so I want to jump
Speaker:back to passive house
Speaker:conversation here.
Speaker:Why shouldn't we
Speaker:build a passive house?
Speaker:now you've stumped me.
Speaker:I No.
Speaker:I can't answer that.
Speaker:Why?
Speaker:we should all be
Speaker:building them.
Speaker:That should be the
Speaker:minimum standard.
Speaker:and like literally
Speaker:everything we're doing
Speaker:is Passive House.
Speaker:So I, have some people
Speaker:who don't necessarily
Speaker:want to certify.
Speaker:so the follow on to
Speaker:this is every house
Speaker:need to be certified.
Speaker:if we want to do it right,
Speaker:then yes, we should.
Speaker:without certification,
Speaker:we're losing quality
Speaker:control and Passive
Speaker:House, Coming from
Speaker:Germany is very much about
Speaker:quality precision, and
Speaker:so we can't rely on one
Speaker:person to do everything
Speaker:perfectly all the time.
Speaker:We're human, we'll
Speaker:make mistakes.
Speaker:So having someone else
Speaker:look over that and check
Speaker:it independently of us,
Speaker:of the team, I think
Speaker:is incredibly valuable.
Speaker:so we've done heaps of
Speaker:passive housework, right?
Speaker:And still to this day our
Speaker:passive house modeling
Speaker:will do all the work on
Speaker:our design documents and
Speaker:the certifier will check
Speaker:it and come back and say,
Speaker:we need a detail of this,
Speaker:or you need to change the
Speaker:way this is connecting,
Speaker:every job, we still learn,
Speaker:I love that, I love that
Speaker:we're learning, that's the
Speaker:whole idea that we keep
Speaker:improving, but without
Speaker:that certification,
Speaker:mistakes creep through.
Speaker:I think sometimes
Speaker:when Hamish and I have
Speaker:talked about the Not
Speaker:Every House needs to be
Speaker:certified, I understand
Speaker:there's new people coming
Speaker:into this industry or
Speaker:this side of building.
Speaker:And when you're doing
Speaker:your first 4, 5, 6
Speaker:projects, yeah, they
Speaker:should be certified
Speaker:because you need to learn.
Speaker:if you were to do a
Speaker:project that wasn't
Speaker:certified with Hamish or
Speaker:myself, the product that
Speaker:you're going to get at
Speaker:the end of the day will
Speaker:be very, very close.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Because we already know
Speaker:what the expectation
Speaker:levels that need to
Speaker:come out of that are.
Speaker:like, I don't change
Speaker:my high performance
Speaker:projects and my passive
Speaker:house when it comes to
Speaker:documentation, testing.
Speaker:We still run a certified
Speaker:blow it all test.
Speaker:We still run the
Speaker:thermal imaging camera.
Speaker:We still get it
Speaker:all approved.
Speaker:We still take photos.
Speaker:We still get those
Speaker:same details.
Speaker:It's just we don't send
Speaker:it for that third party
Speaker:independent inspector.
Speaker:And I think that's
Speaker:just the difference.
Speaker:But I think that's the
Speaker:issue in industry where
Speaker:There's no one verifying
Speaker:the work that happens.
Speaker:You get a frame inspection,
Speaker:and then you get a final.
Speaker:And there's so much
Speaker:shit that happens
Speaker:in between that,
Speaker:that is the problem.
Speaker:I don't think that
Speaker:we're there yet as an
Speaker:industry, that we can
Speaker:rely on all our respective
Speaker:trades to deliver the
Speaker:quality that's needed.
Speaker:Insulation is a perfect
Speaker:example, you know, and I
Speaker:know there are inroads now
Speaker:to improve our insulation
Speaker:installation requirements
Speaker:and they're working on
Speaker:improving that side of
Speaker:the industry, but you
Speaker:know, gaps and cracks are
Speaker:the nemesis of insulation
Speaker:so if you think about it
Speaker:on a broad scale, when
Speaker:we do the mathematics
Speaker:and the PHPP work.
Speaker:So, we're applying an
Speaker:insulation value to a
Speaker:whole wall assembly, all
Speaker:the little things that can
Speaker:happen on a building site
Speaker:to undermine that are not
Speaker:being checked or verified
Speaker:by anybody, you guys.
Speaker:You're running two or
Speaker:three jobs at a time.
Speaker:You can't be across
Speaker:every detail personally
Speaker:and you train your teams
Speaker:up magnificently and
Speaker:they're all very well
Speaker:educated, but someone's
Speaker:only going to turn their
Speaker:back for a minute and
Speaker:the details missed.
Speaker:actually disagree on that.
Speaker:my team are well trained
Speaker:and know very, very
Speaker:well the details that
Speaker:need to go into it.
Speaker:And they are so over it.
Speaker:They're actually real.
Speaker:And I think the thing
Speaker:with my team is like,
Speaker:Last night, two of them
Speaker:were sending me photos or
Speaker:videos of one of Hamish's
Speaker:jobs and Mark's jobs.
Speaker:And like, this is
Speaker:how they did this.
Speaker:This is how they did that.
Speaker:Like, let's start with
Speaker:that basis because
Speaker:we can maybe do this.
Speaker:Like, they're already
Speaker:looking to improve on how
Speaker:other people have done it.
Speaker:And then what will then
Speaker:happen is probably Hamish's
Speaker:team will do the same.
