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Project posted by TBDA

Right-Sized Passive Home

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Dining area looking toward kitchen and sitting room. The floor is concrete: structural material used as finish, ground and polished using the Retro Plate system. It has 6” of foam insulation underneath (R-24), so it will never be cold, always room temperature. The walls are similarly superinsulated (R-49), which make for nice deep window sills!
Dining area looking toward kitchen and sitting room. The floor is concrete: structural material used as finish, ground and polished using the Retro Plate system. It has 6” of foam insulation underneath (R-24), so it will never be cold, always room temperature. The walls are similarly superinsulated (R-49), which make for nice deep window sills!
The south side of the house is tuned for solar gain in winter, and shading in summer (this photo is right around summer solstice, so the windows are mostly shaded). The high summer sun angle allows the space behind the screened porch to work as a kitchen garden.
The south side of the house is tuned for solar gain in winter, and shading in summer (this photo is right around summer solstice, so the windows are mostly shaded). The high summer sun angle allows the space behind the screened porch to work as a kitchen garden.
Stairs are always a great opportunity to open up the space of a house—especially mid-block houses that can get dark in the middle. By putting the stairs on the south, we took advantage of solar gain while opening up views to the sky and bringing light deep into the house. Floors are reclaimed hickory from Elmwood Reclaimed Timber.
Stairs are always a great opportunity to open up the space of a house—especially mid-block houses that can get dark in the middle. By putting the stairs on the south, we took advantage of solar gain while opening up views to the sky and bringing light deep into the house. Floors are reclaimed hickory from Elmwood Reclaimed Timber.
Floor joists from the previous house were recycled into open wood shelving. The cooktop is an electric induction type—the most efficient way to cook with electricity, and loved by chefs for its sensitivity. Air quality is controlled by the recirculating charcoal filter hood and continuous 36cfm exhaust to the ERV system from this room.
Floor joists from the previous house were recycled into open wood shelving. The cooktop is an electric induction type—the most efficient way to cook with electricity, and loved by chefs for its sensitivity. Air quality is controlled by the recirculating charcoal filter hood and continuous 36cfm exhaust to the ERV system from this room.
Floor joists from the previous house were recycled into open wood shelving. The cooktop is an electric induction type—the most efficient way to cook with electricity, and loved by chefs for its sensitivity. Air quality is controlled by the recirculating charcoal filter hood and continuous 36cfm exhaust to the ERV system from this room.
Floor joists from the previous house were recycled into open wood shelving. The cooktop is an electric induction type—the most efficient way to cook with electricity, and loved by chefs for its sensitivity. Air quality is controlled by the recirculating charcoal filter hood and continuous 36cfm exhaust to the ERV system from this room.
This screened porch is used to expand the feeling of usable space from the Living Room. It also functions like an old fashioned front porch—social with the street but part of the house. What we love about it is that we can make fire—actual wood-burning fire, that primal satisfying experience—part of the house experience without the smoke and mess inside, or the energy loss of a typical fireplace. Imagine coming out of the toasty Passive House and into a cool fall evening to enjoy a sit by the fire.
This screened porch is used to expand the feeling of usable space from the Living Room. It also functions like an old fashioned front porch—social with the street but part of the house. What we love about it is that we can make fire—actual wood-burning fire, that primal satisfying experience—part of the house experience without the smoke and mess inside, or the energy loss of a typical fireplace. Imagine coming out of the toasty Passive House and into a cool fall evening to enjoy a sit by the fire.

Credits

Posted by
Architect
Builder
Evolutionary Home Builders
Photographer
Hausman Photography
Awards
Outstanding Single-Family Project, U.S. Green Buildling Council LEED Home Awards
Mainstream Green Home of the Year Award Winner, Green Building Magazine
Passive House Institute US Project Award
Publications
Professional Builder, November 2016, “High Performance, High Design”
Crains Chicago, July 31, 2015, “The secret to an energy-efficient home? No, it’s not solar”
Curbed.com, July 29, 2015, “This Stylish Passive House Doesn’t Need to Show Off”
Chicago Tribune, July 16, 2015, “2015 GreenBuilt Home Tour to showcase eco-friendly building practices”
West Suburban Living, May 2015, “Eco-Friendly Living: Live healthier and save money with a green-built home”
Chicago Tribune, April 6, 2015, “Environmentally friendly house being built on Clinton Avenue”
Chicago Tribune, April 6, 2015, “Environmentally friendly house being built on Clinton Avenue”
Wednesday Journal, January 13, 2015, “Passive houses, A new generation of homes in Oak Park”
Wednesday Journal, January 13, 2015, “Passive houses, A new generation of homes in Oak Park”

From TBDA

This is a “right-sized” new home, designed by TBDA in Oak Park, IL. While its space planning and technology are entirely 21st-century, its form echoes the scale and detailing of its bungalow and foursquare neighbors. Indoor-outdoor experience is optimized with a front screened porch, complete with a wood-burning fireplace. This house LEED for Homes Platinum and pre-certified Passive House through the Passive House Institute US PHIUS+2015 program. In addition to the efficiency, durability, and inherent air quality that result from Passive House design and building methods, we have strictly controlled adhesives, caulks, sealants, and paints to minimize VOCs, and have used no-added-formaldehyde cabinetry and insulation. We engage a third party air quality testing agency at the end of construction to provide a report on air quality. The house that was on this lot was deconstructed and some pieces of it were used in this house—a transom window, an old door, and a lot of framing lumber.