Lansdowne Drive Passivhaus

A striking zinc-clad 94m2 two storey Passivhaus has just been designed and built in a compact London back garden site by Bernard Tulkens of Tectonics Architects and Passivhaus Designer Peter Ranken of Accredited Passivhaus Design. The project was the WINNER of the Urban category of the UK Passivhaus Awards 2016.

21° designed, supplied and commissioned the MVHR heat recovery ventilation system at the project.

Background

The project was set half a level down from the street with the lower level of the building made in reinforced concrete and the pre-fab upper level structure made from cross-laminated timber. The site was extremely challenging as it was overshadowed by tall nearby buildings, which reduced the possibility of passive heat gain from south facing glazing. This meant that it was a balancing act for the designers modelling the project in PHPP to achieve sufficient solar gains in winter whilst preventing overheating in summer.

Heat Recovery Ventilation

21° designed, supplied and commissioned the PAUL Novus 300 MVHR system at the project. The challenges with orientation and glazing at the site meant that the efficiency of the MVHR system became critical to ensure that the project achieved Passivhaus certification. This is the reason the larger PAUL  Novus 300 unit, with as installed efficiency of 90.9%, was selected.

Steel ducting

Aesthetically the project uses a limited palette of material with exposed timber and concrete inside. The rigid spiral-bound steel ducting used for the MVHR system is left exposed at the project, contributing to the minimalist industrial style.