Speaker:They'll be like, this
Speaker:is what they did.
Speaker:We can improve
Speaker:on it like that.
Speaker:So I think when you got
Speaker:a good team, when you got
Speaker:good people who actually
Speaker:care about this, those
Speaker:details don't get missed.
Speaker:They actually get improved
Speaker:every single time.
Speaker:unfortunately or
Speaker:fortunately for the three
Speaker:of us, we live in this
Speaker:little bubble where we
Speaker:think everyone's doing the
Speaker:right things and everyone's
Speaker:building high performance
Speaker:and passive house and.
Speaker:They want to recycle
Speaker:and they want to
Speaker:be sustainable,
Speaker:that kind of stuff.
Speaker:I mean, if you zoom
Speaker:out like broadly as
Speaker:an industry, that's
Speaker:not happening.
Speaker:what we want to do with
Speaker:this podcast and the stuff
Speaker:we're doing with SBA and
Speaker:all the amazing stuff that,
Speaker:Australian Passive House
Speaker:Association are doing is
Speaker:actually trying to educate
Speaker:the industry more broadly.
Speaker:Sven, I'm going to
Speaker:throw a controversial
Speaker:question at you.
Speaker:Is a passive house?
Speaker:A passive house if
Speaker:it's not certified.
Speaker:I want to say no, although
Speaker:I understand it that
Speaker:the Institute say yes.
Speaker:So let's just confirm this
Speaker:is your personal opinion
Speaker:for anyone listening, so
Speaker:no one gets sued here.
Speaker:institute, I believe
Speaker:I've read somewhere there
Speaker:that they say, no, you
Speaker:don't have to certify to
Speaker:call it a passive house.
Speaker:So I feel that passive
Speaker:house now is a brand and
Speaker:that that brand is earned
Speaker:by doing everything and
Speaker:all the ticks and check
Speaker:boxes that need to be
Speaker:done to deliver that.
Speaker:And that if you don't
Speaker:follow the process and
Speaker:deliver the required data
Speaker:and information, then
Speaker:you don't get that stamp.
Speaker:So, my opinion is that
Speaker:you should be required to
Speaker:certify to be able to brand
Speaker:your house a passive house.
Speaker:so I've got this from a
Speaker:text message from Lex,
Speaker:who's the CEO of the
Speaker:Passive House Institute,
Speaker:and the definition that
Speaker:she has here, and I think
Speaker:it's on the same page.
Speaker:The Passive House Standard
Speaker:is a performance standard.
Speaker:If someone would like
Speaker:to use the term to
Speaker:make a claim that their
Speaker:uncertified project
Speaker:is performing at this
Speaker:level, then they need
Speaker:to be able to prepare
Speaker:to stand in front of a
Speaker:judge and show how this
Speaker:performance claim has been
Speaker:tested and can be proven.
Speaker:would mean that you need
Speaker:a certifier, that's how
Speaker:you get the certification.
Speaker:So I think everyone's
Speaker:on the same page,
Speaker:especially when it comes
Speaker:to the way we build the
Speaker:Australian Passive House.
Speaker:But compared to the
Speaker:International Passive House
Speaker:Association, their wording
Speaker:is a little bit different.
Speaker:I also just wanna go on
Speaker:the record as saying to
Speaker:all those people out there
Speaker:who aren't getting their
Speaker:project certified, don't
Speaker:hear this and think that we
Speaker:are discrediting anything
Speaker:that you do, you are doing.
Speaker:Because what you are doing
Speaker:right now is amazing.
Speaker:0.
Speaker:1 percent of homes
Speaker:in Australia.
Speaker:exactly, so if you don't
Speaker:get a plaque on the wall,
Speaker:don't think that we're
Speaker:poo pooing it, right?
Speaker:And just what part of
Speaker:the narrative that we're
Speaker:trying to do on our
Speaker:social media now is that
Speaker:we're calling it a high
Speaker:performance home, but we're
Speaker:following these principles.
Speaker:And the projects
Speaker:that we're aiming to
Speaker:get certified, we're
Speaker:going, we're targeting
Speaker:certification, but we'll
Speaker:call it a passive house.
Speaker:When it's a passive house
Speaker:and in my opinion that
Speaker:is honoring the hard
Speaker:work and dedication of
Speaker:the entire team and the
Speaker:clients to actually get
Speaker:that plaque on the wall.
Speaker:And that's the
Speaker:reason I asked you
Speaker:the questions Fenn.
Speaker:I don't want people to
Speaker:think to don't do it if
Speaker:you can't get a plaque
Speaker:because just be better.
Speaker:We've had a chat with
Speaker:Cam about this because
Speaker:sometimes there is this
Speaker:amazing view to the south
Speaker:that you want to get, but
Speaker:just make those windows
Speaker:a bit smaller and just
Speaker:understand the impact
Speaker:that that's going to have,
Speaker:because plaque on the wall,
Speaker:but there's also how you
Speaker:feel in your home too.
Speaker:That's also
Speaker:really important.
Speaker:I have a house
Speaker:that's impossible
Speaker:to get certified.
Speaker:of,
Speaker:Literally, we can't.
Speaker:It's a retrofit.
Speaker:We physically can't
Speaker:even with, I think,
Speaker:unlimited budget.
Speaker:We physically can't get
Speaker:this house certified.
