The Australian Passive House Association has revealed the dates and location for the 2020 South Pacific Passive House Conference.
Co-hosted by the Australian Passive House Association (APHA) and the Passive House Institute of New Zealand (PHINZ), the conference will be held between the 28th–31st of May 2020 in Sydney.
The conference will seek to demonstrate the importance of well-conceived and consistent action in the building sector for a successful transition to healthier buildings and a sustainable energy future.
It will be held at the Roundhouse, which is situated at the University of New South Wales’ campus in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney.
For over 50 years, the iconic building has played host to a stellar line-up of major events, and with the venue undergoing extensive refurbishments and relaunched with great fanfare in March 2018, it was quickly selected as the perfect location for an unforgettable conference experience.
Only minutes from the iconic Coogee beach, and easily accessible via the new Sydney Light Rail which travels through the eclectic heart of Sydney’s inner-city suburbs, the Roundhouse is surrounded by some of the city’s best options for drinks and dinner.
Events over the conference will include talks, site tours, hands-on masterclasses, networking events for professionals; as well as a trade show open to the general public.
Experts from around the world will present on the enormous potential of good design, while at the same time product and component suppliers and manufacturers will demonstrate their practical implementation in a trade exhibit.
APHA CEO, Paul Wall, said that they are excited to be holding this event for the first time in Sydney and are already fielding strong interest from a stellar line up of speakers.
“We have seen a growth of 30 per cent in membership in the last 12 months and have also doubled the number of certified professionals serving the growing demand for Passive House in Australia, which are great indicators for a bumper event in 2020.”
The application of Passive House (aka Passivhaus in German) Certification in Australia is growing.
It is the world’s leading standard in performance-based energy-efficient construction and requires comprehensive planning with professionally calculated energy balance.
Passive House design focuses on occupant comfort, health and performance-based buildings where ultra-low energy use reduces operating energy costs, making the building more economical and sustainable.
Aside from single residential dwellings, the APHA is now seeing Passive House Certification being sought in larger educational, accommodation and commercial buildings and expects this trend to grow.
For example, Passive House Certification was recently achieved at the new 150-bed student accommodation building at Monash University’s Peninsula Campus and is being sought at The Fern, an 11-unit residential apartment building in Redfern, Sydney.
In Victoria, there are over 400 passive houses in various stages of development, with other states embracing the Passive House methodology with over 80 more buildings in various stages of planning and construction.
The future of Passive House in Australia is bright.
More information on the conference can be found here.