Sustainable design is a creative approach to design, aiming to reduce negative impacts on the environment and build a healthier, more comfortable environment for people in their homes.
Today, terms such as eco and sustainable are being used to describe houses where thermal performance and effects on the natural environment have been taken into consideration. Now a new term is being used to define these — passive house — and although it appears to be relatively new here in Australia, Passive house has been used in Europe for many years.