Speaker:It's in Brunswick.
Speaker:There is a huge triple
Speaker:story next door.
Speaker:It blocks all the
Speaker:north lighting.
Speaker:It's got heritage overlays.
Speaker:It's boundary to
Speaker:boundary already.
Speaker:We can't do anything.
Speaker:I don't think we can even
Speaker:get it to low energy.
Speaker:I think we can go close
Speaker:to the component method.
Speaker:We still can't go
Speaker:to component method.
Speaker:what you're doing
Speaker:with that project.
Speaker:You're still going
Speaker:through that recipe.
Speaker:You're still going
Speaker:through the recipe
Speaker:book and going through
Speaker:all the ingredients.
Speaker:You're trying to tick
Speaker:them off and you're
Speaker:understanding everything.
Speaker:You're not just going,
Speaker:oh, well, fuck that.
Speaker:We can't hear that.
Speaker:So who gives a shit?
Speaker:It's actually
Speaker:understanding, well,
Speaker:this wall over here might
Speaker:have some risks Wolfie,
Speaker:Wolfie analysis on it.
Speaker:So let's just see
Speaker:if there is a risk.
Speaker:In that wall
Speaker:assembly there.
Speaker:So we're still following
Speaker:the same process, but
Speaker:the outcome might not
Speaker:be a pluck on the wall
Speaker:it starts with modeling
Speaker:ends with testing.
Speaker:when I say a model, it
Speaker:is PHP modeling, not that
Speaker:hers modeling if you want
Speaker:to call your project, a
Speaker:high performance project,
Speaker:you need to model early
Speaker:model often design it
Speaker:around that model and
Speaker:then test it at the end.
Speaker:And then that can be
Speaker:referred to as what I
Speaker:would say high performance,
Speaker:because you should still
Speaker:have all those basic
Speaker:building principles, which
Speaker:we hate using the word
Speaker:principles, but it should
Speaker:still tick all those
Speaker:boxes because you've gone
Speaker:through the modeling stage.
Speaker:Is that fair?
Speaker:Or am I probably being
Speaker:too hard on that word
Speaker:high performance now?
Speaker:Because I think that's
Speaker:another term that, fuck
Speaker:me, everyone's a high
Speaker:performance builder now.
Speaker:And it's like, just
Speaker:because you put some
Speaker:solar panels on the roof.
Speaker:Doesn't mean it's
Speaker:high performing.
Speaker:That's a technology.
Speaker:Yeah, look, I think the
Speaker:same things happen with
Speaker:sustainability, you know,
Speaker:and the greenwashing
Speaker:that came around with
Speaker:that, everyone's eco
Speaker:this and green that, but
Speaker:ultimately, what have they
Speaker:really changed in their
Speaker:practice to deliver that,
Speaker:I'm going to call
Speaker:it out right now.
Speaker:And it's architects
Speaker:declare because at the time
Speaker:there was the bushfires,
Speaker:everyone signed up to
Speaker:this thing and we're
Speaker:going to change our power.
Speaker:We're going to make change.
Speaker:And I want to know how many
Speaker:of these people, they've
Speaker:got 1200 signatories.
Speaker:How many of them are
Speaker:actually doing something
Speaker:rather than making these
Speaker:claims that we're doing
Speaker:this, we're doing this.
Speaker:Like, that is greenwashing
Speaker:and I'm going to call
Speaker:it out right now.
Speaker:And if you're listening
Speaker:to it and you think
Speaker:you're one of them, you
Speaker:probably most likely are.
Speaker:But you can change.
Speaker:You can get better.
Speaker:You once signed up,
Speaker:it doesn't mean you
Speaker:can't change now.
Speaker:if only there was a
Speaker:group that was born
Speaker:out of that little
Speaker:declared movement, that's
Speaker:actually doing something
Speaker:And you are.
Speaker:Sustainable
Speaker:Builders Alliance.
Speaker:They're doing something.
Speaker:They're actively trying
Speaker:to educate the market.
Speaker:Where architects declare,
Speaker:fuck me, just because
Speaker:you change your power
Speaker:to be green energy
Speaker:doesn't change anything
Speaker:from the homes you're
Speaker:producing and building.
Speaker:yeah, when that came
Speaker:around, I had a look at
Speaker:it we're already doing
Speaker:stuff, you know, and I'm
Speaker:sure what we're doing now
Speaker:is a lot better than what
Speaker:we're doing then, but for
Speaker:me at the time to sign an
Speaker:agreement or document or a
Speaker:commitment or whatever you
Speaker:want to call it, it made no
Speaker:difference whether I signed
Speaker:that or not, for me, it
Speaker:was about, well, let's just
Speaker:keep pushing boundaries
Speaker:and doing what we can
Speaker:do to make things better
Speaker:and let's just roll on,
Speaker:don't know if this is a
Speaker:conversation I had with
Speaker:you, but technically they
Speaker:weren't letting you sign
Speaker:that petition because
Speaker:you weren't an architect.
Speaker:Am I right in saying that?
Speaker:Surely not.
Speaker:probably, probably.
Speaker:I mean, it we had some
Speaker:articles written about
Speaker:our work and they referred
Speaker:to us as architects.
Speaker:And the Institute came
Speaker:after us legally and said,
Speaker:you need to now make sure
Speaker:they change the wording on
Speaker:those articles because you
Speaker:Sven are not an architect.
