Passive house

The renovated Ken Soble Tower in Hamilton, Ontario, has officially received its EnerPHit certification, becoming the world’s largest residential building retrofitted to the Passive House standard. Also recognized as the first retrofit of its kind in North America—and Hamilton’s first Passive House tower—the 18-story building features fiberglass frame windows from industry-leading, Canadian manufacturer, Cascadia Windows & Doors. “The Ken Soble Tower is an incredible project,” says Mike Battistel, president of Cascadia Windows & Doors. “It demonstrates how existing tower buildings can be upgraded to high-performance levels.” Caption Part of the CityHousing Hamilton Corporation&rs... More

It can, it should and it is comfortable! Passive House in exposed concrete and all on one floor! The structure grows and the formwork follows it. The central courtyard is also a sheltered refuge of a man's friend. A space designed so that when you leave home, you can also stay outdoors. Between smoked eucalyptus and varnished copper, textures and objects were the perfect selection for a promised goatling.   Project manager | Helder de Carvalho Architecture | Helder de Carvalho and Luís Moura Virtual reality | Adriana Mendes 3D | OkDraw Interior design | Carla Zuzarte Engineering | Helder Gomes, Esperança Azevedo and João Marques Passive House | Esperança Azevedo Construction | FGS Lda. Video | Agr... More

Project Summary Riptide, noun [ rip-tīd ]: a strong current or tide flowing outward from a shore that results from the return flow of waves and wind-driven water.   This house, like it’s namesake implies, is a powerful oppositional force against the standard housing stock seen in all neighbourhoods across the nation. Riptide House is a case study to do better. The clients, an East Coast surfing family, wanted to build a home for themselves. A home that fits in with their established urban neighbourhood (walkscore of 74 and Bikescore of 83) while simultaneously addressing the environmental issues our society is facing. Stocked with an understanding of the historic neighbourhood vernacular, modern architecture, and Passive House... More

Jabe Blumenthal knows numbers. After graduating from Yale with a degree in Applied Mathematics he joined a little-known software company in the early 80s, Microsoft, and co-designed a little program we now know today as Microsoft Excel.   Jabe also knows climate change. He has served on the board of Seattle-based Climate Solutions for over a decade, advocating for ‘practical and profitable solutions to global warming’ throughout the Pacific Northwest. He also knows a thing or two about the costs and benefits of climate-friendly construction. He served on the board of the Bullitt Foundation when that group planned and built its noted “living building,” the Bullitt Center.   So when Jabe and his family be... More

The kindergarten, built in solid wood construction, expresses itself as a quiet, singlestorey building in a heterogeneous environment. The forecourt to the east connects to the public space and leads to the entrance area, which forms a clear closure to the playground and gardens and thus serves as a privacy screen and noise protection. The main building is divided into two sections. The public part with exercise room, kitchen and administration is oriented towards the street, the more intimate, gardenfacing part contains a sequence of 4 identical group blocks, each with a relaxation room, sanitary area and cloakroom. All 4 group areas are open on both sides via full-surface glazing with terraces in front of the garden. This means that opti... More

The Baboolal residence is a net zero house for a multicultural family of four. The husband is Indian originally from South Africa and the wife is American. They are both in high stress professions: he is a pediatric anesthesiologist and she is a pediatric nurse. They have two small children and pets. Tzu Chen The impetus for building this house was their previous frustration with living in a cookie cutter developer house with a lot of wasted space and illogical planning. Tzu Chen They decided to build a custom house that would give them openness for family time, while also creating privacy and quiet areas for the parents to rest between shifts and for the kids to have their own spaces. Also, an immediate connection between indoo... More

A Carroll Gardens townhouse designed with passive house principles. Spanning four floors plus a rooftop and a basement, the newly-constructed contemporary home is representative of the bespoke finishes and elite craftsmanship associated with the firm’s hallmark style. A family-run company, TBHCo creates comfortable living spaces infused with art and superior craft. The townhouse boasts integrated hand-carved elements by in-house artist Fitzhugh Karol, the husband and frequent collaborator of creative director and co-founder Lyndsay Caleo Karol. Matthew Willaims Eco-minded features are central to the collectives’ mission, and this home represents the firm’s first to be built with passive house principles. The European... More

