Berninneit Cultural Centre Cowes

Some two hours out of Melbourne, Cowes is located on Phillip Island, a popular tourist destination visited by 35% of Melbourne’s international visitors each year. In addition it has a resident population with one of the highest growth rates in the state of Victoria. In 2005, it was identified that due to growth in the region, and due to the existing Cowes Cultural Centre facilities not meeting demand, the vision grew for a refreshed, high-performance facility to serve the community, and to deliver a cultural experience for residents and visitors.

Since 2005 significant community engagement and consultation focused on the redevelopment of the original Centre, especially in exploring how a new facility could best meet the requirements for a growing community on Phillip Island. The client envisioned Berninneit to be a dynamic and interactive space that utilises sustainable design and be an exemplar of sustainable civic facilities. The vision was a building that embodied the highest standards of environmentally sustainable design. For owner-operators and owner-occupiers, the Passivhaus Standard is effective and attractive as it delivers superior thermal comfort and energy efficiency in its design. Inhabit wanted to demonstrate to the client that Passivhaus is not just a sustainability certification, but a simple and proven design and construction methodology that delivers superior construction quality and tangible outcomes.

Inhabit’s Building Physics and Sustainability team demonstrated the value of pursuing targets focused on meeting five key performance outcomes. These were to:
• Enhance the indoor environment for people
• Improve community interaction + experience
• Reduce the impact on the local environment
• Focus on enhancing outcomes for the building owner, and
• Reduce the risk in delivery for quality and durability during construction

The client’s number one priority and need for the building was to maintain the health and wellbeing of the occupants. Being a public building that is both owned and occupied by the Bass Shire Council, there is a strong incentive to maintain a healthy indoor environment. By delivering a Passivhaus building the team could ensure:
• Occupant satisfaction in thermal comfort, through limited fluctuations in indoor conditions
• Continuous fresh air supply and controlled CO2 levels to maintain indoor air quality
• Reduced incidence of asthma and respiratory ailments due to heathier indoor environment , and
• Eliminate the risks for mould and condensation through well thought out envelope detailing and material relationships.

Secondary to these items are additional benefits from pursuing a Passivhaus building including a return on investment not only from construction quality and maintenance costs, but also in reduced burden on social costs by creating a healthy building environment. A Passivhaus airtightness strategy can deliver year-round indoor thermal comfort and eliminate draughts. By building an efficient thermal envelope energy consumption is inherently reduced which allows for smaller plant equipment to be specified, as well as reducing the typical HVAC running costs required to maintain indoor environmental conditions.

By accounting for rising energy prices over time into a real-time payback calculation, the team found that the Passivhaus uplift could be paid off in as soon as 10 years. This accelerated payback period is due to the compounding effect of on site renewable energy, energy savings and the anticipated escalation in energy costs, making the initial investment much more attractive. The team effectively communicated to the client that while the upfront costs for Passivhaus Certification are higher, the long-term savings and environmental benefits make it a sound financial decision. By reducing energy consumption and operational costs significantly, the building will pay for itself over time, offering a return on investment that aligns with both economic and environmental goals.

Construction is complete, and the centre opened in November 2023, in less than three months the building was being utilised to its full extent, living up to its mixed-use capability in all the diverse cultural uses of the building.

Awards:

2024 Victorian Architecture Awards – The William Wardell Award for Public Architecture.
2024 Australian Interior Design Awards