Project Specs

Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia
Climate Zone: Warm-Temperate
Building Type: Single Family Residential
Project Phase: Certified
Certification Type: Passive House Classic
Year of Construction: 2016
Gross Floor Area (m2): 295
Treated Floor Area (m2): 294.7
PHPP Verification: Download

Project Description

The clients approached us to design and build an intergenerational residence to the Passive House Standard. The programming required that there be a dedicated living space for the grandparents within the main dwelling without separating it into a secondary suite. The 50’ (15.2m) by 150’ (45.7m) lot allowed an L-shaped configuration of the building footprint creating exterior as well as interior shared areas at the hinge point.

A strict budget of $250 per sqft together with achieving the Passive House requirements, demanded a disciplined design process for both the client and us, here are some feature points that allowed us to achieve these goals:

  • Instead of a full height basement we opted for a 1m high mini basement that allows for storage and still adds some TFA (30%)
  • Designing a structure that is efficient: simple platform framed, no long spans, no point loads etc. resulted in material cost savings
  • The assembly chosen streamlined construction and reduced thermal bridging
  • Penetrations through the exterior walls were minimized by placing exterior electrical sockets and hose bibs within the landscape rather the mounting them on the exterior wall
  • Designing the window sizes with the majority at one standard width allowed for some efficiency on site
  • Interior and exterior finishes were picked cost effectively without sacrificing quality and durability

Thermal Envelope


Mechanical System