Amanda Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 I am an architect and certified passivhaus designer working in the south West. I obtained planning permission (a minor miracle after huge amounts of work) last year to knock down my house in Wiltshire and replace it with an eco house. A passivhaus would be the aim but as the site is in AONB and Green Belt on a steep west facing slope with amazing views it has a few fundamental issues that will make this challenging, but seeing how close we can get will be the aim. I am trying to find time now outside office hours to work up the details and put it in PHPP and I will endeavour to post my progress for anyone who is interested. The first issues will be how to deal with too much glazing facing the fantastic views, what to build it out of to keep walls as thin as possible (building volume is critical in Green Belt) with a partner who wants it "solid" and my own frivolous desire to have concrete floors throughout! Oh and stopping it falling down the slippery slope.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gravelld Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 Good luck, but please don't call it an eco house Some nice overhangs for the glazing, have you been following Juraj Mikurcik's build? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 Welcome Amanda, that sounds like an interesting project. We'd definitely be interested in hearing how you get on. We have polished concrete floors throughout the ground floor of our house. I'm pretty happy with it, although even with sealing we've found it to not wear well in the kitchen (things stain if not wiped up immediately, so that drop of oil that you thought was a drop of water leaves a permanent mark if not wiped off quickly!) For controlling solar gain, I'm sure you know that nothing beats some form of external shading. We have overhangs and external blinds on our west facing windows and they do a sterling job of keeping the worst of the sun out. An adjustable brise soleil that you can periodically change the angle of, and ideally move completely out of the way during the colder months, is a potentially cheaper option for large expanses of glass. For thin walls that are also "solid", you could consider ICF with additional external insulation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanR Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 Hi Amanda, and welcome! Looking forward to seeing your project progress. We to are cursed with great views that demanded more glazing than is sensible on a low energy home. Our planning (PD) didn't allow fixed brise-soleil shading as we had to keep within the existing building (cow-shed) envelope. Our solution were external venetians connected to a little automation to optimise slat angle to sun position. These are a big success and I now wish we'd put them on more windows than just the ones that were adding to the excessive solar gain. Fitted behind the cladding, when they are retracted they are not visible so for us did not cause any issues with the planners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickfromwales Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 Hi Amanda, and welcome. You sound like you'd be a valuable addition to the crowd here so please stick around . If you wish you can request blog rights ( they have to be granted by one of our admins, @PeterW, @recoveringacademic or @TerryE ) and log your adventures there . You could read @JSHarris's blog as that has some great info about dealing with solar gains, from a continuously recirculating UFH system, through to tried and tested reflective window films etc. Searching this forum and its predecessor Ebuild will see chat continued here from the latter, with a wealth of warts n all reviews derived from selecting, installing, and living with such system, and their associated disciplines, which is priceless. Search, ask, and enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Temp Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 We opted for a beam & block first floor and "just" had to use denser blocks for the walls. You may have to use quite a bit more steel if there is a lot of glass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 3 hours ago, Amanda said: [...] I am trying to find time now outside office hours to work up the details and put it in PHPP [...] Welcome. I am sure your perspective will be a valuable addition to many of the discussions here. PHPP eats time: perhaps it might be more cost efficient to get someone to do it for you.....? I bet you knew that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 Welcome Amanda Interesting that you think the look of the house should affect the performance. Without going to extremes of design i.e. a green house or a concrete bunker, I would have though that with the right choice of materials i.e. insulation, tinting glazing, that most houses can be made to look like any house i.e. traditional for the area. Interested on your thoughts as I see a lot of 'eco' places and they seem to consist of nothing more than thick windows and a bit of timber cladding. Really what is wanted is a maximum imported/CO2 energy usage figure for space heating. This should, ideally, be the same for all housing, but that is impractical, though an interesting challenge for an engineer. And just to add to @Nickfromwales comment, stick around. Self builders are often hostile to architects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 (edited) Welcome. It will interesting to hear your contributions as a real world PH architect. On solid vs glass perhaps arrange some weekends away in modern Landmark Trust buildings and AirBNBs with views to see what you like if you have not both lived in it before. This one in Devon? Slope, modern, views, office-with-a-view etc. https://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/search-and-book/properties/anderton-house-4644 We like people who use tags. Ferdinand Edited October 4, 2017 by Ferdinand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMitchells Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 Welcome Amanda! Sounds like a very exciting project - we'll be with you all the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSS Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 Hi @Amanda and welcome. Our build is not to Passivhaus standard but potential overheating from solar gain was a big concern for us, and 'night purging' was not an option (long story). The solution I've gone for is Sageglass (electrochromic glazing) and it seems to be working very well. It's not cheap but it does mean you can control excess solar gain whilst retaining the benefit at times of the year when that gain is desirable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 How thin do you think you can make those walls? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeSharp01 Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 Welcome, sounds exciting, looking on with interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stones Posted October 5, 2017 Share Posted October 5, 2017 Hi @Amanda and welcome to the forum. Sounds an interesting project and looking forward to hearing about it. Members of this forum have a range of experiences of their interactions with architects (as we have all had with other professionals) - some good, some indifferent, some bad, so there may well be some interesting debates and discussions as time goes on. Hopefully you're up for the challenge! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddal Posted October 5, 2017 Share Posted October 5, 2017 Hi and welcome. I would definitely put lots of thought into controlling solar gain. Think about : how to add shading the type of glass - makes a big difference how the angle of the sunlight affects things how the heat capacity of the contents of the house affects the response to gain how ventilation can help - ie windows situated to generate convection how to add cooling Our house has been built a few years now and has lots of south facing glazing. We put a lot of time, energy and money into controlling solar gain - and even so - it occasionally catches us out. e.g. last week there was a fairly sunny day. The sun is a bit lower this time of year, and I switched off the passive cooling recently. The result was the living room was 29c! It probably would have got higher but I opened all the doors/windows to control it. If we hadn't put lots of resources into controlling solar gain during the design (ie if we had followed the advice of all our professional advisors at the time!) then I think the house would have been uninhabitable during summer - with no easy fix. - reddal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda Posted October 6, 2017 Author Share Posted October 6, 2017 On 04/10/2017 at 09:47, gravelld said: Good luck, but please don't call it an eco house Some nice overhangs for the glazing, have you been following Juraj Mikurcik's build? I won't ever call it an eco house again! New to site, bit slow to learn how it all works but yes will follow the Juraj Mikucik build, looks interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 I met Juraj (George, I believe he goes by) several years ago when looking at using the architectural practice he worked at. Really nice guy who appears to know his stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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