Passive House in the Woods

Virtual Glamour Shots

Here are two additional renderings showing front entry and southeast corner perspectives of the Passive House in the Woods.

Front Entry Perspective

The front entry canopy will be sheathed with wood slats, and punctured with little openings that allow sunlight to penetrate the area underneath, as well as views onto the side yard. The stairwell beyond connects the backyard to the first and second floor decks, as well as the roof top terrace. Siting the garage was a fair challenge due to the steep topography of the building lot, and generous setbacks mandated by local jurisdiction. In the end, we seized the opportunity and located a root cellar underneath on the West side. The garage roof is designed to become a “green roof”, holding crates with sedums that absorb, store, and time-release storm water.

Southeast Perspective

This perspective shows the south and east elevations of the Passive House in the Woods, as well as the woods beyond. The generously sized south-facing windows capture valuable sunlight in the winter months, acting as heaters for the house. Over the course of a year, they are projected to capture 50% more heating energy than is lost through them. This is due to glazing that offers high solar heat-gains (64%), as well as outstanding insulating values (0.11).

What the rendering does not show is how the sun exposure is managed. Exterior venetian blinds, made from aluminum and operated by motors that are controlled by the sun and wind, recess into the area above each window—right inside of the wall. Depending on the weather conditions, they will automatically drop to block sun light in the summer months while allowing natural daylighting based on the angle of the slats. Each shade can also be controlled individually for privacy, or light control.

On the drawing board: Rear decks and stair structure

This working model perspective  shows the rear deck and stair structure that is going through final design, now.

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