On Saturday, 19 July, I had the pleasure of hosting a community workshop titled Designing Your Future Home in collaboration with the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Initiative. What a fantastic and engaged group of participants we had! It was a full, interactive session filled with meaningful conversations, curiosity, and a shared passion for creating healthier, more energy-efficient homes.

Together, we explored the fundamentals of Passive Solar Design and Passivhaus design principles using a simple but thoughtful case study: a 3-bedroom plus study, 2-bathroom family home. This example helped us dive into key design considerations, such as orientation, shading, ventilation, airtightness, insulation, and material selection — all essential to designing high-performance, comfortable homes.

Throughout the session, we had some incredible questions and open discussions. It was encouraging to see how deeply the audience engaged with the concepts, and how many left feeling empowered to apply what they’d learned to their own homes and renovation plans.

Some of the feedback we received from attendees:

“…opened my eyes to thermal bridges and optimal material.”
“Interactive, insightful and educational. Amazing presenter.”
“Detailed technical info and tips. Very well organised and presented workshop.”
“…encouraged me to take action on house renovation/retrofit.”
“…creating energy efficiency is possible.”
“…Speaker answered specific questions well.”
“Great advice provided on individual questions.”

I’m so grateful to have had this opportunity to share knowledge and connect with locals who care deeply about sustainability, comfort and smart design. A big thank you to the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Initiative for supporting and hosting this event — your space and mission are truly inspiring.

Looking forward to more community conversations on how we can all build better, healthier homes for the future.