Speaker:And so even to the
Speaker:point where I have two
Speaker:architects that work in
Speaker:our practice, I can't call
Speaker:them architects from a
Speaker:legal perspective, right?
Speaker:Even though they're
Speaker:registered and insured and
Speaker:have their own licenses.
Speaker:On my website, I
Speaker:cannot call them an
Speaker:architect because that's
Speaker:what's in the act.
Speaker:I'm not allowed to use any
Speaker:wording or anything that
Speaker:refers to architectural.
Speaker:So my, my degree,
Speaker:Associate Diploma of
Speaker:Architectural Drafting,
Speaker:I'm not allowed to use
Speaker:the word architectural
Speaker:legally, right?
Speaker:It doesn't make
Speaker:sense to me.
Speaker:I think it's an antiquated.
Speaker:Law or act that
Speaker:needs to be updated.
Speaker:I don't have any problem
Speaker:with them protecting
Speaker:the term and, and
Speaker:keeping it for those
Speaker:people that those people
Speaker:that have done that
Speaker:degree should be allowed
Speaker:to use that no matter
Speaker:where they work and
Speaker:what they do, because
Speaker:they've earned the right.
Speaker:and we're not poo
Speaker:pooing architects.
Speaker:Actually
Speaker:I'm going to go on
Speaker:record that the good
Speaker:architects of what they
Speaker:can produce are unreal.
Speaker:And the detail that we get,
Speaker:the conversations that we
Speaker:have they're the ones that
Speaker:usually push the envelope
Speaker:and do some things.
Speaker:What I'm calling out
Speaker:here is the fact that,
Speaker:signing a piece of
Speaker:paper means jack shit.
Speaker:But
Speaker:hold yourself accountable.
Speaker:And you know what, like,
Speaker:Hamish and I, you've
Speaker:probably spoken about it.
Speaker:I once said I was a
Speaker:green builder, that I
Speaker:was sustainable and I did
Speaker:nothing that was green.
Speaker:I think the most
Speaker:sustainable thing I did
Speaker:was use It's just pine
Speaker:in my frame, which I
Speaker:had to use anyway, to be
Speaker:really honest with you.
Speaker:So yeah, you start
Speaker:somewhere and the
Speaker:information now is there.
Speaker:It's out there.
Speaker:You don't have
Speaker:to look for it.
Speaker:It's all over your
Speaker:social media, CPD points.
Speaker:It's all there.
Speaker:When we had to find it,
Speaker:we kind of had to find it.
Speaker:Now like the information
Speaker:is just literally,
Speaker:you can't not see it.
Speaker:So that's what frustrates
Speaker:me more than anything
Speaker:when there's so much
Speaker:education around this.
Speaker:and you fail to acknowledge
Speaker:it and then you don't
Speaker:do anything about it
Speaker:but you understand it.
Speaker:I'm just going to go
Speaker:back to a phone call
Speaker:that I had from you a
Speaker:couple of months ago.
Speaker:and I think it was after
Speaker:the podcast that I.
Speaker:kind of let a
Speaker:lot of stuff out.
Speaker:I was feeling quite
Speaker:emotional at the time and I
Speaker:I remember I got a
Speaker:phone call from you
Speaker:and It was a really
Speaker:beautiful moment for me.
Speaker:Can I just ask your
Speaker:side of that phone call
Speaker:and why you decided
Speaker:to pick up the phone?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So I think the fact that
Speaker:you had been so vulnerable
Speaker:and so honest in that
Speaker:public forum and I was,
Speaker:listening to all of your
Speaker:podcasts and that one it
Speaker:really struck a chord with
Speaker:me because I've, had my own
Speaker:challenges mental health
Speaker:challenges and, and that's
Speaker:been ongoing and probably
Speaker:still is on, it will go
Speaker:for a long time, but.
Speaker:When you showed your
Speaker:hand like that, it just
Speaker:really struck a chord.
Speaker:And I wanted to reach out
Speaker:and thank you for that
Speaker:because it meant a lot to
Speaker:me that you had done that.
Speaker:And so, I don't think I
Speaker:got to talk much about
Speaker:me or anything like that.
Speaker:I just wanted to thank
Speaker:you and what you've done.
Speaker:So, yeah,
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And this is by no means
Speaker:virtuous virtue signaling,
Speaker:by the way, I guess I
Speaker:just wanted to point
Speaker:out that, you know, Sven
Speaker:picked up the phone and
Speaker:called someone when he
Speaker:was at, you know, I knew
Speaker:the background to where
Speaker:Sven was at at the time,
Speaker:you know, we, we talked
Speaker:quite a bit like, I felt
Speaker:really honored that That
Speaker:I had someone in my life
Speaker:who felt that they could
Speaker:just pick up the phone
Speaker:and, say, Hey, thank you.
Speaker:I'm having a shit time.
Speaker:It really resonated with
Speaker:me and I just really needed
Speaker:to hear that right then.
Speaker:And just on mental health
Speaker:and all that kind of
Speaker:stuff's been like, I
Speaker:know, our relationship.
Speaker:goes back a lot further
Speaker:than having our businesses
Speaker:working together.
Speaker:Like we trained together a
Speaker:lot at CrossFit Blackburn.
Speaker:I'm just interested to
Speaker:hear from your side, how
Speaker:you've got a busy life.
