Passive House
Our client for this newbuild in Gorstan, near Inverness, had an ambition to construct a bespoke private dwelling house that would have ultra low energy useage and have minimal environmental impact.
Client: Mr and Mrs J Fenwick
Architect: HLM Architects
Passive House
Our client for this newbuild in Gorstan, near Inverness, had an ambition to construct a bespoke private dwelling house that would have ultra low energy useage and have minimal environmental impact.
HLM Architects won the Architectural commission and Woolgar Hunter were appointed as the Structural Engineers.
The design aimed to achieve the European ‘PassivHaus’ standard, developed in Germany in the 1990s. This robust approach to building design allows the designer to minimise the ‘Heating Demand’ of the building, with only nominal ‘conventional’ heating. Any heat generated within the building can then be recovered and circulated by a Mechanical Ventilation and Heat Recovery (MVHR) unit.
This has led to the following functional definition of a Passivhaus.
“A Passivhaus is a building, for which thermal comfort can be achieved solely by post-heating or post-cooling of the fresh air mass, which is required to achieve sufficient indoor air quality conditions – without the need for additional recirculation of air.”
On the Gorstan house the required energy performance was achieved via careful detailing of the building envelope to provide high levels of air tightness and a super insulated building fabric, which significantly reduces energy consumption whilst maintaining a comfortable internal environment.
The structural solution complimented this design; the frame comprises of a closed panel wall system using a solid double timber stud construction with an insulation break in between. This panelised system not only provided a thermally efficient wall but also a sustainable solution in terms of material source (renewable timber) and efficient o site manufacturing which minimises waste and accelerates on site build time.
HLM Architects won the Architectural commission and Woolgar Hunter were appointed as the Structural Engineers.
The design aimed to achieve the European ‘PassivHaus’ standard, developed in Germany in the 1990s. This robust approach to building design allows the designer to minimise the ‘Heating Demand’ of the building, with only nominal ‘conventional’ heating. Any heat generated within the building can then be recovered and circulated by a Mechanical Ventilation and Heat Recovery (MVHR) unit.
This has led to the following functional definition of a Passivhaus.
“A Passivhaus is a building, for which thermal comfort can be achieved solely by post-heating or post-cooling of the fresh air mass, which is required to achieve sufficient indoor air quality conditions – without the need for additional recirculation of air.”
On the Gorstan house the required energy performance was achieved via careful detailing of the building envelope to provide high levels of air tightness and a super insulated building fabric, which significantly reduces energy consumption whilst maintaining a comfortable internal environment.
The structural solution complimented this design; the frame comprises of a closed panel wall system using a solid double timber stud construction with an insulation break in between. This panelised system not only provided a thermally efficient wall but also a sustainable solution in terms of material source (renewable timber) and efficient o site manufacturing which minimises waste and accelerates on site build time.
Client: Mr and Mrs J Fenwick
Architect: HLM Architects