CRUSH Architecture

CRUSH Architecture Powered by Curiosity, Inspired by History, We Create Sustainable Multigenerational Spaces.

๐—ฆ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฎ ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ท๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜ ๐—”๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜†๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜€This is our new project in Ashfield, a federation heritage home.Right now we are not design...
03/09/2026

๐—ฆ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฎ ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ท๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜ ๐—”๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜†๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜€

This is our new project in Ashfield, a federation heritage home.
Right now we are not designing anything. We are running the Project Analysis, which means learning everything there is to know about this house and the ground it sits on before a single line is drawn.

You have a heritage home and a rough idea of what you want. You do not know what the building will allow, what it will cost, or whether the idea is possible at all. Nobody should be asked to commit to a design before those three things are answered. That is what a Project Analysis
is.

Link in bio to book.

When my first daughter Darcey was small, we were renting a Victorian terrace in Annandale. Lovely home, well kept, nothi...
02/09/2026

When my first daughter Darcey was small, we were renting a Victorian terrace in Annandale. Lovely home, well kept, nothing dramatically wrong.

Over time she developed severe asthma. It worsened in ways that felt connected to being inside.

Eventually we looked at the building itself. There was mould. Not visible. Embedded in the fabric.

I was an architect, and I missed it in my own home.

That experience changed my practice permanently. It is why Passivhaus is now part of every home we design. Not an optional upgrade. The baseline for how a family's home should perform.

Annandale HouseBehind a terrace street front, a new rear addition opens the house to its garden.Recycled brick and timbe...
02/09/2026

Annandale House

Behind a terrace street front, a new rear addition opens the house to its garden.
Recycled brick and timber outside, with a vine planted balcony over the garden room. Terrazzo, marble and fluted glass inside, down to a powder room.

Shown here as the renders. Photography of the finished house follows.

Your heritage home is not cold because it is old.It is cold because air moves through it in ways nobody designed.Gaps at...
26/08/2026

Your heritage home is not cold because it is old.

It is cold because air moves through it in ways nobody designed.
Gaps at the skirtings. Under the floorboards. Around window frames. Up an open chimney that has not had a fire in it for thirty years.

So the heating runs, and the warm air leaves as fast as you make it. You are paying twice for the same warmth.

None of that is the building's fault. A solid Victorian or federation house is not the problem. The gaps are, and gaps can be closed without touching a single thing worth keeping.

That is where Passivhaus thinking meets a heritage home.
Same house, same character, a fraction of the running cost.

The roof structure of the "Library" in Summer Hill is up.Out front, a federation house the street has known for a centur...
23/08/2026

The roof structure of the "Library" in Summer Hill is up.

Out front, a federation house the street has known for a century.
Behind it, a new private studio taking shape. Where they meet, old brick and new brick share one straight line.

We do not preserve heritage. We protect it, and we write a new chapter.

The Library is a private Passivhaus project for a Heritage Federation home in the Inner West of Sydney, on site right no...
03/08/2026

The Library is a private Passivhaus project for a Heritage Federation home in the Inner West of Sydney, on site right now, born from one clientโ€™s great passion. Books.

A Passivhaus garden library in steel, inserted into an existing outbuilding in brickwork. Here is a snapshot of the construction documentation that explains details like the cantilevered window seat, the box gutter and the concealed downpipe.

The render shows the vision. The construction documentation shows how to build it.

What is the new luxury in Sydney development projects? is currently working with investors to explore opportunities for ...
30/07/2026

What is the new luxury in Sydney development projects?

is currently working with investors to explore opportunities for adaptive reuse projects across Sydneyโ€™s Eastern Suburbs.

The ambition is not simply to create projects for the $$$. It is to deliver intelligent, high-quality developments that are also commercially successful.

The new luxury is not defined by expensive finishes or the latest fashionable curve.

It is the connection to a specific place.
Access to a beautiful natural environment.
And a home designed around the way people actually want to live.

A successful development must account for every need that comes into play: planning controls, construction costs, market expectations, lifestyle, environmental quality and commercial return.

This project in Bondi, in Sydneyโ€™s Eastern Suburbs, is one example.

Crush obtained DA approval for a Passivhaus four-storey boutique apartment development, including a communal rooftop vegetable garden designed to encourage interaction and create a small community within the building.

The approval also achieved an additional three metres above the prescribed maximum building height, significantly improving the projectโ€™s development potential and profitability for our clients.

This morning I was speaking about heritage homes and Passivhaus in front of a room of fifty people, and I asked a simple...
16/07/2026

This morning I was speaking about heritage homes and Passivhaus in front of a room of fifty people, and I asked a simple question:

Who felt cold inside their own home this morning?

Almost everyone raised their hand.

That is not normal.

Sydney homes in winter often sit below 18ยฐC, which is the World Health Organizationโ€™s recommended minimum temperature for healthy housing.

When it comes to building performance, the vast majority of renovations and new homes are still very poor.

To use a paradox:
we build great eskies for our drinks, but tents for our families.

There is a fix, and it has a name: Passivhaus.

Passivhaus is a worldwide high-performance building standard based on correct design, detailing and construction knowledge, rather than relying only on mechanical systems and technology.

It means better comfort, better health and much lower energy use.

The result:

โ†’ 20โ€“25ยฐC all year round, in every room
โ†’ Up to 90% less heating and cooling energy for new builds, and up to 70% for renovations
โ†’ Fresh filtered air, day and night
โ†’ A home designed to reduce mould, dust, draughts and traffic fumes

And most importantly, Passivhaus is not a style.
It can be applied to new homes, contemporary additions and hundred-year-old heritage terraces alike.

If someone told you this week, โ€œour house is freezingโ€, send them this post.

That sentence may be the beginning of a much better home.

Address

Reservoir
Surry Hills, NSW
2010

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