and we couldn’t afford to outsource the whole project to a large commercial contractor who could ‘learn’ and implement the requirements.  

That said, I was fortunate to engage and be teamed with a very experienced and capable commercial builder, Phil Bates, and we worked collaboratively through the whole process to create something that exceeded both of our expectations.

Were there any unique or innovative techniques or materials used in this project?

At the time of construction, no-one was building with CLT or pre-manufactured panels the way we were, and we didn’t know anyone else aiming for the same levels of certification in the commercial space.

With core considerations around fire engineering, disability access provisions, safety certifications alongside our design objectives we needed to develop some specific engineering solutions for our commercial kitchen exhaust, which I’m pleased have worked well. 

How does this project fit into your broader portfolio and design philosophy?

I believe that we have an obligation to build high quality sustainable buildings, which offer a level of comfort for their occupants. 

As part of my educational philosophy, I believe that the environment is a ‘third teacher’, so we should be creating beautiful, safe and healthy buildings which are sustainable.

Images: Supplied