Member Profile - David Dimovski
Q.1. Tell us about yourself and your career so far
My name is David Dimovski and I am the owner and director of Davidbelle Design. I am 34 years old and have lived in the NSW Illawarra region with my wife Michelle and my two children Emila and Tommy. I started my career as an Automotive mechanic which lead me to study Mechanical Engineering, which allowed me to move into a position with the Defence force as a maintenance planner. After I realised that the world of maintenance planning was not for me, I took a year off to study building design while working casually at a local total tools store. This is where I ran into my next employer from Strongbuild Homes where I started as a draftsman designing beautiful multi-million dollar homes. November of 2018 came and the company went into voluntary administration due to a finance debacle with another developer so I decided to start my own company, and the rest is history.
Q.2. What attracted you to becoming a designer?
I have built a few homes in my time and have always thought that they were performing to a reasonably high standard until I went down the rabbit hole living sustainably. In 2016 I came to the realisation that what we eat has a very large impact on the planet, so, I became Vegan overnight and haven't looked back since but, in doing so I had realised a second issue, I realised that I am also designing buildings that are no longer in line with my newly realised ethics and morals. With that said, I then went online to research different building standards to see if there was something out there that I could get behind and that is where I came across the Passive Haus standard. Being a man of logic and having trust in mathematics, the passive house standard made the most sense as it remains an open standard and is quantifiable and very logical. I then contacted Daniel Kress to find out more and became qualified in late 2020
Q.3. How are you making an impact with Passive House?
I am hoping that the impact I am having with passive house is positive, it can be hard at times to convince the masses but, these things take time as people do not like change. If anything, I am hoping to use Passive house to design homes that are comfortable and affordable for the occupants and create a new standard of living for people in my community.
Q.4. Tell us more about your most recent project, what your goal is & the rating you are trying to achieve?
My very first Passive House project will be my own house. A newly created subdivision of land in Shellharbour came up for sale so my wife and I figured we should purchase a lot and build as the lot was close to some good schools and between both our parents. As I started to design the home I also started the Passive House Designer course and realised that I needed to make some changes, to say the least. 8 months later and we are close to starting construction, with excavation booked in for a July start. The main goal of this home is to have somewhere healthy for my family to live while remaining as energy-efficient and as sustainable as I can afford. The idea of using the build to promote the passive house standard came next and the decision was made to document the construction process via the Davidbelle Design Youtube Chanel. This may we can really demystify the process and give builders and members of the public access to see how a passive house works. The house will be aiming for Passive House Plus certification and will be using a lot of existing construction techniques and materials with a few sustainable options substituted here and there.
Q.5. How long have you been a member of APHA?
I have been a member of APHA for about 2 years now and have appreciated the APHA community and resources. It is great to be able to contact a fellow designer to bounce ideas off or browse the APHA website for previous projects that I can reference and maybe help solve an issue I am having.
David was also featured in the Illawarra Mercury about his Passive House build. Click here to read the article.