Australia gets its first build-to-sell passive house development
Australia has just seen the launch of its first build-to-sell Passive House-certified development. Located in Hawthorn, Melbourne, ECHO.1 is an eight-townhouse project developed by C.Street Projects in collaboration with Neil Architecture.
It is the first time homes built to passive house principles have been offered for sale in Australia, rather than constructed for individual clients or as one-off projects.
The development aims to demonstrate that highly energy-efficient housing can be delivered at scale in the private market. It’s also about showing that developers can play a role in decarbonising the built environment, said C.Street Projects director Kin Seng Choo.
“A three-bedroom house would normally consume about 18,000 kilowatt-hours per year, while the passive house should consume about 5000 kilowatt-hours per year,” Mr Choo told Domain. “This means the house is using about 70% less energy than a typical Victorian home, with a typical annual energy bill of about $700 to $800.”
Passive houses – a building standard developed in Germany – focus on insulation, airtightness and energy efficiency. The design of ECHO.1 incorporates features like triple-glazed windows, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery and a continuous layer of strawboard insulation to minimise heat transfer and improve acoustic performance.
ECHO.1 comprises eight generously sized, north-facing townhouses designed with private lifts and garages. The architecture fits in with Hawthorn’s heritage with solid brickwork and understated metal details, while landscaping integrates canopy trees and shrubs that provide summer shade and maximise winter sun.
Each townhouse targets net-zero energy outcomes, featuring sustainable materials, an 8.0 Star NatHERS rating, dedicated 4.4kW solar systems, a 9.6kWh battery and an electric vehicle charger. Rainwater is harvested for toilet flushing and irrigation, with deep-root planting zones improving soil permeability.
ECHO.1 is now completed and available for sale, with prices starting from $2,450,000.
Currently, there are 110 certified Passivhaus buildings in Australia, with another 265 in progress. Developments like ECHO.1 are important milestones for the local passive house movement, showing that high-performance, energy-efficient homes can be built at scale and sold through the private market.
As awareness and demand grow, projects such as this could pave the way for broader adoption of passive house standards across Australia’s residential sector, helping to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions for years to come.
