Get To Know Ed of Dieppe Design

Smart Plus Academy is the leading Passive House training provider in Australia. In our ‘Get to Know’ series, we feature a past student and dive into their success and the opportunities they’ve found in the Passive House space.

Ed Dieppe is a registered Architect and Interior designer, and a BIM enthusiast. He has nearly fifteen years of full-time experience in practice. Ed together with his wife Nora are the principals of Dieppe Design. Dieppe Design is an A+ member of the Australian Institute of Architects practice and is Passive House certified.

Ed and Nora specialize in Passive House, new builds, alterations & additions, and interior renovations. Their aim is to create exceptional architecture & interiors whilst making the process enjoyable through collaboration between client, architect, and builder.

Dieppe Design also won the 2020 – 2021 Asia Pacific Property Awards – best residential interior – private residence in Australia and 2020 Workspace Awards SHORTLIST – Emerging Designer – Residential Design.

Ed enrolled in Smart Plus Academy – Certified Passive House Designer Course in 2020. He then passed the exam and received his certifications. Ed was also our special guest in Passive House Q&A, 1st September 2021.

Missed Ed’s Q&A? Re-watch it here

When talking about Passive House, Ed doesn’t hold back. He loves to talk about how the Passive House standard has changed his perspective forever.  In fact, here are some things that he is glad to share with us.  Check out the questions and his answers below!

What is your favourite Passive House project you’ve worked on so far?

Seasound Passive House, with Jon, Kajsa, and the team at iConstruct.

Were there any noteworthy features of this house?

Seasound Passive house was a bit of a baptism of fire into the Passive House world. Nothing about this house is conventional.

It’s located on a wedged-shaped site with a steep slope that requires a multi-leveled home that steps down the site. This required a complex architectural response, resulting in lots of junctions and potential thermal bridges that needed to be calculated in Flixo.

Kajsa, with her background as a landscape designer, was keen to integrate planting and landscaping into the house. The house includes a large green roof over the living and dining area as well as terraces and balconies with integrated planter beds, which in part form the thermal envelope now. I love the connection this creates between the house and the natural environment.

Operable timber screens and fixed awnings are used to manage solar heat gain by shading the glass in the summer months. It’s certainly a unique design and one that I am incredibly proud of both for its architectural merit and Passive House credentials.

What is the biggest difference between working on Passive House and non-Passive House projects?

Designing to the Passive House standard changes your thinking of architecture and design. Whether we are designing a Passive House or a conventional build you can’t help but consider the thermal envelope, airtightness, and energy consumption. Although you may work on non-Passive Houses again after the course, you will never look at them in the same way!

What was your experience after the course?

After the course I felt empowered to drive change. The course gave me the knowledge and confidence to push clients, builders and developers to strive to a better standard of construction.

Did you find that Passive House certification helped your practice from a business perspective?

Yes, the majority of people who approach us are keen to understand more about Passive House. Even if they don’t want to do a certified Passive House themselves they are intrigued to see what features of Passive House they can integrate into their own home. It also gives them confidence that we understand the correct ways to rectify issues relating to building performance, mould and sustainability.

Would you recommend the course?

Yes, absolutely. Daniel is so passionate about what he does and this passion helps drive people to learn. I think the pass rates speak for themselves.

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