Speaker:You've got a young family.
Speaker:Lots and lots of
Speaker:things going on.
Speaker:What, what are some of
Speaker:the things that you do
Speaker:in your life to help
Speaker:you navigate some of
Speaker:those trickier times?
Speaker:Is there things that I know
Speaker:you talk that you love golf
Speaker:for a long time I didn't
Speaker:do much exercise as a kid.
Speaker:I just played sport
Speaker:all day, every day.
Speaker:I loved all sports.
Speaker:And then for, through my
Speaker:late twenties and thirties,
Speaker:I didn't do a lot.
Speaker:And then I started
Speaker:exercising in my
Speaker:late thirties.
Speaker:CrossFit was the
Speaker:first thing I really
Speaker:got back into.
Speaker:But exercise has been
Speaker:now an absolute key.
Speaker:So even this morning, the
Speaker:alarm went at ten to five
Speaker:and I was out on the bike,
Speaker:Yeah, it's really nice to
Speaker:connect with other blokes
Speaker:and exercise socially.
Speaker:I quite like that.
Speaker:And I know cyclists
Speaker:get a bad rap from
Speaker:a lot of people.
Speaker:I think there's a healthy
Speaker:mix of good and bad
Speaker:cyclists, just as there
Speaker:are good and bad drivers.
Speaker:But we go out nice and
Speaker:early to avoid the traffic.
Speaker:We stop, we have a coffee
Speaker:at the end, a quick
Speaker:debrief, 10 minutes
Speaker:and we're off, home.
Speaker:I'm in the door at 7
Speaker:o'clock and I'm getting
Speaker:lunches made, quick shower.
Speaker:I've got this at 8 o'clock
Speaker:and, but if I didn't do
Speaker:that ride this morning,
Speaker:I'd be sitting here
Speaker:like, what am I going
Speaker:to, how am I going to get
Speaker:some exercise in today?
Speaker:And that happened
Speaker:to me yesterday.
Speaker:I got up early to ride
Speaker:and it was raining
Speaker:so I couldn't ride.
Speaker:I'm the same.
Speaker:I was up at five 30
Speaker:this morning training
Speaker:in my home gym.
Speaker:And you talked about
Speaker:connections there with with
Speaker:other blokes and like if
Speaker:I think about what humbles
Speaker:me and what calms me and I
Speaker:guess a place where I can
Speaker:kind of feel vulnerable.
Speaker:It's in that on
Speaker:that gym floor where
Speaker:we're working out.
Speaker:We're feeling good
Speaker:and we're talking.
Speaker:I'm one of those wankers.
Speaker:That's just bought
Speaker:a cold plunge too.
Speaker:So it's basically curing
Speaker:everything I might add.
Speaker:because cold
Speaker:plunges do that.
Speaker:But yeah, no, man we
Speaker:train, I feel good.
Speaker:I've got up, had breakfast
Speaker:with the family and now
Speaker:we're here having this
Speaker:conversation and I'll
Speaker:be exactly the same.
Speaker:If I didn't do
Speaker:that, I'd be itchy.
Speaker:I'd be like, when
Speaker:am I training today?
Speaker:I had eggs on
Speaker:toast with, mr.
Speaker:Ben Cooper, who's the
Speaker:executive chef at chin
Speaker:chin, his famous chili
Speaker:oil on top of it, and it
Speaker:was absolutely delicious.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Beautiful.
Speaker:Well nailed mate.
Speaker:So I think connections is
Speaker:a really interesting point,
Speaker:Amish, and I'll just be a
Speaker:little bit selfish here and
Speaker:talk about something I did.
Speaker:There's a couple of things.
Speaker:So through COVID, everyone
Speaker:was getting very fatigued
Speaker:with our lockdowns.
Speaker:And I came home one day and
Speaker:said to my wife, I think we
Speaker:need to set up some family
Speaker:challenges so that families
Speaker:can connect through
Speaker:conversation on WhatsApp
Speaker:about these challenges.
Speaker:So we set up,
Speaker:silly stuff, right?
Speaker:So one of them was the
Speaker:dress up in fancy dress
Speaker:and walk around the
Speaker:Blackburn Lake Sanctuary.
Speaker:Now, that was a two fold.
Speaker:Challenge.
Speaker:One of them was get
Speaker:out of your comfort
Speaker:zone and have a laugh.
Speaker:Stop taking yourself
Speaker:so serious than being
Speaker:down in the dumps about
Speaker:the shit we were in.
Speaker:Secondly, you'll walk
Speaker:past someone else and
Speaker:they'll laugh, right?
Speaker:And it'll have this flow
Speaker:on effect of happy people.
Speaker:You know, once you smile
Speaker:and have a giggle, your
Speaker:day improves, right?
Speaker:You feel better in
Speaker:yourself, right?
Speaker:So that was gold.
Speaker:We got so many photos.
Speaker:We had about 150 families
Speaker:come into this whatsapp
Speaker:prep in the local area.
Speaker:Oh, so it just wasn't,
Speaker:it just wasn't your
Speaker:family directly, like
Speaker:you actually went
Speaker:No.
Speaker:So we sent it out to all
Speaker:the school families and
Speaker:then it went out to other
Speaker:school families and all
Speaker:those people got involved.
Speaker:So we had all sorts of
Speaker:different challenges.
Speaker:There were baking,
Speaker:drawing, running.
