What is LAB Design?
We are a family-owned company, specialising in passive housing consulting services, working directly with other industry professionals to ensure that your homes achieve the “Passive House” standard.
Our services include:
- PHPP (Passive House Planning Package) Modelling
- General Project Consulting
- Passive House Certification Management
- Thermal Bridge Modelling
- Dynamic Moisture Analysis (WUFI)
Smarter Building for Better Living
Introduction
About the Founders
Before the founding of Lab Design, we both served as Navigators in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) for over three decades combined before transitioning into the design field. It is through the decades of experience in the RAAF that we understand how to approach and solve problems in creative and cutting-edge ways. Operating complex aircraft systems during our time at RAAF allowed us to step into the design and building industry with a fresh and innovative approach encompassing design with scientific principles. We are passionate about getting everyone working or living in a passive house building, in order to create a sustainable way of living for you and your family, our community and our environment.
- Lab Design has been at the forefront of the Australian passive house industry since 2014, we are extremely passionate about making Passive Housing accessible and available to all.
- With the help of cutting-edge prototyping software, we integrate your vision into execution, working with industry specialists to make your home both authentic to your style while optimising its performance.
- We are qualified in all aspects of Passivhaus and have extensive experience working with some of the largest Passivhaus developments in Australia.
Contact us to see how we can work with one another today!
Our
Qualifications
Licences & Memberships
- Bachelor of Building Design
- Certified Passivhaus Designer
- Diploma of Project Management
BDAA: 1633-14 QBCC: 15130400 VBA: DP-AD 63141
Member of Australian and International Passive House Associations (APHA, IPHA)
Why Work With Us?
We are constantly searching the world for smarter ways to build homes with better livability.
An Engineer and a Scientist, we design and advise on smarter, sustainable, beautiful homes bettering the residents’ health and reducing running (heating or cooling) costs.
Also parents, we believe that all families have the right to live healthy lives in our homes.
Our homes ensure families get stronger in their health quicker in an environment which has fresh, filtered air and temperate indoor climate. Growing up in this environment has proven health benefits.
All our homes are designed with liveability considerations including solar orientation, cross ventilation, flow and circulation of traffic, proportion, sun shading etc.
What really sets us apart is our use of the German designed Passivhaus system and standard. It is the only internationally recognised, performance-based energy standard in construction.
A constant supply of fresh and filtered air is supplied through a mechanical ventilation system with heat/cool recovery. Moisture is also controlled through a combination of insulation and ventilation thereby preventing mould inside the home.
Double-glazing is part of the design system assisting with temperature maintenance, nil condensation on the inside of windows and noise control. Depending on the budget, we can also include additional features such as solar or geothermal heating, waste water systems etc.
Some people argue that by using such a science based design method means losing the beauty in the design. While it is true that certain fashionable materials, products and design ideas do not perform well within our designs, we are always able to find a sustainable, equally beautiful alternative.
We love creating pleasing aesthetics for innovative and authentic homes.
We work hard to ensure all our designs are beautiful to look at and holistically represent the owner-residents.
Our designs are tailored specifically to the client according to their design wishes and any other requirements but also to their unique location and climate.
We input detailed meteorological data into our software so we can test the performance of the home throughout the seasons.
We use a combination of Passivhaus software (PHPP, Flixo) and REVIT (architectural 3D modeling software) to assess the performance of your house before its built. This takes the guesswork out of home design, you will know exactly what you are going to get and how your home will perform sustainably throughout the year.
“We have both experienced European and Canadian winters and despite the climate, found winter warmer in those countries because the homes and workplaces are built for such extremes. This led us to devise a system that adapts the best of European design practices and specifications for the diverse Australian climate.
We kept asking ourselves ‘how can we do things better?’. By continually asking this question we design homes that address common problems faced by many everyday Australians. This includes houses that are cold in winter, hot in summer, rising electricity bills, mould in the home, poor circulation/ventilation…”
