Issue 15 galleries - passivehouseplus.ie

A deep retrofit of this 1960s block-built home turned it into a modern ultra low-energy home that emphasises wood, light and natural materials.

The abandoned husk of a 1960s school building sounds a very long way from a comfortable, ultra low energy family home. Thanks to a remarkable upgrade effort – influenced by reading Passive House Plus – one Fermanagh family are reaping the rewards of one such transformation.

With a number of trailblazing housing associations and councils building social and affordable housing schemes repeatedly to passive standards, the notion that the world’s leading low energy building standard is the preserve of the well-off doesn’t stand up to scrutiny, as Hastoe’s latest Essex passive house scheme demonstrates.

 This new timber frame home in the south of England met the passive house standard despite a less-than-optimum orientation, launched a brand new design-and-build venture between its architect and project manager, and embraced a subtle-yet-elegant design that maintains a simple passive house form while drawing inspiration from the local vernacular.

This brand new light-filled passive house set in the countryside of north Kildare was inspired by local farm buildings, and features a striking and exposed oak-framed structure.

It may sound too good to be true, but a new scheme of semi-Ds in Co Wexford proves that
passive houses can be remarkably affordable to buy – and that’s with net zero heating and
hot water costs, and the soundproofing levels of a cinema.

GALLERY COMING SOON


The Living Building Challenge is arguably the world’s toughest environmental building certification program. In order to achieve the award, buildings must meet rigorous standards in seven different performance categories, also known as ‘petals’: place, water, energy, health and happiness, materials, equity and beauty. To date only eight buildings have been fully certified to the standard worldwide, but many other buildings have achieved ‘petal certification’, meaning they meet the goals of three or more categories, and ‘net zero energy certification’, which recognises buildings that meet the challenge’s energy criteria. Here are a selection of three American buildings that have been certified to one of these standards.