Snøhetta Completes its 4th Energy Positive Powerhouse in Telemark, Norway – a Sustainable Model for the Future of Workspaces Snøhetta, alongside collaborators R8 Property, Skanska and Asplan Viak, has completed its 4th energy positive building in the Powerhouse portfolio. As part of the Powerhouse series, Powerhouse Telemark sets a new standard for the construction of environmentally sustainable buildings by reducing its yearly net energy consumption by 70% compared to similar new-construction offices, and by producing more energy than it will consume over its entire lifespan*. Through standardized interior solutions and co-working spaces, tenants can scale their office spaces as needed, granting much needed flexibility... More

The Catalyst Building is the first office building in Washington State constructed out of cross-laminated timber. It is pursuing Zero Energy and Zero Carbon certification by International Living Future Institute, making it one of the largest buildings in North America to meet both standards. The building intends to be a fully integrated living laboratory for new sustainability technologies, materials, construction techniques, operational practices, and design.                                                                                 ... More

Angle house is a new built low carbon project providing a family home with home office space on an awkward urban infill site of 150m2 previously partly occupied by a glass cutting builders’ yard.  The new house blends into its residential surroundings with its subtle massing but is decisively contemporary with its slim light-grey bricks contrasted with openings framed in oxide red and minimal details.   Despite the building’s modest appearance on the street, there is no compromise in the generous spaces within, nor with the quality of the internal design features that facilitate exceptional natural light and biophilic experience resulting in a delightful and restful environment.  Furthermore it is designed to be... More

The Distillery North Apartments (The Distillery North), located in South Boston, embody the values of the local community: arts, culture and sustainable living. The 28-unit complex follows the Passive House model, a building standard aimed at true energy efficiency, comfort and affordability. With strict energy standards, the complex required a highly-efficient HVAC system. After consulting with a team of industry professionals, the choice was clear: Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating (Mitsubishi Electric) Zoned Comfort Solutions®.   In 1984, Fred Gordon, principal owner of Second Street Associates, LLC, Boston, bought an old, 100,000 square-foot rum distillery originally owned and operated by Felton Rum. Fi... More

This Upper West Side historic townhouse conversion is one of the tightest Certified EnerPHit townhouse on record in New York City. The final blower door test for certification recorded the air tightness at .32 air changes per hour which is well below the criteria of 1.0. This house included the restoration of a historic brownstone facade and the re-installation of a previously removed brownstone stoop. The rear façade features modern detailing with a large double height glass opening as well as a Klearwall, triple glazed, glass corner window. Adam Kane Macchia Photography Adam Kane Macchia Photography The interior of the house has an open concept which makes the 18 foot wide house with elevator and elaborate staircase feel... More

This project is a unique townhouse for our office in that it is a substantial home in a NYC Landmarks District. Our client was looking to create a well-designed, high performance, single family home that integrates into the existing Brooklyn Heights Historic District.   The client initially chose to do a Passive House for this single-family brownstone because it provides a better built product with real tangible benefits. Some of these attributes include a quieter home free of street noise, fresh air changes multiple times a day, more open layouts due to the omission of ductwork and regaining valuable floor space in the cellar and on the rooftop where mechanicals used to take priority.   The completed project includes a six-st... More

This house was our second passive house and was a significant project in that it became a repeatable template for the passive house process. We created an open communication among our in-house team, the general contractor, engineers, consultants, and Passive House Certifiers with weekly on-site meetings to create details that were more efficient and more effective with every step of the way. As one of the earliest passive houses submitted to the Landmarks Preservation Commission, we worked collaboratively with a number of preservationists as well as other general contractors who were concurrently working on other projects of ours. It successfully became the first certified passive house in a historic district and created the framework that... More