Archinect - News

Cross-Laminated Timber net-zero apartment comes to Boston

2020-02-20T15:29:00-05:00

In winter 2021, Boston is expecting Model-C, its first ground-up full Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) Passive House demonstration project. Designed and developed by Generate, an architectural tech company, and Placetailor, a leading sustainable housing developer, Model-C replaces the conventional concrete and steel construction materials with the CLT "cellular structure."

The new development will consist of 14 residential units and an "affordable" co-working space for the surrounding community on the ground level. Moreover, the five-story mixed use building will use a prefabricated kit-of-parts for its construction. A CLT rooftop canopy sits at the peak of the structure, allowing for the implementation of photovoltaics.

The construction speed achieved through the reduction of interior framing and the use of modular and prefabrication methods has enabled the construction timeline to significantly diminish. Construction is due to begin later this summer and building is projected to be c...

Embodied Carbon or Operational Carbon? Stirling Prize finalist makes his case

2019-10-15T11:22:00-04:00

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to include clarifying comments from Matthew Howland.

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Cork House designer Matthew Barnett Howland recently had some thoughts concerning this year's Stirling Prize winner. According to BD, the finalist "was speaking at the Stirling Prize party after Mikhail Riches' Goldsmith Street council housing...was named the winner...for being Passivhaus-compliant..."

Cork House, Berkshire, by Matthew Barnett Howland with Dido Milne and Oliver Wilton. Photo: Magnus Dennis

According to BD, Howland's primary gripe was the observed dismissal of embodied carbon by regulators. "I can see that [Goldsmith Street’s] social aspects are probably more important but where’s the conversation about whole life carbon, about lifecycles? Wake up! Why aren’t we talking openly about this stuff?" he said, reports BD.

Cork House, Berkshire, by Matthew Barnett Howland with Dido Milne and Oliver Wilton. Photo: Ricky Jones.

But, it appears, according to Howland, that these c...

The Ice Box Challenge pits Passive House vs Regular House, on public display this summer in New York

2018-05-17T14:45:00-04:00

On the bustling streets of Broadway Boulevard in New York City, two multi-colored huts are trying to get the public excited about hyper efficient buildings. Part of the Ice Box Challenge, the environmental public art installation has been touring the world, demonstrating the merits of Passive House design.

The Challenge, which has popped up in Brussels, Seattle, Vancouver, and now New York City, involves two small sheds—one built to Passive House Standards, and the other, to the local city's building codes. One ton of ice is then placed inside each, and left outside in the summer heat for one month. The display then invites passersby to check out the progress, and see which building design and construction has done a better job at keeping the ice from melting.

The New York City huts have been designed by Stark Architecture, a Vancouver based firm with its certification in Passive House design. The Ice Boxes have been coated in a colorful mural by the street artist Olivier Binamé an...

Unzoning; A conversation with Seattle's Mike Eliason about Passivhaus, not-for-profit housing and the marriage of high design with high function

2018-03-23T12:41:00-04:00

This week we have Mike Eliason on the podcast, Seattle-based Project Manager at Patano Studio and proponent of Passivhaus, Baugruppen, and a car-free cycling life. Long-time Archinectors may recognize him by his username holzbox, OP to a forum favorite minimal details.

Listen to episode 119 of Archinect Sessions, “Unzoning”.

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Download: this episode

Shownotes:

Dietrich Untertrifaller
Baumschlager Eberle
Bernardo Bader
Hermann Kaufmann
Florian Nagler
Michael Green
Nordic Structures
Structurlam
Structurecraft
Ecocon Straw Panels
Mike is reading Bauen und Wohnen in Gemeinschaft / Building and Living in Communities
Mike is listening to Modern/Classical Ambient

...

What U.S. cities can learn from Vienna's urban housing policy

2017-07-26T14:39:00-04:00

This is a two-part series on housing policy in Vienna and how it could be a model for progressive housing policy in Seattle, where I live, or other American cities struggling with affordable housing. The first part is an overview of financing and subsidies. Part two, coming tomorrow, looks in detail at how zoning and development supports housing affordability.

Mike Eliason, passivhaus designer with Seattle-based Patano Studio, penned an insightful two-part commentary for City Observatory, looking at issues of financing, zoning, affordability, sustainability, and quality of life in a side-by-side comparison of Vienna and Seattle.

HLM and Tectonics Architects win UK Passivhaus awards

2016-07-12T13:30:00-04:00

Congratulations to triumphant Tigh na Croit by HLM Architects & Lansdowne Drive by Tectonics Architects who were crowned the 2016 UK Passivhaus Awards winners. The Winners were announced at a ceremony held in London on the 7th July, attended by approximately 80 delegates.The winners were decided by PHT members and Award Ceremony delegates.

HLM have won the Rural category of this year's UK Passivhaus Awards. The house, which aimed to create a low-energy, modern solution for the 'outdoorsy' clients, has been designed to reflect its Scottish Highland context.

Tectonics Architects gained the award for the Urban category, with their fantastic project in Hackney.