Speaker:There was a ride your
Speaker:bike in fancy dress from
Speaker:Blackburn station to
Speaker:Ngunnaw wedding station.
Speaker:You know, one family got
Speaker:in their wetsuits and
Speaker:goggles and rode their
Speaker:bikes and tied themselves.
Speaker:Yeah, there's incredible
Speaker:memories
Speaker:from
Speaker:was all,
Speaker:time.
Speaker:So And so from that you
Speaker:know, I sort of felt like I
Speaker:needed to connect more with
Speaker:my community around me.
Speaker:So the dads at the primary
Speaker:school, I remember hearing
Speaker:stories about nights of
Speaker:mine at their schools,
Speaker:and they had all these
Speaker:social gatherings with
Speaker:their dads at their school.
Speaker:And why don't I have
Speaker:that at my school?
Speaker:I'm going to organize it.
Speaker:So I started getting dads
Speaker:together and we'd go to
Speaker:the pub and have a drink.
Speaker:This is post COVID now.
Speaker:And we do a barefoot bowls
Speaker:and one another dad said,
Speaker:Hey, I'll organize a dads
Speaker:and kids camping weekend.
Speaker:And so in a few weeks
Speaker:time we're going and
Speaker:there's going to be
Speaker:50 different families and
Speaker:133 people all from our
Speaker:school go camping together.
Speaker:And the connection
Speaker:that's come just from a
Speaker:couple of phone calls,
Speaker:it's just everyone's
Speaker:craving it and needs it.
Speaker:Why is he selfish?
Speaker:Can we go back to that
Speaker:point where you're
Speaker:saying you're going to
Speaker:be, this is selfish.
Speaker:How is he
Speaker:Well, I guess I feel like,
Speaker:the opposite.
Speaker:yeah, it's, it's the
Speaker:greater good of course,
Speaker:but yeah, it was, I feel
Speaker:really good about that
Speaker:I'm listening to this
Speaker:story and I genuinely
Speaker:have goosebumps
Speaker:thinking about it.
Speaker:Like I, for all those
Speaker:people living in Melbourne
Speaker:and Victoria, like it was
Speaker:a shit time during COVID
Speaker:and all those lockdowns.
Speaker:So isolating and we
Speaker:Lost those connections
Speaker:that I'm going to steal
Speaker:this quote from someone,
Speaker:but, you know, and I do
Speaker:listen to a bit of Brene
Speaker:Brown, but Brene Brown,
Speaker:you know, world leader
Speaker:in vulnerability says
Speaker:that being vulnerable
Speaker:with people actually
Speaker:creates those really
Speaker:deep connections and
Speaker:circling back to.
Speaker:That moment that we
Speaker:had spent, like, I feel
Speaker:in for me, like our
Speaker:relationship changed at
Speaker:that point because we had
Speaker:that deeper connection.
Speaker:And I think that's really
Speaker:important to remember just
Speaker:generally in life that we
Speaker:are all on this fucking
Speaker:spinning globe, feeling
Speaker:the same things we were
Speaker:all feeling the same things
Speaker:and to smile at someone.
Speaker:To ask someone how they
Speaker:are, to be vulnerable
Speaker:with someone, are really
Speaker:all easy and important
Speaker:things that we all
Speaker:need to do, because
Speaker:I guarantee you will
Speaker:feel better afterwards.
Speaker:Not saying you can fix
Speaker:it, because we've all got
Speaker:shit, but there's really
Speaker:simple things that you
Speaker:can do to, I guess, help
Speaker:you navigate your way
Speaker:through life day to day.
Speaker:I remember that
Speaker:phone call from Sven.
Speaker:Like, it was, oh,
Speaker:man, it was beautiful.
Speaker:I was crying, he was
Speaker:crying, everyone was
Speaker:crying, I was just
Speaker:think
Speaker:it was that moment
Speaker:where I knew Matt, that
Speaker:we were onto something
Speaker:with this podcast.
Speaker:what has completely
Speaker:shocked me with running
Speaker:this podcast and probably
Speaker:something we'll talk about
Speaker:on one of the last episodes
Speaker:of where we've come from
Speaker:this year, blew my mind
Speaker:is the amount of people who
Speaker:needed help, that wanted
Speaker:help, that didn't know
Speaker:how to get help, and have
Speaker:actually reached out to us.
Speaker:And this is why we've
Speaker:actually, it's a venture
Speaker:way that Julie's now, want
Speaker:a regular guest to help
Speaker:us navigate this space.
Speaker:Because we started having
Speaker:people reach out, I was
Speaker:like, oh, I don't know, I
Speaker:know what to do, but like,
Speaker:I'm not qualified for this,
Speaker:like, what do we do here?
Speaker:And that, like, we've had
Speaker:like, what, over 30 people?
Speaker:I would say,
Speaker:I want to loop this back
Speaker:to PassiveHouse because
Speaker:with PassiveHouse, it's a
Speaker:very us first them thing.
Speaker:And at the end of the
Speaker:day, PassiveHouse is
Speaker:just, feels like this
Speaker:little cultish, we drink
Speaker:the Kool Aid, whatever.
Speaker:But at the end of the
Speaker:day, I think the big thing
Speaker:about the PassiveHouse
Speaker:community is everyone is
Speaker:willing to help each other.
