- Prefabrication and Modular Construction
Client
Location
Architect
Value
Completion
Services
- Structural Engineering
Awards
- 2022 – Winner, Best Sustainable Project, Master Builders Victoria Excellence in Construction Awards
- 2022 – Winner, Excellence in Construction of Commercial Buildings $20M–$30M, Master Builders Victoria Excellence in Construction Awards
- 2022 – Winner, Public Building, Sustainability Awards
Glenroy Community Hub is the largest Passivhaus certified community building in Australia, setting a new standard for sustainable public design in Melbourne's north. 
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Located on the former Glenroy Primary School site in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, the Glenroy Community Hub is a new $26M timber community building housing the Glenroy Library, Glenroy Memorial Kindergarten, maternal and child health services, community health facilities, neighbourhood learning spaces, and childcare. Designed by DesignInc for Moreland City Council and completed in 2021, the project reflects the council’s strong sustainability ambitions. It has achieved Passivhaus certification, making it the largest Passivhaus certified community building in Australia, and is also targeting Living Building Challenge certification, two of the most stringent sustainable design standards in the world.
SCOPE OF WORK
TTW provided Timber, Structural, Civil, and Facade Engineering services across the project. The structural scope included the design of an architecturally expressive building form featuring deep overhanging eaves, external balconies, and complex masonry details. TTW’s in-house Facade and Passivhaus expertise was brought alongside the structural team to develop a suite of bespoke thermal break details, a critical requirement given the building’s penetrating structure and strict envelope performance targets.
TTW also contributed to the Living Building Challenge Beauty Petal category through considered detailing of the exposed timber roof structure within the library, drawing inspiration from reciprocal patterns found in nature. The Civil scope included a stormwater management system designed to meet or exceed best practice environmental guidelines, addressing pre-existing site risks related to overland flow paths and flooding.
CHALLENGES
The building’s architecturally expressive form, with balconies and roof overhangs, created a condition where the structure penetrates the thermal envelope, a scenario that typically reduces the efficiency of Passivhaus performance. To resolve this without compromising the architectural intent, TTW specified structural thermal breaks that function similarly to a bolted moment connection, but with an insulating plate placed between the two beam sections. This allowed structural moments to be carried through while preventing thermal transfer, preserving both structural integrity and envelope performance.
Careful detailing was also required across the complex masonry elements and deep eave conditions to fully eliminate thermal bridging throughout the structure.
FINALISING
The completed building stands as an exemplar of sustainable community design in Australia. Its three 2022 Master Builders Victoria Excellence in Construction Awards, including Best Sustainable Project, reflect the quality of the outcome delivered. The project demonstrates that rigorous sustainable performance standards and architecturally ambitious design are not mutually exclusive, a benchmark for future public buildings across the country.
Related works
