The largest Passive House in the nation will be completed within a year in Hillsboro, Oregon, the Oregonian reports.
The Passive House structure will be the first of three phases for the Orchards at Orenco project, which aims to construct mixed-availability buildings and provide 150 units of affordable housing.
The Passivhaus ("Passive House" in the U.S.), a concept founded in the 1990s by German physicist Wolfgang Feist, is a strict building standard that decreases energy used for heating and cooling by up to 90%. While the standard spread quickly in Europe (by 2010, the continent had 25,000 Passivhaus-rated structures), the U.S. has been slow to adopt the standard. Only about 100 Passive House projects exist across the country.
Here are more details on the Orchards at Orenco project, courtesy Walsh Construction:
REACH Community Development continues its affordable home-building program with the launch of its Orchards at Orenco project this month at Hillsboro’s Orenco Station.
REACH, a nonprofit with nearly 1,900 units of affordable housing, is beginning construction of the 57-unit first phase of Orchards at Orenco, a three-building complex that will eventually provide about 150 units affordable housing. Phase 1 will serve families earning 50 percent or less of the area median family income, or about $30,000.
The project is designed by William Wilson Architects and Ankrom Moisan Architects; and Green Hammer is the Passive House Consultant.
The $14.5 million project is financed with $9 million in tax credits purchased by Wells Fargo Bank, a $2.4 million permanent loan with Oregon state credits and contributions from the Washington County, Meyer Memorial Trust, Energy Trust of Oregon and NeighborWorks America.
Key Passive House features include:
- The roof will have 12 inches of insulation, about four times what is required. The light color will reflect solar radiation and help moderate the building temperature.
- PVC-fiberglass hybrid windows will have argon-filled triple pane glazing and are designed to close tighter than more common models.
- The building is positioned to keep the building comfortable in summer months with shading devices that allow winter sun but block it in the summer.
- The building’s super-insulated envelope includes four inches of foam insulation under the ground floor slab.
Related Stories
| Jul 30, 2013
Better planning and delivery sought for VA healthcare facilities
Making Veterans Administration healthcare projects “better planned, better delivered” is the new goal of the VA’s Office of Construction and Facilities Management.
| Jul 30, 2013
Healthcare designers get an earful about controlling medical costs
At the current pace, in 2020 the U.S. will spend $4.2 trillion a year on healthcare; unchecked, waste would hit $1.2 trillion. Yet “waste” is keeping a lot of poorly performing hospitals in business, said healthcare facility experts at the recent American College of Healthcare Architects/AIA Academy of Architecture for Health Summer Leadership Summit in Chicago.
| Jul 30, 2013
Top Healthcare Sector Architecture Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
HDR, HKS, Cannon top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest healthcare architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.
| Jul 26, 2013
HDR acquires Sharon Greene + Associates
HDR Engineering, Inc. has acquired the business and assets of Sharon Greene + Associates, a firm specializing in transportation economics and financial analysis with offices in California and Denver.
| Jul 26, 2013
How biomimicry inspired the design of the San Francisco Museum at the Mint
When the city was founded in the 19th century, the San Francisco Bay’s edge and marshland area were just a few hundred feet from where the historic Old Mint building sits today. HOK's design team suggested a design idea that incorporates lessons from the local biome while creating new ways to collect and store water.
| Jul 25, 2013
3 office design strategies for creating happy, productive workers
Office spaces that promote focus, balance, and choice are the ones that will improve employee experience, enhance performance, and drive innovation, according to Gensler's 2013 U.S. Workplace Survey.
| Jul 25, 2013
How can I help you?: The evolution of call center design
Call centers typically bring to mind an image of crowded rows of stressed-out employees who are usually receiving calls from people with a problem or placing calls to people that aren’t thrilled to hear from them. But the nature of the business is changing; telemarketing isn’t what it used to be.
| Jul 25, 2013
First look: Studio Gang's residential/dining commons for University of Chicago
The University of Chicago will build a $148 million residence hall and dining commons designed by Studio Gang Architects, tentatively slated for completion in 2016.
| Jul 25, 2013
Resilience: the hallmark of a successful practice
The key to a firm’s future success has less to do with avoiding trouble than bouncing back from it.
| Jul 25, 2013
ACEEE presents the 2013 Champions of Energy Efficiency in Industry Awards
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) presented four Champion of Energy Efficiency Awards last night at its Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Industry.