10 Years of Passivhaus: the space between theory and practice

Passivhaus ambassadors reveal their most loved projects from the past decade to commemorate the Trust's tenth anniversary and in anticipation for the UK Passivhaus Awards 2021. For the third in this series we hear from renowned Passivhaus certifier Sally Godber, WARM.

Sally Godber

Sally is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer, Passivhaus Certifier, a member of the UK Passivhaus Technical Panel, and is responsible for overseeing Passivhaus CarbonLite Training. Life as a services engineer was too easy-going, so she set up WARM, now a Patron member of the Passivhaus Trust, with her father Peter in 2009 intending to channel his invaluable knowledge of low energy construction direct into the industry.

Sally has vast experience in the design and construction of large-scale low-energy residential and commercial buildings along with building services. She lives in her self-build Certified Passivhaus home and is in the process of a step-by-step EnerPHit of a café and holiday home; this practical experience has given her first-hand insight into the reality of construction projects.

What is your Passivhaus pick from the past decade?

The WARM EnerPHit office in Plymouth, Admiral's Hard, is my Passivhaus pick. It is nothing special, but it gave me my first experience of what Passivhaus is like, and the experience bit is what it is all about for me. It is so difficult to communicate what a brilliant space it creates in photos.

Why is this Passivhaus special?

Nothing has the level of quality assurance for energy performance compared to Passivhaus. Sometimes I question if the certification is going too far. But then I come across a crucial defect on a project that would have been unnoticed without the certification process. Buildings should be designed to last for centuries, and in that context, certification is a small investment to ensure it is built right.

Sometimes I question if the certification is going too far. But then I come across a crucial defect on a project that would have been unnoticed without the certification process. Buildings should be designed to last for centuries, and in that context, certification is a small investment to ensure it is built right.

Admiral's Hard EnerPHit © WARM

A key tip for those starting a similar project?

Do not give yourself a hard time about mistakes, but make sure you learn from them. It can be hard when your decisions impact such a solid thing as a building. Designers should go to the site as much as feasible, and site teams should probe the design and ask as many questions as possible. The space between theory and practice is what we need to occupy.

Designers should go to the site as much as feasible, and site teams should probe the design and ask as many questions as possible. The space between theory and practice is what we need to occupy.

What Passivhaus projects are you excited to see progress?

There are so many new and exciting projects! There is an explosion of educational projects, particularly in Scotland, which are just so important. I am also excited by large-scale housing schemes like that in York. The City of York Council is so keen to deeply understand the environmental impact of its decisions, like many other local authorities. Finally, I cannot miss the quality site work by Kier on the UK's first Passivhaus leisure centre that is like nothing we have seen before. The interest and commitment we have seen from the construction sector are just phenomenal; they are so keen to demonstrate what they can do. And that is before I have even mentioned retrofit!

What are you expecting from the next UK Passivhaus Awards cohort?

We need sound case study examples that we can all learn from and replicate; this must focus on how we build upon knowledge of the projects so far and scale-up. I believe that the Passivhaus community excel at collaborating, so I would be keen to see some exemplars of that.