Frankfurt to build world’s first passive hospital
Written by News Desk
Work is underway on the first hospital in the world to be built to the passive house standard, in the Höchst district of Frankfurt. The previous clinic on the site will be replaced by a new passive building with 666 beds and ten operating theatres planned over six floors. The Passive House Institute provided comprehensive support throughout the planning phase and will continue to do so during the building’s construction.
One young Irish family has taken the decision to build their new home in Co Louth to the passive house standard. In the first of a series of columns, Nessa Duggan explains the thinking behind the decision to go passive.
Affordable scheme keeps up Hastoe passive momentum
Written by Ben Adam-Smith
The latest in a long line of affordable passive house schemes from trailblazing housing association Hastoe, this new development at Outwell, Norfolk features 15 brand new passive homes.
Passive house or equivalent - The meaning behind a ground-breaking policy
Written by Jeff Colley
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown’s passive house policy also leaves the door open for alternative approaches, provided their equivalence can be demonstrated. But what does this mean?
District heating and passive house - are they compatible?
Written by Kate de Selincourt
Thanks to fabric-first energy performance approaches such as passive house, heating demand is collapsing. So how does district heating stack up in buildings which need such little heat?
1960s ‘icebox’ transformed into warm and bright eco home
Written by Kate de Selincourt
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.
Fermanagh schoolhouse reborn as passive family home
Written by John Hearne
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.
Hastoe Scheme adds to passive affordable housing trend
Written by Lenny Antonelli
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.
Simple-yet-stylish West Berkshire passive house that bore a business
Written by John Cradden
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.
Kildare passive house uses unique oak frame construction
Written by Lenny Antonelli
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.
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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.
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. Our selection includes three American buildings that have been certified to one of these standards.
Marmox Thermoblock features in high profile Leicester Square retrofit
Written by News Desk
The refurbishment of a landmark listed property on London’s Leicester Square has seen Marmox Thermoblocks specified in very large quantities for an unusual application. Number 48 Leicester Square is being completely redeveloped behind the retained 1920s stone facade, with Make Architects leading the design team on behalf of client, Linseed Assets, while Pacific Construction is the main contractor.
Are social housing retrofit efforts failed by finance models?
Written by Peter Rickaby
Roughly 50,000 excess winter deaths occur annually between the UK and Ireland, with fuel poverty a primary cause. Yet although concerted social housing retrofit efforts could help tackle climate change while preventing thousands of senseless deaths of vulnerable people, flawed financial modelling is letting us down, argues Peter Rickaby.