Year: 2015

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This blog post is a review of “Hermann Kaufmann IZM: Illwerke Zentrum Montafon” published in April 2015, edited by Marko Sauer.

This is a beautiful book about a beautiful building. The IZM is a new 120m long, five-storey office building in the Montafon valley of the Vorarlberg region in Austria. It brings together, in a central location, both the civil and electrical engineers of the hydropower generation company, Illwerke Vorarlberg.

The Illwerke Zentrum Montafon (IZM) in Rodund is an unparalleled timber structure: with a usable floor area of over 10,000 m2, it was the largest office building made of wood in Central Europe on completion. Assembled in only six weeks, the timber construction above the concrete base is the first application of the LifeCycle Tower (LCT) system on the free market.

The building is an exemplar of integrated architecture. The alpine setting, materials research, modern technology, prefabrication, traditional craftsmanship, low energy / low carbon design, and social contribution all play their part in making the IZM a work of stunning Passivhaus architecture.

“Hermann Kaufmann IZM: Illwerke Zentrum Montafon” is an elegantly restrained monograph of essays, beautiful photographs and clear drawings. It is, in a sense, reflective of the building itself. It maintains the very high standard of presentation and technical detail that can be found in all Detail magazines and books.

Passivhaus architecture is integrated architecture. This book details an exceptionally beautiful work of integrated architecture.

031 Exceptional Integrated Architecture

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This is a Passivhaus Basics blog post that gives an overview of a specific aspect of the Passivhaus Standard.

The Passivhaus Standard requires airtight construction. What does this mean?

Essentially it means a draught-free building envelope.

A clear airtightness strategy is required to achieve this. The airtight line needs to be continuous even when formed of different materials. And it needs to be joined up, even where there are penetrations.

Sometimes airtight construction gets confused with how a building is ventilated or with ‘breathing construction.’ This post clears up these particular confusions.

And why does the Passivhaus Standard require airtight construction?

Airtight construction is draught-free construction. It is an essential part of the Passivhaus Standard to protect the building envelope, to ensure radical energy efficiency and to provide exceptional comfort.

030 What is Airtight Construction
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A passivhaus home in almost all climates across the world will include a mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery (MVHR*). This kind of ventilation system is required for both energy efficiency and for comfort. However, to many people this is an intimidating and misunderstood aspect of passivhaus. As a result, there are various concerns and misconceptions about what a passivhaus ventilation system is and how you use it.

To address some of these issues I have enlisted the help of Zehnder, a global supplier of Passivhaus Certified ventilation systems. In this post, we explore the following aspects of a residential passivhaus ventilation system:

  1. How do I control the ventilation system?
  2. What day-to-day interaction do I need to have with the ventilation system?
  3. What is the boost function and when should I use it?
  4. When should I switch the ventilation system off?

Rupert Kazlauciunas, Senior Technical Advisor at Zehnder Group UK, very kindly provided answers to my questions

In a residential passivhaus, the ventilation system can be simple to use. It will save energy and money, while ensuring comfort and excellent indoor air quality.

029 Residential Passivhaus Ventilation System
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This is a Passivhaus Basics blog post that gives an overview of a specific aspect of the Passivhaus Standard.

In passivhaus design and construction, there are frequent references to the “building envelope” and the “thermal envelope.” Neither are exclusive to the Passivhaus Standard, but both are important aspects of the standard.

A building envelope is the physical separators between the conditioned and unconditioned environment of a building including the resistance to air, water, heat, light, and noise transfer. The three basic elements of a building envelope area weather barrier, air barrier, and thermal barrier. [Wikipedia]

In simple terms, this means that the building envelope is made up of the walls, floors, roofs (or ceilings), windows and doors that separate the inside from the outside. The passivhaus building envelope is also made up of these elements, but there are some key aspects that make the passivhaus building envelope distinct.

The passivhaus building envelope requires a high-performance thermal envelope, it must be continuous and it is key to the fabric first approach.

028 What is the Passivhaus Building Envelope
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I often focus on the design aspects of the Passivhaus Standard on this blog. I’m an architect after all. However, while getting the design right is important for passivhaus, getting the construction right is equally important. The Passivhaus Standard isn’t an aspirational standard that sets good intentions but doesn’t follow through. The Passivhaus Standard has the integrity to deliver what it promises.

What does this mean for a builder who is asked to construct a building to the Passivhaus Standard? I explore this question with Darren Macri of Bleu Nest. He shares his journey to becoming a Passive House Builder. He also shares some of the mindset shifts and new ways of working that are needed to build to the Passivhaus Standard. And you get a taste of his infectious humour.

What does it take to be a Passive House Builder?

027 Passivhaus Builder 1
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