Building Smarter Using Passive House Design & Natural Building Materials
Building Smarter Using Passive House Design & Natural Building Materials
Saturday, March 1
10:20 – 11:20am
Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre
33-39 Acacia Street Katoomba, NSW 2780
Kirstie Wulf and Karina Rafailov share their experience designing properties that are beautiful and better for personal and planetary health.
As part of Planetary Health Day at the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre on Saturday 1 March, Kirsty Wulf and Karina Rafailov will discuss how to Build Smarter for People and Planet by using natural building materials and Passive House Design.
Kirstie Wulf is the award-winning founder of Shelter Building Design.
She will discuss how to build smarter by selecting healthier natural building materials that are better for the health of people and planet. She will discuss how these materials can help create lower energy and lower embodied energy homes.
Read more here: https://www.midmtnslocalnews.com/building-with-hempcrete/
Karina Rafailov is the founder of Earthy Haus, with over 12 years of experience in Australia’s building industry and a deep passion for sustainable design. As a certified Passive House Designer and accredited Building Designer with the BDAA, she specialises in creating energy-efficient, healthy, and nature-connected spaces.
Her global journey through Switzerland, Brazil, and Germany has shaped her multicultural perspective and commitment to earth-friendly architecture. In addition to leading Earthy Haus, Karina collaborates with Shelter Building Design and provides consultancy to other architectural practices.
With a mission to design homes that are not only functional and beautiful but also kind to the planet, Karina is dedicated to reshaping the built environment for a healthier, more sustainable future.
Why Use Passive House in Your next Design
Why use Passive house design? Passive House Design is a global standard for energy-efficient, healthy buildings, focusing on sustainability and occupant well-being. Its five core principles (airtightness, continuous insulation, thermal bridge-free design, good windows and doors, and ventilation with heat recovery—ensure energy efficiency, thermal comfort, and air quality. These principles enhance health by reducing pollutants and maintaining consistent temperatures, offering a holistic approach to sustainable living.
Planetary Health Day
An inspiring, fun and informative day to explore how we can all be safer, happier and healthier in the face of a challenging future.
Date and time
Saturday, March 1 · 9am – 3pm AEDT
Location
Blue Mountains Planetary Health Initiative
33-39 Acacia Street Katoomba, NSW 2780
About this event
We all need a Planetary Health Day! Visit the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre on Saturday 1 March for a day of fun and inspiration with live music, plant-based food, talks, tours, demonstrations, workshops, stalls and a Frogs of the Blue Mountains exhibition.
There’ll even be a ping pong tournament, giant chess and an opportunity for all ages to get hands-on experience doing Bushcare!
You’ll discover ways to save money, to reduce the risk of disaster, to ID frogs and to restore the health of our communities and our planet!
Keep an eye on this page as we update times and details! Please book in so that we can estimate seating and catering required (and let us know if your circumstances change).
Contact us via email: lbastian@bmcc.nsw.gov.au
or ring 0407 437 553
- The image above is of a Green Tree Frog photographed by Holly Kentand features in our Frogs of the Blue Mountains exhibition.
- Parking is limited so please consider carpooling, catching a bus, walking or riding a bike to the event. The 686G leaves the Carrington at 8.30am and 8.55am and we will arrange lifts back to the station from the event.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Frogs of the Blue Mountains Exhibition: see photographs of all the known frogs of the Blue Mountains and listen to their calls with the Australian Museum’s Frog ID app.
DEMONSTRATIONS:
- Michael Tricket from Able Mobile Sawmill will demonstrate how you can turn fallen trees into usable timber rather than just woodchip
- Teya Brooks Pribac from Plant Inspired will return with her popular Plant Based Cheesemaking Demonstration and Tasting
SPEAKERS:
- Brittany Mitchell, conservation biologist and ecologist and Frog ID validator at the Australian Museum, will share her experience of working on Frog ID, and her research: “Australia’s frog species in the Anthropocene – habitat loss, climate change, behaviour, and disease”
- Dr Hans Coster: Biophysicist, Bioengineer and builder of Middle Earth (an underground sustainable and disaster-resistant home run on nickel iron batteries) will discuss how we can protect our biosphere to restore the health of our planet. (video below)
- Frank Inzitari from Fire Halo (featured on Shark Tank): Will discuss his affordable and versatile invention that helps you clean your gutters while protecting your home from the threat of bushfire ember attack (video below)
- Mark Liebman, Engineer and Founder of Sustainability Workshop, will share the latest research on Bushfire Sprinkler Systems and then do a guided tour of our Water Demonstration Site, including the 150K litre underground water tank built on site as a demonstration of how we could collect stormwater at the end of flamezone streets around our City to reduce stormwater damage and protect against future fires.
- Karina Rafailov, founder of Earthy Haus and Kirstie Wulf from Shelter Building Design sharing How to Build Smarter using Passive House Design and natural building materials.
- Liam Ramage, threatened species officer from the Blue Mountains Conservation Society on the unseen threat of concrete
- Wildplant Rescue on rescuing native plants from building sites.
WORKSHOPS:
- Upcycling Fashion with Sherlie McMillan (Bookings essential: Cost $10)
- Boomerang Bags: Make Your Own
TOUR:
Tour our Water Demonstration Site which includes how to build a frogpond, wicking beds, drip irrigation, domestic and underground water tanks for firefighting, a composting ‘cool seat’ and demonstration bushfire sprinkler systems.
STALLS:
- Blackheath Community Farm will be sharing how you can get involved and selling locally grown garlic and seeds (eg. Salsify)
- WIRES Blue Mountains
- Bibi’s Kitchen
- Plant based sweets
- Permaculture Matters
- Blue Mountains Conservation Society
- Wildplant Rescue
- The Repair Network
- Katoomba RFS
- Fire Halo
GAMES & FUN ACTIVITIES:
Ping pong and giant chess
Children’s art activity with Sarah Daniel from Kindle Hill
BUSHCARE:
Check out our monthly Planetary Health Bushcare group which is regenerating habitat for wildlife on the Planetary Health site. Find out how you can get involved
