Although we’d like to think we coined the term Energy Positive Architecture back in 2021 when we were launching Habitance, it turns out we weren’t the first to come up with our tagline.
Whilst brainstorming our unique selling proposition, we were trying to incorporate words into our company name, which described our mission to design buildings that produce more energy than they consume, consider the bigger picture and ‘give back’ to the local community. This goal fosters a happier and healthier community, utilizes the natural environment to cool and heat, and reduces energy consumption, and bills. For a while, we were focused on the word ‘sustainable’ but realised it’s become an overused buzzword in many industries, and although relevant, wasn’t a complete word to describe what we were doing.
As the conversation evolved, I uttered the words “Energy Positive Architecture” and realized at that moment, it perfectly encapsulated my approach to design. It acknowledged my unique background, my Steiner education, having 26+ years of experience practicing in Brisbane and London, and described my pursuit to help the world meet its sustainable development goal. This phrase then became Habitance’s tagline.
Energy Positive Architecture is what gets me up in the morning and is the driving force behind the business we’ve created. Our designs are intentional, considered and have energy positive features seamlessly integrated into every concept, document detailing and construction. We discovered during some research recently that the concept of Energy Positive Architecture has been around for several years, so I couldn’t really claim it was my idea!
According to various sources, Energy Positive Architecture is a concept that centres on designing buildings and structures that generate more energy than they consume, resulting in an energy surplus that can be utilized elsewhere. Architects, engineers, and researchers worldwide have discussed and implemented this concept, and countries like Denmark, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, and the USA use phrases such as energy positive architecture, energy positive design, energy positive projects and energy positive houses. In Norway the Powerhouse Alliance is leading the way building some of the world’s most environment-friendly buildings in Trondheim, Norway including the Powerhouse Brattørkaia pictured above.
Europe has several organisations promoting European Union climate change goals, and in line with the Paris Agreement. The Building Performance Institute Europe (BPIE) publish and sponsor research and data driven reports and strategies including Open Lab’s Overcoming Financial and Market Barriers for Positive Energy Neighbourhoods.
Whilst Europe appears to be embracing the concept, Australia has yet to really understand the positive outcomes of buildings working together, in a community, to generate, provide and use power to help each other.
Although Energy Positive Architecture is clearly not unique to us, we still believe that we are the first Energy Positive Architects in Australia, dedicating ourselves 100% to the design of buildings that produce more energy than they need. Habitance’s mission goes beyond limiting our services to just specific sectors i.e. residential, commercial, educational, or infrastructure and applies an energy positive architectural approach, to everything we do, which results in social, environmental, and economical sustainability.
Positively
The thing that I champion is sustainability. My terror is that suddenly we see it as a luxury, not an essential. That's a danger.