Speaker:Everyone else is willing
Speaker:to go out of their way
Speaker:to work with someone
Speaker:they haven't worked with
Speaker:before, or have an open
Speaker:conversation because you
Speaker:all have the same goal
Speaker:and the same outcome.
Speaker:And it's very defined,
Speaker:very quickly on.
Speaker:PassiveHouse.
Speaker:org And I think the
Speaker:relationships that I've
Speaker:found and had now, have
Speaker:made me a better person,
Speaker:a better builder uh,
Speaker:hopefully a better, uh,
Speaker:husband, better friend.
Speaker:And I think this is
Speaker:the thing that people
Speaker:get so scared of about
Speaker:Passive House sometimes
Speaker:is it's not the actual
Speaker:Passive House thing,
Speaker:it's extra thing that
Speaker:happens in the background.
Speaker:Sven, you connect with your
Speaker:friends because you have
Speaker:a joint interest, right?
Speaker:You're connecting over your
Speaker:bike riding, so you feel
Speaker:comfortable in that space.
Speaker:I connect with my mates,
Speaker:who I train with, and we
Speaker:feel good after training,
Speaker:so we're, we're being
Speaker:vulnerable with one other,
Speaker:we're helping each other.
Speaker:Surely that's the same
Speaker:thing when we're talking
Speaker:about this passive house
Speaker:space, because we're
Speaker:all connecting over
Speaker:this common interest.
Speaker:Yeah, I think to a
Speaker:degree, I think you're
Speaker:largely correct.
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:about four years ago, my
Speaker:cousin, who we're going
Speaker:to get on at some point,
Speaker:she's a I think business
Speaker:psychologist is her
Speaker:background, but she made
Speaker:a comment and she said to
Speaker:me maybe reach out to some
Speaker:other builders and create a
Speaker:friendship group with them.
Speaker:And I was like, why
Speaker:would I ever do that?
Speaker:I don't want to give
Speaker:them all my information.
Speaker:I don't want them
Speaker:to know about my
Speaker:business structure.
Speaker:When now we have a text
Speaker:message group between
Speaker:how many builders called
Speaker:Dodgy Builder Chat.
Speaker:It's about 12 builders
Speaker:and it constantly
Speaker:goes off from, Hey,
Speaker:who's this trade?
Speaker:Have you got a
Speaker:trade for this?
Speaker:This kid reach out
Speaker:for apprenticeship.
Speaker:Anyone, this person's
Speaker:asking for this role.
Speaker:Anyone keen?
Speaker:What would you do
Speaker:in this situation?
Speaker:What detail would
Speaker:you do here?
Speaker:it goes off all day and
Speaker:we have this community
Speaker:of helping each other and
Speaker:we're all competitors,
Speaker:but we're not competitors.
Speaker:And it's taken me, I think
Speaker:that's where people need
Speaker:to, I start to understand
Speaker:if we work together and
Speaker:go through this whole
Speaker:collaboration thing,
Speaker:like if you just work
Speaker:together, the outcome is
Speaker:so much easier and it's
Speaker:so much less stressful.
Speaker:I don't think we have
Speaker:that at the moment in the
Speaker:design community as much.
Speaker:I think we did
Speaker:have it pre COVID.
Speaker:We go back to BDAV
Speaker:days which is now
Speaker:design matters.
Speaker:And I was on the Committee
Speaker:of Management at BDAV
Speaker:for five odd years.
Speaker:And you'd go to a
Speaker:seminar, an in person
Speaker:event, you know, not
Speaker:this on camera rubbish.
Speaker:You'd actually be in
Speaker:the same room together.
Speaker:And there'd be 100,
Speaker:200 people at some
Speaker:of these events.
Speaker:And you have a beer
Speaker:afterwards in a chat
Speaker:and you connect about
Speaker:a challenge that you're
Speaker:facing, I've got to try
Speaker:and solve this structural
Speaker:issue or regulatory issue
Speaker:and I did that last week,
Speaker:bring this person there.
Speaker:Great.
Speaker:They'll help
Speaker:you solve that.
Speaker:We don't have that now.
Speaker:And so we've got like
Speaker:a Facebook group and
Speaker:things like that.
Speaker:That's great.
Speaker:You reach in.
Speaker:Hey, I need an arborist
Speaker:in Queenscliff and you get
Speaker:three names straight away.
Speaker:It's fantastic.
Speaker:It's quick.
Speaker:It's easy, but
Speaker:it's less personal.
Speaker:And there's not as
Speaker:much vulnerability
Speaker:associated with that.
Speaker:I don't think so.
Speaker:You don't connect
Speaker:in the same way.
Speaker:So, I'm really keen
Speaker:to sort of get back to
Speaker:these in person events
Speaker:and start connecting with
Speaker:our design community again,
Speaker:so that we aren't all
Speaker:beating down these same
Speaker:bridges at the same time
Speaker:with our own approach.
Speaker:this is the problem
Speaker:that I have though.
Speaker:Why don't we just have them
Speaker:with architects, builders,
Speaker:and building designers?
Speaker:Why don't we just have
Speaker:one big thing together?
Speaker:Isn't that just
Speaker:make way more sense?
