The UK's Passivhaus giants
As Passivhaus projects start to scale up, does size matter? Here we spotlight the UK’s largest Passivhaus giants – ranked by treated floor area (TFA) and compare them to major certified Passivhaus projects around the world.
UK's largest Passivhaus development |
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Purdown View, BristolRedefining sustainable student living, this cluster of individually certified building blocks all on one site makes this the UK’s largest Passivhaus development. Type: Student accommodation No. of units: 900 bedooms TFA: 21,462m2 (Block 1: 7,961m2 , Block 2: 8,529m2, Block 3: 4,972m2) Certified: Passivhaus, 2024 |
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UK's largest Passivhaus building |
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.png "Urbanest Battersea, Palmerston Court I Image credit ©AHMM") |
Palmerston Court, BatterseaThree towering blocks rise from a single podium, making this the UK's largest single building certified to Passivhaus. Type: Student accommodation No. of units: 199 (853 bedrooms) TFA: 17,964 m2 Certified: Passivhaus, 2025 |
UK & world's largest Passivhaus Premium |
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Erne Campus, EnniskillenIn a league of its own, Erne Campus still holds the world title for largest building certified to Passivhaus Premium. Type: Educational building No. of students: 2800 TFA: 7,167m2 Certified: Passivhaus Premium, 2021 |
.png "Erne Campus Passivhaus Premium I Image credit © Hamilton Architects") |
Title contenders on the horizon |
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Woodmill & St Columba's High Schools, Dunfermline Learning Campus: Likely to take the position as the UK's largest Passivhaus building with a TFA 23,151 m2 and housing 2759 students.
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Eclipse Leisure Centre, Spelthorne: Soon to take the title from St Sidwell's in Exeter to be UK's largest Passivhaus leisure centre with a TFA of 7,644 m2.
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2 Trafalgar Square, London: Housing 1,672 student beds and 80 residential apartments across three towers of 28, 36 and 46 storeys, this London development with approximately 67,000 m2 gross external area (GEA) could become Europe's largest Passivhaus student accommodation.
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Willohaus, Salford: 100 homes in a single building soon to supercede Greenhaus (96 homes) delivered by the same developer ECF (English Cities Fund).
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City of York Council's Housing Programme: Aiming to deliver 600 certified Passivhaus homes across seven sites, would take the title of the largest Passivhaus estate regeneration from Agar Grove in London - a phased programme still underway delivering just under 500 homes.
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Barratt Homes, London: The UK volume housebuilder is set to adopt Passivhaus across all its London residential schemes, with the first phase to deliver a total of 728 homes. These projects are part of a larger £1.9 billion collaboration that will bring 4,000 new homes to the capital over the next decade.
How do UK Passivhaus giants compare globally?
Passivhaus projects worldwide are pushing the boundaries of high-performance design. Below are how some of the biggest global developments stack up. Check the International Passive House Buildings Database for the latest project updates arcoss the world.
Project name |
Project type |
Location |
TFA (m2) |
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Health |
Germany |
61,020 |
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Commercial |
USA |
57,849 |
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Residential |
Austria |
27,804 |
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Commercial |
Austria |
20,984 |
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Residential |
Austria |
19,366 |
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Student accommodation |
USA |
18,426 |
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Educational building |
Australia |
15,860 |
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Leisure centre |
Germany |
10,743 |
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Leisure Centre |
UK |
4,995 |
You may also like
The Passivhaus Trust has a range of resources available for those working on large and complex Passivhaus projects.
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Further information
International Passive House Buildings Database
Large & Complex Passivhaus Masterclass series 2025
Passivhaus Educational Buildings
Previous PHT story: Major UK housebuilder to build Passivhaus for the masses - 20 May 2025
Previous PHT story: Passivhaus now 1% of all new UK housing projects - 20 February 2025
Previous PHT story: Passivhaus set to reach Canary Wharf heights - 30 September 2021
Previous PHT story: Social housing championing Passivhaus at scale - 12 May 2021
23rd May 2025
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