Woodside Building for Technology and Design

The first Passivhaus building of its class in the Southern Hemisphere, the Woodside Building for Technology and Design represents a step change in education infrastructure. Inhabit provided specialist sustainability, thermal engineering, and thermal bridging detailing support to achieve stringent Passivhaus requirements. Inhabit’s design-led approach included technical analysis to replace proprietary products with well-considered design fundamentals.

The result was a Passivhaus-complaint façade utilizing off-the-shelf components, including use of a double-glazed façade which exceeded the performance of the pre-tender triple-glazed façade design.

The five-storey, smart technology-enabled building, which uses solar power, was designed by Grimshaw architects for Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. It is home to the Faculties of Engineering and Information Technology and has more than 30 learning spaces for students and researchers to explore and develop new solutions in sustainable energy technology.

The university has implemented a Net Zero Initiative which aims for net zero carbon emissions on all campuses by 2030 to reduce the environmental impact of their operations and establish their campuses as exemplars of environmental best practice.

Awards:
. 2021 Australian Institute of Architects National Awards – The Sir Zelman Cowan Award for Public Architecture
. 2021 Australian Institute of Architects National Awards – The David Oppenheim Award for Sustainable Architecture
. 2021 Australian Institute of Architects Awards (Victoria) – The Victorian Architecture Medal
. 2021 Australian Institute of Architects Awards (Victoria) – The Melbourne Prize
. 2021 Australian Institute of Architects Awards (Victoria) – The Colorbond Award for Steel Architecture
. 2021 Australian Institute of Architects Awards (Victoria) – Architecture award, Sustainability
. 2021 Australian Institute of Architects Awards (Victoria) – Architecture award, Education