Passivhaus
The Hill
Agathē delivers certified Passivhaus performance on The Hill — heritage renovation and architectural rebuilds above Newcastle Harbour.
Agathē delivers certified Passivhaus performance on The Hill — heritage renovation and architectural rebuilds above Newcastle Harbour.
A certified Passivhaus is measured, not promised. An airtight, highly insulated envelope with continuous filtered fresh air keeps the whole home within a few degrees year-round — without leaning on air conditioning. The result is a home that is quiet, free of draughts and condensation, dramatically cheaper to run, and independently certified to perform exactly as designed.
The Hill has watched over Newcastle since the city began — the cathedral, the harbour views, and streets of Victorian and Federation homes that constitute some of the finest heritage fabric north of Sydney. Owning here is stewardship, and renovating here is a discipline: the character is protected, the views are hard-won, and the houses themselves were built long before anyone thought about insulation, airtightness or ventilation. The result is beautiful homes that are cold in winter, damp in the harbour air, and expensive to run. Passivhaus-principled renovation changes that without touching what matters — sealing and insulating within the existing fabric, ventilating deliberately with filtered heat-recovery air, upgrading glazing where heritage constraints allow. The house keeps its dignity; the people inside finally get comfort to match the address.
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.
Yes. AGATHĒ builds architectural custom homes and Passivhaus projects across Newcastle and the Hunter, including The Hill. Our team includes a Certified Passivhaus Tradesperson, we are members of the Australian Passivhaus Association, and every project starts with our structured pre-construction process so design, budget and performance targets are resolved before construction begins.
Often, yes. Older homes in The Hill typically leak through chimneys, wall vents, floor boards and door gaps — the character came with draughts fitted as standard. The encouraging news is that airtightness, insulation and ventilation can be improved dramatically while keeping the fabric that makes these homes worth owning.
The order of works matters more than the budget: seal and insulate first, ventilate deliberately second, upgrade glazing third. We plan that sequence properly before any work starts.
Only as part of a sequence. New glazing in a wall that still leaks air around it delivers a fraction of its promise — the envelope works as a system, and the weakest layer sets the result.
Done in the right order — seal, insulate, ventilate, then glaze — high-performance windows transform an older home: warmer, quieter, condensation-free. Done as a standalone purchase, they mostly transfer money to a window company. This is why we assess the whole envelope before recommending anything.
The same physics that keeps heat in keeps noise out. Sound rides on air leaks — every gap around a window or door is an open channel for the street — and single glazing is barely a barrier at all.
A Passivhaus envelope is sealed and heavily insulated, with thick multi-layer glazing, so the acoustic result is striking: the outside world drops to a murmur. It is the benefit The Hill clients mention first after moving in, even though almost nobody asks for it up front.
It is the exam a Passivhaus has to pass. A fan pressurises the home and measures exactly how much air leaks through the envelope — certification requires no more than 0.6 air changes per hour, one of the strictest airtight construction standards in the world.
The point is proof. Anyone can claim a home is well sealed; a blower-door result is measured by an independent tester. It is the difference between a promise and a certificate — and it is why a certified Passivhaus performs exactly as designed.
Yes — any window, any time. The difference is that a Passivhaus does not depend on open windows to stay fresh. The heat-recovery ventilation system supplies filtered fresh air around the clock, so the home stays comfortable and healthy even when it is sealed against a southerly, a heatwave or a week of rain.
It depends on the design, the site and the performance target, which is why we resolve cost early rather than guessing. Our pre-construction process starts with an early feasibility estimate against your concept plans, so you know whether the project is viable before committing to full documentation.
Running costs then work in your favour: a certified Passivhaus needs a fraction of the heating and cooling energy of a conventional home.
Often, yes — the certification pathway for existing buildings is called EnerPHit, and it is genuinely demanding work: airtightness, insulation and ventilation all have to be re-engineered together. Not every home is a candidate, and we will tell you honestly if yours is not.
Many renovations land on a middle path: applying Passivhaus principles and components where they deliver the most benefit, without pursuing full certification.
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.