Envirotecture win at the Design Matters National ‘2025 Building Design Awards’

We are stoked to announce that our certified Passivhaus-renovation project, Live Lightly Haus, has taken out the top gong at the Design Matters National 2025 Building Design Awards in the Alterations & Additions: Up to $500K category!

For this project, the essence of the brief was simple - fix it. 

Save as much as possible of the original structure while creating a home that would be comfortable, healthy and very energy efficient. The design response took the deep retrofit seriously, taking a systems approach that followed the PHI EnerPHit pathway. The cottage had to be stripped back to its bones, a sturdy timber frame that was still fairly straight.

Deep energy retrofits are demanding; they require designers to think hard about technical details and the practicality of implementation. The most significant sustainable decision was the client’s desire to fix an old dwelling rather than knock it down and start over. It was unlikely cheaper to fix it, in dollar terms. But the embodied carbon savings were substantial and the construction waste was very much less because of this commitment. 

Operational carbon emissions were slashed by designing with the goal of achieving PHI EnerPHit performance. This requires a systems approach, understanding the ways insulation, airtightness, minimising or removal of thermal bridging and ventilation work together to produce excellent outcomes. 

This renovation gave the client confidence that retrofit is both possible and worthwhile. For the design team, it reaffirmed that this process requires committed clients who understand the wider benefits, not least the embodied carbon savings of retaining and improving existing structures.

We would like to give an especially big thank you to Design Matters National, Paradigm Passivhaus and our wonderful clients.

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