Plot 18: The Whole Life House

Plot 18: The Whole Life House

Image by itmpa
'The whole life house - designed for the long term, to change and adapt to the complex ways that families now live and work. The house features a separate ground floor annex, which can be adapted for use as a Granny flat, student bedsit, home office or provide additional bedroom space for a growing family.

Flexible accommodation, highly insulated, thermal mass floor, solar panels, zoned heating, passive solar gain.'

www.scotlandshousingexpo.com/plot18.php

Composite image of all the properties.

organic earth berm drawing

Image by arimoore
i drew this before i had read much, so i now i know it's full of problems. also i realized after i did it that i'd left out a room for our future kid, as well as a room that'll work for recording.

it was sort of an experimental feeling-out of where things might go in an earth-bermed passive solar house design.

roll over it for notes explaining what's what

Living Room

Image by Jeremy Levine Design
Project: Red Box
Addition and remodel using sustainable materials and passive cooling

www.jeremylevine.com

STUTTGART HOUSE - University of Applied Sciences

Image by Inhabitat
Concept

The idea behind this house took account of extreme weather conditions similar to those found in desert regions, since their cooling systems demand the use of a lot of energy. The principles of traditional construction in such regions have also been taken into account when designing this house.

On the one hand, the prototype works with a higher amount of thermal mass but over the smallest possible volume of the building, thus offering very little surface for sun absorption. On the other hand, its great isolation enables the house to cool down on its own.

Technology

The design unites aesthetics with good energy use. The idea is to maintain a compact and well-insulated structure. The phase changing material is used inside to increase the thermal mass. The roof and facades are surrounded by solar panels that produce more energy than the house needs.

The aim is to use the smallest possible amount of polluting energy. Therefore, this prototype is constructed with environmentally friendly materials, such as wood. Because the house requires a lot of movement, it is designed in several modules, both in the living areas and secondary rooms, and in all their unions (which are weather-activated). This modularity provides the flexibility needed to vary the configuration of the dwelling.

The volume is divided into simple modules that can be joined together. These unions are used for lighting, ventilation, heating in the winter and for passive cooling in summer. The houses energy tower plays an essential part, along with wind and the evaporation system, which allows the cooling of air in hot, arid climates, such as that of Madrid. The joining of elements characteristic for these parts, such as the wind towers of Arabic regions or the courtyards of Spain, with modern materials, achieves a high level of comfort but consumes very little energy and it helps improve the aesthetic appearance of the building.

The energy tower captures wind, it cools air, and then it brings that air inside. Thus, we achieve a pleasant temperature inside, as well as an active cooling system. The tower allows for passive cooling of the house throughout most of the year, while adding to the houses interior design.

Helder Design: 439 Metropolitan Ave.

Image by Bomee
GreenHomeNYC 2008 Green Buildings Open House: Brooklyn Bus Tour
greenhomenyc.org