Archive for the 'Passivhaus' Category
Bere Admin February 10th, 2010
The Camden passivhaus home is about knowledge transfer from Austria and Germany and the Welsh Passivhaus project is about trying to apply this knowledge to social housing prototypes. We are also working on a terraced Welsh Passivhaus home to save more money and energy than detached houses.
Where there is political will, such as in Wales, we believe it is possible to achieve 90% energy savings in houses now. This is in spite of the Welsh heads of valley location having Winter conditions as unfavourable as an Austrian mountainside. This is because, whilst the winter outdoor temperatures in Wales are warmer than Austria, there is a lot less winter sun on a Welsh hill than on an Austrian mountain.
We are trying to show that the UK can and should be making massive savings on all new buildings NOW. The less-developed world is understandably becoming very frustrated with the lack of action from the developed world. Two days ago, the chief negotiator for India at the Copenhagen and Mexico climate change conferences described the overall achievements so far of the UK, America and Australia as “pathetic” and he is absolutely right about this.
Bere Admin February 5th, 2010
What was planned as a small Camden and Islington Passivhaus conference on February 3rd for local architects and council employees, quickly became an over-subscribed event and a major UK Passivhaus conference. Refer to the following link for more details: www.cuttingthecarbon.co.uk/news/15/101
Bere Admin February 5th, 2010
These are the first prototypes for passivhaus homes at Ebbw Vale in Wales, to be on show at the Eisteddfod in July this year. 700 homes are planned for the site over the next few years. Wales is going zero carbon on all new homes from next year (2011) and it is possible that they will define zero carbon as based on the Passivhaus standard of energy efficiency. This is a definition of zero carbon that is 3 times more ambitious in terms of specific heat requirements than the English definition of zero carbon to be applied to new homes in England in 5 years time.
Bere Admin February 2nd, 2010
Camden Passivhaus, Camden, London
(due to be completed March 2010)
The primary objective of this project is to achieve a comfortable home for a young family, whilst minimising energy consumption. This house has been designed to use less than 13kWh/m2/a for heating (a typical new home in the UK is likely to consume nearer 100kWh/m2/a)
The project is a 120m2 single family house split over two floors, with two wild flower meadow roofs and a south facing garden. Continue Reading »
Bere Admin January 7th, 2010
Wednesday, February 3rd 2010 (Camden Town Hall, Judd Street)
Councillor Alexis Rowell of Camden Council, the Liberal Democrat ‘Eco Councillor’ and very active chair of the Camden Sustainability Task Force has organized what will arguably be the first dedicated Passivhaus conference in the UK (The AECB could also arguably claim this). The decision to organize the conference came after a period of broad but intensive research by Alexis and the Camden Council Sustainability Taskforce on cutting carbon emissions in UK buildings. This research was carried out in the UK (inviting a wide range of experts to present to the Sustainability committee) and abroad (research visits) by Alexis and other Liberal Democrat councilors.
One of the most convincing research visits included a trip to Frankfurt to meet the leader of the passivhaus schools programme there, Axel Bretzke, and to visit the successful Riedberg School, now famous throughout Europe for its proven success in cutting energy consumption to amazingly low levels. Axel explained that the Frankfurt school was developed after energy and air quality monitoring of traditionally designed schools. Apart from the high energy demand of contemporary traditionally designed schools, they found, in practice, appalling winter air quality in schools that relied on only natural ventilation. By combining natural (summer) and active (winter) heat recovery ventilation, the Riedberg passivhaus school is now famous throughout Europe for achieving extremely low heat energy and electrical demand, whilst at the same time achieving extremely good summer and winter air quality. Continue Reading »
Bere Admin November 21st, 2009
Councillor Alexis Rowell’s website provides an update on the Camden Passivhaus.
Bere Admin November 6th, 2009
The Welsh Assembly, advised by Nick Tune of BRE (Wales), is leading the UK in its drive towards the most efficient, low energy designs possible for new housing.
