The two shorter structures use different combinations of EIFS, concrete block, and metal studs. The challenges of Passive House were multiplied by the variety of exterior wall types deployed by the developers (Jonathan Rose Companies and L+M Development Partners) for each of the complex’s three buildings. The design, by Handel Architects, with Steven Winter Associates as the Passive House consultant, incorporates a rich menu of educational, recreational, and social-services spaces. Its tallest structure is Sendero “A,” a 37-story, 348-apartment tower that is expected to be the largest multifamily Passive House building in the world when complete in 2022. On a vastly different scale is Sendero Verde, a three-building 752,000-square-foot complex rising in East Harlem that aspires to be a model of low-energy housing. “It just requires conscientiousness.” Passive House certification is pending. The taping of membrane edges and intersections to achieve absolute airtightness “is not high skill,” says Ted Sheridan, a Ryall Sheridan partner. Although the workers received training, at first they struggled to meet the exacting requirements. Neither the contractor nor subcontractors had previously built to Passive House standards. Occupants appreciate the acoustical isolation, too, which banishes the shouts of children outside an adjacent school and the sirens of a nearby fire station. (Semi-private offices are on the floors between.) Because the assembly spaces sometimes will be occupied by large numbers of people, the rooftop ERV and a cooling tower that feeds heat pumps must manage widely varying loads, yet these loads are much less than in a conventional building because exterior temperature swings barely impinge. The main floor is devoted to several meeting rooms that can be united as needed, while the fourth floor, which opens to a roof terrace, accommodates receptions. By contrast, the EUI of New York’s existing building stock exceeds 200. The building has a target energy use intensity, or EUI (a measure of BTUs consumed per square foot per year) of 24.1. Outlets and other penetrations were minimized so that each could be protected by a box impervious to the passage of air. A special metal batten holds the air barrier and finishes to the studs without the use of fasteners that would penetrate the membrane. Beams intersecting with exterior walls were coated with a nanogel product that controls condensation, since the beams could not be cut to accommodate a thermal break.Ī thick layer of cellulose (a renewable paper-based insulation) was blown into a cavity framed inboard of the concrete walls and sheathed with an air barrier that allows migration of moisture out of the wall. An all-new brick facade with decorative elements reproduced in cast stone was designed, but because of its proximity to the property line, most of the insulation had to be applied to the inside of the concrete envelope. While the west elevation that opens to a narrow courtyard was refaced with an exterior insulation and finish system (EIFS), using expanded polystyrene insulation (and now painted with a spectacular mural by Katie Yamasaki), the street-facing side was more challenging. The team was forced to strip them to the cast-in-place concrete structure, including removal of the face brick and decorative facade elements. ![]() One challenging aspect of the project was the deteriorated condition of the existing exterior walls. The maximums for heating- and cooling-energy consumption and air infiltration are set higher for such projects than for new Passive House construction. Tapping the expertise of consultants that included Zero Energy Design, ADS Engineers, and the Levy Partnership, architects Ryall Porter Sheridan (now Ryall Sheridan) designed the headquarters to comply with the EnerPHit Passive House Institute standard, which recognizes the obstacles encountered in upgrading existing buildings. ![]() NoVo, as a retrofit, faced unique challenges. The three following projects are achieving Passive House standards in a variety of ways.
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