Passive House Builders in Melbourne
Where do we work?
We're inner Melbourne specialists. We don't spread ourselves thin across the whole city, because knowing an area well matters. We understand the housing stock, the streets, the councils and the heritage overlays in the pockets we work in, and that local knowledge shows up in the quality of the build. We also don’t think it’s the most sustainable thing to be driving across all of the state.
Here's where you'll find us.
Inner West Melbourne
This is our backyard. Matt grew up in Williamstown, and we built our own Passive House in Yarraville, so we know these suburbs and their character homes intimately. The inner west is full of weatherboard Victorians and Edwardian homes that are beautiful but cold and leaky, exactly the kind of home that comes alive as a Passive House or EnerPHit renovation.
That matters more than it sounds. We know the soil out here, the reactive clay that moves with the seasons and dictates how you approach a slab and footings. We know the conditions, the bay winds, the orientation of these tight blocks, the way the weather actually behaves street to street. And we know how it rolls, the councils, the heritage overlays, the quirks of building in suburbs full of century-old weatherboard.
Those weatherboard Victorians and Edwardians are beautiful, and they're also cold, draughty and leaky, exactly the kind of home that comes alive as a Passive House or EnerPHit renovation. We've spent years learning how these homes are put together, which means we know how to bring them up to a performance level you'd never expect from a period house, without losing what makes them worth keeping.
Williamstown, Yarraville, Newport, Seddon, West Footscray, Kingsville, Spotswood, Altona, Footscray, Maribyrnong, Sunshine.
Inner North Melbourne
We work right across the inner north, and it's one of the strongest pockets in Melbourne for high-performance building. We recently finished a project in Preston, and we've got new builds underway in Clifton Hill and Northcote, both targeting full Passive House certification.
Northcote, Thornbury, Preston, Brunswick, Brunswick East, Brunswick West, Fitzroy, Fitzroy North, Carlton, Carlton North, Princes Hill, Clifton Hill, Collingwood, Abbotsford, Alphington, Fairfield.
Inner Arc
The band running north-west of the city, and a busy patch for us. We've got a certified Passive House in Ascot Vale and another under construction in Flemington, with plenty of scope across the area for new builds and high-performance homes.
Essendon, Moonee Ponds, Ascot Vale, Flemington, Kensington, Parkville, Aberfeldie, Strathmore, North Melbourne.
Inner South & East
We also work across the bayside and inner-east, where larger blocks and architect-led designs make for some of our most ambitious projects. If you're in this part of town and building to a high standard, we'd love to talk.
Albert Park, Middle Park, Port Melbourne, South Melbourne, Malvern, Hawthorn, Kew, Brighton.
Not on the list?
If you're just outside these areas, it's still worth a conversation. We take on a limited number of projects each year and we'd rather have a chat and be honest about whether we're the right fit than turn you away over a postcode.
What makes a Carland Constructions home different?
We prove it, we don't promise it. Every home we build is airtightness tested with a blower door, fully electric, and verified to perform before we hand it over. Our own certified Passive House in Yarraville was tested at 0.26 ACH50, one of the tightest results we've recorded. A typical Australian home leaks at around 15 to 20 air changes an hour. Ours come in close to zero. That gap is the difference between a draughty, expensive house and a quiet, healthy, efficient home.
Our certified Passive Houses
Five certified homes across Melbourne, each independently tested:
The Pigeon Passive House in Yarraville, Matt Carland's own home, featured on Grand Designs Australia and tested at 0.26 ACH50. The Forrest Passive House in Spotswood. The Champion Passive House in Williamstown. Rifle Range in Williamstown, certified to the EnerPHit standard for existing homes. And a certified Passive House in Ascot Vale.
Projects underway
We've got new builds and high-performance projects in construction across Melbourne, several targeting full Passive House certification: Flemington, East Keilor, Clifton Hill and Northcote, with a recently completed project in Preston.
Our high-performance homes
Not every client needs full certification. Our high-performance homes use the same building science without the certificate, and include our very first high-performance home on Chatfield Street in Kingsville (2019), a build and extension in West Footscray, a project on Maribyrnong Road that hit 1 ACH, a high-performance home on Queen Street in Altona, and work in Footscray and Seddon.
Why build a Passive House in Melbourne?
A Passive House holds a comfortable temperature all year with almost no heating or cooling, filters the air you breathe, and costs a fraction of a standard home to run. In a city of cold winters, hot summers and rising energy bills, it's a home that just feels better, every day you live in it. And because Australians spend around 90% of their time indoors, the quality of the air and comfort inside your home matters more than almost anything else.Who are Carland Constructions?
Carland Constructions is a Passive House and high-performance home builder based in Melbourne's inner west. We don't build standard homes. We build certified Passive Houses and high-performance homes that are healthier, more comfortable, and built to last generations. We've got five certified Passive Houses on the ground and more underway, every one independently tested and verified.
What makes a Carland home different?
We prove it, we don't promise it. Every home we build is airtightness tested with a blower door, fully electric, and verified to perform before we hand it over. Our own certified Passive House in Yarraville was tested at 0.26 ACH50, one of the tightest results we've recorded. A typical Australian home leaks at around 15 to 20 air changes an hour. Ours come in close to zero. That gap is the difference between a draughty, expensive house and a quiet, healthy, efficient home.
Our certified Passive Houses
Five certified homes across Melbourne, each independently tested:
The Pigeon Passive House in Yarraville, Matt Carland's own home, featured on Grand Designs Australia and tested at 0.26 ACH50. The Forrest Passive House in Spotswood. The Champion Passive House in Williamstown. Rifle Range in Williamstown, certified to the EnerPHit standard for existing homes. And a certified Passive House in Ascot Vale.
Projects underway
We've got new builds and high-performance projects in construction across Melbourne, several targeting full Passive House certification: Flemington, East Keilor, Clifton Hill and Northcote, with a recently completed project in Preston.
Our high-performance homes
Not every client needs full certification. Our high-performance homes use the same building science without the certificate, and include our very first high-performance home on Chatfield Street in Kingsville (2019), a build and extension in West Footscray, a project on Maribyrnong Road that hit 1 ACH, a high-performance home on Queen Street in Altona, and work in Footscray and Seddon.
Why build a Passive House in Melbourne?
A Passive House holds a comfortable temperature all year with almost no heating or cooling, filters the air you breathe, and costs a fraction of a standard home to run. In a city of cold winters, hot summers and rising energy bills, it's a home that just feels better, every day you live in it. And because Australians spend around 90% of their time indoors, the quality of the air and comfort inside your home matters more than almost anything else.