ADAM'S BLOG: Being passive

In Berlin's Mitte district, about 50m from the site of the former Wall, is this very nifty 'passive' block of apartments. Built a few years ago after an architect (who now also lives in the building) put an ad in the paper seeking co-owners for a green building project, the place has 19 apartments, 8 of them owned by the co-operative.

The windows you see are triple glazed. The facade is mainly wooden, not brick, with the space freed up stuffed full of insulation instead. As a result, they've cut heating bills by 80%.

Ventilation is primarily natural, with no air-conditioning. On a 33 degree day last summer, it was only 25 degrees inside before turning on a fan.

You'd think it would cost more to do it like this. Not so. The whole thing, built from scratch, including land, cost about €2,180 per square metres. Similar apartments in the area go for €2,800/sq m.

Cheaper construction, cheaper living and a great communal feel inside, it's setting the standard for new regulations in parts of the country. Anyone know of anything similar in Australia?