From the outset, our client was committed to this as a flagship project for environmental performance. We were tasked with designing a residential building achieving the key principles of Passivhaus, not only to radically reduce overall energy consumption and therefore residents’ bills, but to create comfortable and easy-to-run homes.
Our challenge was to deliver this very high standard of energy efficiency on a large scale apartment building. Walls became thicker to allow the necessary levels of insulation; homes are carefully oriented to gather natural warmth from the sun and reduce heating need; fixed shading devices to windows and overhanging balconies help prevent overheating; and an effective air tightness strategy includes triple glazed windows. Once residents had moved into their homes, we carried out a post-occupancy evaluation for the building – not only to ensure it was performing as it should be, but to help us learn lessons and inform future housing work. We have found that our efforts to make the building airtight and highly insulated have paid off – residents are enjoying very efficient and comfortable homes.
Pushing the boundaries of design to deliver sustainable, low energy homes on a large scale.