In the North American green buildings market, where LEED, BREEAM, WELL, Living Building Challenge, and Green Globes dominate the landscape, the German-born Passivhaus standard (aka, Passive House) has struggled to gain a solid foothold, despite a strong grassroots growth effort among its early adopters.
There are an estimated 60,000 buildings worldwide designed and built to Passivhaus standards, the vast majority in Europe. In the U.S., more than 1.1 million sf of building space is certified or pre-certified to PHIUS+ standards, according to the Passive House Institute US. But the lion’s share is small residential buildings.
A new study conducted by FXFOWLE and funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority set out to determine the viability of Passivhaus for tall residential buildings. The research involved investigating the feasibility of adapting the design of a sustainable mixed-use high-rise building in the 2016 New York City market to Passivhaus requirements. The base case building is a 593,000-sf, 26-story multifamily high-rise building in Queens that is targeting LEED v.3 Silver Certification and 20% energy cost savings from ASHRAE 90.1-2007. The study examined the impacts of achieving the standard from an architectural, enclosure detailing, mechanical, structural, constructability, resiliency, zoning, and code perspective.
FXFOWLE’s findings show promise for the niche standard. The technical difficulties of meeting the stringent energy efficiency and insulation standards can be overcome with minimal aesthetic changes and a glazing ratio of up to 40%, according to the report’s authors, Ilana Judah, Intl. Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, Principal, Director of Sustainability, and Daniel Piselli, AIA, LEED AP, Senior Associate, both with FXFOWLE.
From a financial perspective, the Passivhaus design represents an increased capital cost of 2.4%, a 40-year net present value of $5.2 million, and a payback of 24 years as compared to the base case building.
“The multifamily project type and scale are favorable to meet Passivhaus requirements due to controllable internal heat gains and low enclosure to volume ratios,” the authors wrote. “Some code and regulatory requirements conflict with Passivhaus strategies, and these must be aligned to enable implementation.”
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Residence hall designed specifically for freshman
Hardin Construction Company's Austin, Texas, office is serving as GC for the $50 million freshman housing complex at the University of Houston. Designed by HADP Architecture, Austin, the seven-story, 300,000-sf facility will be located on the university's central campus and have 1,172 beds, residential advisor offices, a social lounge, a computer lab, multipurpose rooms, a fitness center, and a...
| Aug 11, 2010
News Briefs: GBCI begins testing for new LEED professional credentials... Architects rank durability over 'green' in product attributes... ABI falls slightly in April, but shows market improvement
News Briefs: GBCI begins testing for new LEED professional credentials... Architects rank durability over 'green' in product attributes... ABI falls slightly in April, but shows market improvement
| Aug 11, 2010
Luxury Hotel required faceted design
Goettsch Partners, Chicago, designed a new five-star, 214-room hotel for the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The design-build project, with Saudi Oger Ltd. as contractor and Rayadah Investment Co. as developer, has a three-story podium supporting a 17-story glass tower with a nine-story opening that allows light to penetrate the mass of the building.
| Aug 11, 2010
Three Schools checking into L.A.'s Ambassador Hotel site
Pasadena-based Gonzalez Goodale Architects is designing three new schools for Los Angeles Unified School District's Central Wilshire District. The $400 million campus, located on the site of the former Ambassador Hotel, will house a K-5 elementary school, a middle school, a high school, a shared recreation facility (including soccer field, 25-meter swimming pool, two gymnasiums), and a new publ...
| Aug 11, 2010
New Jersey's high-tech landscaping facility
Designed to enhance the use of science and technology in Bergen County Special Services' landscaping programs, the new single-story facility at the technical school's Paramus campus will have 7,950 sf of classroom space, a 1,000-sf greenhouse (able to replicate different environments, such as rainforest, desert, forest, and tundra), and 5,000 sf of outside landscaping and gardening space.
| Aug 11, 2010
U.S. firm designing massive Taiwan project
MulvannyG2 Architecture is designing one of Taipei, Taiwan's largest urban redevelopment projects. The Bellevue, Wash., firm is working with developer The Global Team Group to create Aquapearl, a mixed-use complex that's part of the Taipei government's "Good Looking Taipei 2010" initiative to spur redevelopment of the city's Songjian District.
| Aug 11, 2010
Florida mixed-use complex includes retail, residential
The $325 million Atlantic Plaza II lifestyle center will be built on 8.5 acres in Delray Beach, Fla. Designed by Vander Ploeg & Associates, Boca Raton, the complex will include six buildings ranging from three to five stories and have 182,000 sf of restaurant and retail space. An additional 106,000 sf of Class A office space and a residential component including 197 apartments, townhouses, ...
| Aug 11, 2010
Restoration gives new life to New Formalism icon
The $30 million upgrade, restoration, and expansion of the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles was completed by the team of Rios Clementi Hale Studios (architect), Harley Ellis Devereaux (executive architect/MEP), KPFF (structural engineer), and Taisei Construction (GC). Work on the Welton Becket-designed 1967 complex included an overhaul of the auditorium, lighting, and acoustics.
