|
International selection: Passive house comes of age |
|
|
Wednesday, 01 February 2012 |
|
Page 1 of 6
Box-like, small windows, primary colour renders - there is a common misconception that building to the passive house standard involves sacrificing design freedom for the sake of thermal performance. Not so, argues passive house guru Tomás O’Leary of MosArt and the Irish Passive House Academy, as his selection of architecturally diverse buildings reveals.
The only consistency among each of the projects discussed in this article is in their inconsistency of design approach and resulting aesthetic effect. The passive house approach is neither limited by building function nor climate as will be seen below. The first ever certified passive house was built almost two decades ago, creating a legacy of some 30,000 projects in all corners of the globe. This article presents some of my favourite passive house projects, most of which I’ve had the great pleasure of experiencing in person. The projects described below include an international award winning multi-family residence, a relaxed and rolling Montessori school, a massive office project complete with kinetic effect, a model of simplicity in single family home design in the US, Asian innovation achieved in Japan with a strong Irish connection, and an Olympic village project in Austria. I hope you enjoy the selection.
Award winning house,
Liebefeld, Switzerland
This project lays claim to the enviable status of being the inaugural winner of the 2010 International Passive House Architecture Awards (‘Architekturpreis’) run in parallel with the global Passive House Conference. Unlike the conference which runs annually, the awards will take place every three years so this project will rest at the top for another two years or so. This 2006 project was designed by Halle 58 Architects in Bern and comprises a multi-family ‘house’ with three apartments.
External wooden shades protect against overheating
What is striking about this project is the sheer extent of floor to ceiling glazing, which provides a light airy feeling both internally and externally while also achieving incredible comfort and miniscule heating bills. The design approach dismisses any misconceptions there might be about the need for heavy opaque elements with windows limited to south-facing facades. External retractable shades as well as thermal mass in the floors protect against overheating – the shades adding a dynamic effect to the façade. The internal layout is completely open plan providing the tenants with opportunities for flexibility in subdivision and adaptability over time.
Over half the facade consists of floor to ceiling glazing which provides plenty of daylight and a light airy feeling
The roof is stacked with both solar thermal as well as photovoltaic panels and auxiliary heating is provided by a wood pellet boiler feeding an underfloor radiant system. This project is not just passive house standard, therefore, but close to being a carbon neutral project too.
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next > End >>
|
