Hampton Avery Architects

Energy-efficient building seminar to feature Dave Hampton

A full day seminar - Energy-Efficient Building Envelope Design and Construction - will be held July 14, 2010 in Wheaton, IL.

Dave will cover the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) as a design tool, show examples from Europe, North America, and one of Hampton Avery’s own projects.

Chicago Passive House takes shape

In Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood, an urban residential retrofit shall rise from a former taqueria and demonstrate that a Passive House is possible on a tight city lot… and a tight budget.

New projects

On the boards these days, we have:

Restaurants - one for Chef Graham Elliot Bowles, one to feature regional Mexican cuisine.

Residential additions - working magic in tight spaces to make two urban homes more contemporary, functional, and livable.

Youth Jobs Center of Evanston, Inc. - an urban Passive House retrofit of an existing building (and a fairly groundbreaking concept at that) for this great nonprofit organization.

San Jose Obrero Mission - space planning consultation for another exemplary nonprofit.

Chicagoland PassivHaus Alliance

On a recent trip to PHIUS, we were asked, along with Wii Design-Build, to head up the Chicagoland PassivHaus Alliance. Stay tuned for more information.

We also got to see University of Illinois’ second-place winner in the 2009 Solar Decathlon (pictured above) - a great example of the PassivHaus standard in action.

In Memory of Senator Edward M. Kennedy

“As I have traveled the this nation this year, I have discovered that despite the sense of hopelessness and helpless frustration that too often dominates the energy debate in Washington, there is a revolution of Yankee ingenuity changing the energy future of local communities.”

- Senator Edward M. Kennedy

September 1980

From the Introduction to “Passive Solar Energy: The Homeowners Guide to Natural Heating and Cooling” (1981) by Bruce Anderson and Malcolm Wells, Publisher: Brick House (click the link for a free download).

The Senator then goes on to cite examples of some of that ingenuity: increased gasohol production, solar water heaters installed in the Tennessee Valley, citizens turning to wood stoves to heat their homes, an MIT house that would employ meltable salts to store and release heat with only small changes in temperature.

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Passive House

A basic section through a Passive House.

Dave has just received his certification to be a Passive House Consultant!

You’ll probably be seeing this symbol

on our website shortly.

In a nutshell, Passive House is great energy-efficiency standard for buildings (not just homes) of all types and sizes, including schools and community centers, even retrofits in some cases.

Not to be confused with designs that focus only on passive solar or passive heating or cooling-based strategies,

“A Passive House is a very well-insulated, virtually air-tight building that is primarily heated by passive solar gain and by internal gains from people, electrical equipment, etc. Energy losses are minimized. Any remaining heat demand is provided by an extremely small source. Avoidance of heat gain through shading and window orientation also helps to limit any cooling load, which is similarly minimized. An energy recovery ventilator provides a constant, balanced fresh air supply. The result is an impressive system that not only saves up to 90% of space heating costs, but also provides a uniquely terrific indoor air quality.” (from the PHIUS website)

The Passive House standard stems from visits to the U.S. Midwest made by German scientists in the early 1980’s who toured off-the-grid super-insulated homes. They went back impressed, kept developing the ideas, and made them boxy.

Hey, boxy is good, right? Think Volvo.

A Passive House retrofit home. Image courtesy Passivhaus Institut.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., we elected Ronald Reagan, and that crazy energy-independence ‘fad’ simply went away. Or did it…?

Now Passive Houses are back, much more sophisticated (in terms of design) and very livable, and Hampton Avery Architects are looking for a few good clients.