Certified Passivhaus
Passivhaus Custom Homes
Architect-designed homes built to the world's most rigorous comfort and health standard — then independently tested and certified to prove it. Sydney's north to Newcastle.
Architect-designed homes built to the world's most rigorous comfort and health standard — then independently tested and certified to prove it. Sydney's north to Newcastle.
Plenty of homes are described as energy efficient. A certified Passivhaus is different in kind: the home is modelled against the international Passivhaus standard before it is built, constructed to hit those numbers, then physically tested — including a pressure test of the finished building envelope — and independently certified. The certificate is not a marketing phrase. It is a third party confirming the home performs exactly as designed.
What that performance feels like day to day: the whole home stays within a few degrees year-round without leaning on air conditioning, the air is continuously filtered and fresh, and the house is quiet, free of draughts and condensation, and dramatically cheaper to run.
Every certified Passivhaus stands on the same five pillars, engineered to work together from the first sketch.
A complete thermal blanket around the home — floors, walls and roof — so indoor comfort stops depending on the weather.
The building fabric is sealed and pressure-tested, keeping conditioned air in and wind-driven moisture out of the structure.
Independently certified double or triple glazing that holds the views without the heat loss, glare or winter cold spots.
Junctions designed so heat has no shortcut through the structure — the detail work that prevents cold surfaces and condensation.
Continuous filtered fresh air with heat recovery, so the home stays dry, healthy and mould-free with the windows closed or open.
Passivhaus is unforgiving of shortcuts — certification is won or lost in the junctions, the membranes and the sequencing of trades. Agathē's founder holds the Certified Passivhaus Tradesperson credential, and the business is a member of the Australian Passivhaus Association. That means building science leads the build itself, not just the brochure: airtightness is checked while the walls are open, not hoped for at handover.
Our Passivhaus work sits inside a wider practice of healthy, high-performance building — so the same discipline in moisture control, ventilation and material selection runs through everything we deliver.
We work alongside your architect from the first sketch, so Passivhaus performance is designed in — orientation, form, glazing and structure — not bolted on later at cost.
Our structured pre-construction process aligns the design, the budget and the certification goals before anything is locked in. Certified Passivhaus new builds with us are typically in the A$1.5m to A$3m range, and you will know where yours sits early — with allowances set clearly and the proposal fully specified.
Builder-led delivery with the building science supervised at every stage — envelope testing during the build, certified components installed as designed, and a site culture that treats the airtightness layer as carefully as the finishes.
The completed home is tested and the evidence submitted for independent certification — the proof, in writing, that you got what was designed.
Two good places to continue: Passivhaus design principles — what they are and why the order matters, and building a Passivhaus in Sydney — what our climate asks of the standard.
Builder-led delivery of custom homes and Passivhaus builds, managed end to end.
Start the right way with our PAC-certified process — aligning design, budget and timeline before you build.
We work alongside your architect from the first sketch, so Passivhaus performance is designed in, not bolted on.
Scandinavian-inspired homes and cabins built to a healthy, high-performance standard.
Partial to full-scale renovations that transform your existing spaces into healthy, beautiful family living environments.
From design to delivery, we manage every detail for a smooth, on-time, on-budget build.
Whether you are at the early thinking stage or ready to move, we are happy to have an honest conversation. No obligation. We will tell you if we are not the right fit.