Get To Know Your Local APHA Chapter Representatives
Torquil Canning - Tasmania Chapter Representative
"One cold winters morning in 1990 I picked up a piece of bluestone in one hand a piece of polystyrene in the other. I have been interested in building science ever since."
After studying horticulture in Melbourne & gaining experience in London, Torquil started his own landscape design and construction business in Hobart. The 1990s saw him as an owner-builder as he completed a fine arts degree at UTAS. He formalised his house-building experience by study Building Design at TasTAFE. But not satisfied with regular building design, in 2014, he completed the Certified Passive House Designer course in Melbourne and was the first consultant in Tasmania to help architects & clients to build to the Passive House Standard.
Simone Schenkel - Victoria Chapter Representative
"Leaving the world, a better place for our children one house at a time."
Simone Schenkel grew up and studied architecture in Germany, the home of the Passive House movement. On moving to Australia in 2007, she couldn't believe how thermally uncomfortable Australian houses were. She felt it was her mission to educate people about the benefits of the German way of designing and building homes.
The founder of Gruen Eco Design, Simone believes once you have looked into Passive House, there is no turning back. Simone's mission is to design beautiful, energy efficient, sustainable, and healthy homes for future generations that don’t cost the earth.
Timo Bleeker - Western Australia Chapter Representative
"Having grown up in Germany, the weather was often comparable with London, UK. I however never felt colder in winter and hotter in summer inside buildings than in Australia."
Timo is a registered Architect, Project Management Professional, Green Star Associate, and Passive House Designer. The Director of Idealings Architecture, Timo's focus on delivering Passive House based solutions to offer clients better performing buildings and living spaces. Timo became passionate about the Passive House principles after getting a better understanding at university and knows it to be a highly suitable solution to the issue of energy efficiency and comfort in building design.
Christie Hartfiel - ACT Chapter Representive
"Canberra has a thriving Passive House community and I am proud to be the APHA Chapter Lead in the ACT. Our members have regular catch ups and site visits and are a wealth of knowledge. Please get in touch if you would like to join, or learn more about Passive House."
Christie has been designing Passive House buildings since 2016, mostly residential homes and also the Torrens Early Learning Centre, which is Certified Passive House Premium. Christie is a Certified Passive House Designer and senior architect at SQC Group, who specialise in schools, childcare, aged care, and other community buildings. She applies Passive House thinking to all of our projects, including the Red Line Test! (to ensure no gaps in airtightness or insulation, in plan and section).
Matthew Pinches - Queensland Chapter Representative
"After years of ploughing through NatHERS and Section J assessments, fighting with builders about minimum compliance I got sick of race to the bottom and greenwashing which, unfortunately, is part of the construction industry. Ideally in the long run I want to work on developing off-grid, sustainable, Passive House dwellings, and am always looking at ways to increase the performance of my clients buildings, and my own home."
After graduating with an extended major in Mechanical Engineering with graduate diploma in Energy and Environmental studies, Matthew eventually landed in his current role with Viridis which offered exposure to sustainability tools such as Green Star, NABERS, WELL etc and is where he first learned about APHA. Matthew is now working towards the Certified Passive House Consultant course.
Marie is a Building Designer who is motivated to protect our ecosystem. As someone who values good health and clever design, upon hearing about the benefits of Passive House she was inspired to learn more and incorporate it in her design practice. As a tool that controls air quality and internal temperature using minimal energy and in doing so, Marie knows she can create buildings that can be zero carbon or better.
Marie currently has her first two Passive House projects in the design phase, one being her own home!