These are similar first steps to those of the small, self-contained Vorarlberg region in Austria. In the early 1980’s, when in the UK we were squandering our oil reserves without making any plans for renewable energy generation or energy efficiency, as if there was no tomorrow, the government of Vorarlberg developed a plan for self-sufficiency in food and energy. Vorarlberg is now prosperous and the community is well housed, well educated, well fed and relatively happy. Continue Reading »
Bere Admin November 3rd, 2009
Energy Data Monitoring: results from a Passivhaus using no heat energy whatsoever, compared with results from a London Terraced House using occasional heating
Passivhaus and the Muse
The Muse, my home and also my office, was started on site in 2002 before I knew about Passivhaus techniques emerging in Germany; but together with Max Fordham we discovered an approach, unique in the UK at that time, that is almost identical to the Passivhaus approach. Wolfgang Feist, the founder of the Passivhaus Institute, has visited the Muse and announced at the AECB conference this year that he is keen to provide certification subject to satisfactory energy monitoring and careful checking of our PHPP analysis. So until our various other Passivhaus projects are complete, energy and temperature monitoring of my own house provides the best possible comparison of energy use with traditional housing in the UK. Continue Reading »
Bere Admin June 30th, 2009
Wolfgang Feist, founder of the Passivhaus Institute, teaches at AECB national conference, June 2009 and gives masterclasses at bere:architects
Wolfgang Feist came to the UK to provide a series of lectures over two days at this years AECB national conference at Oxford Brookes University. As a physicist and a university lecturer, his talks are always clearly presented and illustrated by graphs based on robust data derived from the monitoring of hundreds of completed projects around Europe and further afield. He explained the fundamental principles of Passivhaus design over a number of packed sessions. Even for those who were already familiar with these advanced techniques, there was much to benefit from hearing them direct from Wolfgang and to be able to hear the answers to questions from the audience.
After the conference, Wolfgang came to London where he spent a long day with invited guests at my home, the Muse. Continue Reading »
Bere Admin April 11th, 2009
Thursday and Friday 11 & 12 of June at Oxford Brookes University
Wolfgang Feist, founder of the Passivhaus Institute, will present a series of workshops at this year’s conference. You won’t get him personally presenting workshops even at the German Passivhaus conference, so this truly a unique opportunity.
Bere Admin April 11th, 2009
Wednesday July 1st 10:00 - 14:00 – Early booking essential
We have aimed this CPD at those people who want a detailed and practical introduction to Passivhaus design, but who are not ready to do a full PHPP course (see AECB website for info about a full course). We aim to give attendees a good understanding of what it is like to design using the German Passivhaus Planning Package (PHPP).
We understand that the event may sell out early but we have offered to do another at a later date if RIBA London keeps a waiting list.
Tel. RIBA London on 020 7307 3681.
Bere Admin February 3rd, 2009
Planning permission was granted on January 15th for our Camden Passivhaus. The structure is being pre-fabricated in Austria and the Austrians will fit the windows, the electrics, the plumbing and all the finishes to achieve the highest quality of workmanship in the shortest time possible.
Knowledge Transfer and Training for Passivhais Skills
Cllr Alexis Rowell of Camden Council (www.ecocouncillor.org.uk) will organize a team of councillors, planning and sustainability officers to monitor progress of the construction and learn from the techniques brought over from Austria in order to help Camden achieve his vision of incorporating Passivhaus requirements into the Camden’s Local Development Framework. A number of learning workshops are planned during the process of the build, in order to help UK partners and policy makers to understand how to attain the standards that we need in the UK to achieve the most energy efficient house design concept in the world today. Continue Reading »
Bere Admin January 6th, 2009
Article from The New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/27/world/europe/27house.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=passivhaus&st=cse
Bere Admin November 25th, 2008
Article for The Green Building Press by Justin Bere.
http://www.greenbuildingpress.co.uk/shop/article.php?article_id=50
Bere Admin October 30th, 2008
6 October, 2008
By Michael Willoughby
Michael Willoughby went to visit Bere Architecture’s Muse, a proto-PassivHaus in Newington Green, east London, with his camera.
Bere Admin September 22nd, 2008
Bere Admin September 6th, 2008
OPEN HOUSE GREEN SKY STUDIOS EVENT AT THE MUSE, ISLINGTON, LONDON, 26TH SEPTEMBER 2008
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND BOOKING A PLACE REFER TO THE OPEN HOUSE WEBSITE www.openhouse.org.uk/sustainability/index.html
bere:architects are hosting an event at Justin Bere’s own ecological house which also contains an office of ten full time architectural staff. The morning will consist of three modules as follows:
(1) A general tour of the premises which demonstrate a broad ecological approach. This will last about an hour including time for questions and answers. People willbe free to leave after this module.
(2) For those that are interested in remaining for a more technical presentation, there will be a seminar on Passivhaus design techniques, the emerging European low energy design standard, including an insight into using the Passivhaus Planning Package (PHPP)and static thermal imaging software.
(3) An organic lunch with the office
