Huff'n'Puff Haus

In the hands of Talina Edwards and her team, Huff’n’Puff became a deeply considered and hugely satisfying home that delighted the owners (and impressed many judging panels). It is a masterpiece of biophilic design, creating connection with the natural world through all the senses via material choices and inspired design. Meeting the certified Passive House standard was the owner’s guarantee that their home was healthy, comfortable and energy efficient. They generate so much energy via their rooftop PV that Huff’n’Puff qualified for the elite Premium level certification.

Strawbale panels were used rather than traditional strawbale building methods. This offered all the benefits of prefabrication for a remote site. Lime plaster is used for the internal finish and the external cladding is a fire-resistant sheet product.

The long simple form resolves into two wings, with guest accommodation at the west and large, light filled living spaces in the heart of the house. The owners’ suite lies to the east, offering beautiful sunrise views. The living areas are glazed both to the north, for daylight and warming winter sun, and to the south toward the most expansive views. It’s a practical example of how, with Passive House energy modelling at design stage, you can have it all; the heat loss from large south-facing windows was minimised with quality, high-performance joinery and compensated for by additional insulation elsewhere.

For more technical detail, see project #7237 on the PHI Passive House database