Triple-glazed UPVC Windows from uPVC Window Alliance

Australian passive house wins Good Design Award®

Triple-glazed UPVC windows are an integral component of one of Australia's first certified passive houses. Recognised with a Good Design Award® earlier this year, the SuperPod® project takes a comprehensive approach to building design. International Passive House is touted as the best energy standard to combat climate change with optimum indoor comfort.

The standard calls for a cohesive building envelope, using quality components that work together effectively to enhance energy efficiency and ventilation. The success of the SuperPod® project is based on a combination of triple-glazed UPVC windows, a three-fold increase in insulation over legal requirements and ventilation at a rate of 0.6 air changes per hour at 50 pascals.

Fiona McKenzie, designer of the award-winning Superpod® building facade system, calls for the use of better quality products in the Australian building sector. In a recent article, she points to a number of reasons for the delay: low building standards, short-termism on the part of developers and buyers and a reluctance to spend on 'unseen' quality.

Fiona reiterates the importance of quality components in the context of whole-of-building design, stating "It is possible that our demand for better components will rise, if we start to take seriously the performance of our buildings as a whole: as modelled, as tested, and as lived in."