Speaker:Can we get the
Speaker:building surveyors
Speaker:Yep, building today
Speaker:is
Speaker:in on that same
Speaker:Yeah, I think, like,
Speaker:what, like, it needs to
Speaker:be inclusive and not this
Speaker:divide and, I know tomorrow
Speaker:we've got the SBA, we've
Speaker:got with our building
Speaker:science for dummies sort
Speaker:of thing we're doing
Speaker:and Hamish is a complete
Speaker:mix of what builders,
Speaker:architects, tradies,
Speaker:Totally.
Speaker:and we've all purposely
Speaker:done it on a Friday
Speaker:afternoon on daylight
Speaker:savings so you can
Speaker:stick around, have a
Speaker:beer, go to the pub
Speaker:after it if you want to.
Speaker:Like that's how you
Speaker:get to know each other.
Speaker:That's how you learn
Speaker:from each other.
Speaker:That's how you develop
Speaker:trust from the start
Speaker:and that trust then
Speaker:goes into projects.
Speaker:Like people just
Speaker:overcomplicate this
Speaker:so much and want to
Speaker:keep their guard up.
Speaker:totally agree.
Speaker:I hate these in
Speaker:person things.
Speaker:I don't even really like
Speaker:the events where you
Speaker:sort of sit down like
Speaker:the builder's breakfast
Speaker:or anything like that.
Speaker:And I know people do them,
Speaker:but I don't like being
Speaker:stuck next to someone.
Speaker:I want to get around
Speaker:and have a chat to
Speaker:different people.
Speaker:I just think that it's
Speaker:way, it's more exciting
Speaker:that way and, and there's
Speaker:plenty to be learned.
Speaker:Like, I don't know
Speaker:everything, you don't know
Speaker:everything, but together
Speaker:we kind of might, or might
Speaker:be able to get there.
Speaker:Totally.
Speaker:you share your
Speaker:experiences, can't you?
Speaker:I'd
Speaker:Yeah,
Speaker:love to get to that
Speaker:event tomorrow.
Speaker:I've got a site meeting
Speaker:and then I've got to
Speaker:coach my son's basketball,
Speaker:so I'm sadly not gonna
Speaker:be able to make it.
Speaker:we have someone filming
Speaker:the event, so we will,
Speaker:um, post it up into three
Speaker:parts on the Sustainable
Speaker:Builders Alliance website.
Speaker:Although it might sit
Speaker:behind a member portal.
Speaker:So
Speaker:just letting
Speaker:everybody know where,
Speaker:I totally think
Speaker:people should
Speaker:yeah, we are, we're just,
Speaker:we're, I'm going to let,
Speaker:let the cat out of the
Speaker:bag a little bit, but we
Speaker:asked SBA is moving to a
Speaker:member structure shortly
Speaker:but it's going to be some
Speaker:incredible things sitting
Speaker:behind that member portal,
Speaker:And rumor you've got a
Speaker:calendar coming out
Speaker:too that you're on as
Speaker:well, Hamish, isn't it?
Speaker:Like the firefighter
Speaker:I'm on every page.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:, every single page I'm on.
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:Hey, Sven.
Speaker:Thanks so much
Speaker:for coming on.
Speaker:I reckon we could
Speaker:bloody talk for hours.
Speaker:I know we do chat for
Speaker:hours when we catch
Speaker:up on the phone.
Speaker:generally when we talk
Speaker:about what you and I
Speaker:have actually caught up to
Speaker:talk about, it's usually
Speaker:two minutes at the end.
Speaker:, but yeah, I'm incredibly
Speaker:grateful that, uh, you
Speaker:know, I can call you a
Speaker:friend and,, you know,
Speaker:it's been amazing To be
Speaker:working with you over
Speaker:the last few years.
Speaker:And, um, I'm excited
Speaker:about you designing a
Speaker:home for here, for my
Speaker:family, that is completely
Speaker:natural, plastic free,
Speaker:petrochemical free.
Speaker:the challenge for you.
Speaker:It's going to happen, mate.
Speaker:think that just shows the
Speaker:trust there in itself,
Speaker:that Hamish, as a builder,
Speaker:you're trusting Sven
Speaker:to design your home.
Speaker:is there any bigger
Speaker:selling point?
Speaker:Yeah, well, I actually
Speaker:don't even care
Speaker:what it looks like.
Speaker:Cause I just know what,
Speaker:whatever Sven and his
Speaker:team come up with is,
Speaker:going to be awesome.
Speaker:He's always wanted to
Speaker:live in a glass dome.
Speaker:if anyone wants to get onto
Speaker:you Sven, they're looking
Speaker:at designing a house how
Speaker:can we reach out to you?
Speaker:DMs on Instagram?
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:the best way.
Speaker:So have a look at some
Speaker:of our work, read some
Speaker:of our articles, our
Speaker:contact page is there.
Speaker:We've got a little video
Speaker:series explaining Passive
Speaker:House and the pros and
Speaker:cons and challenges.
Speaker:So jump onto that,
Speaker:have a watch.
Speaker:Yeah,
Speaker:and if any, yeah, if
Speaker:anyone's failed to
Speaker:do that, you're happy
Speaker:to reach out to us.
Speaker:We're happy to point
Speaker:you in Sven's way.
Speaker:But thank you very much
Speaker:for joining us today.
Speaker:We really do
Speaker:appreciate it, mate.
Speaker:Thanks,
Speaker:guys.
Speaker:Good
Speaker:to see you both.
Speaker:Catch up.
Speaker:Cheers.