The so-called Right-Sized Oak Park Home, designed by architect Tom Bassett-Dilley is a great example of how a passive and sustainable house does not need to be about giving up comfort and other modern conveniences. It boasts of a number of sustainable features and certifications, yet still fits right in with the other houses in Chicago’s Oak Park neighborhood, which is famous for its Frank Lloyd Wright house.
It’s always nice to see businesses taking steps to go green. Diageo, the company that manufactures the world famous Guinness beer, has recently opened a new brewhouse, which has been awarded the LEED Platinum certification. Brewhouse No. 4 as it is called, is located at St. James’s Gate in Ireland and it was also awarded the BREEAM Outstanding certification in 2014.
Designer and builder Andrew Michler recently built a passive home for himself near Fort Collins, Colorado, which is made from either naturally regenerative or recyclable materials, and by using the Cradle to Cradle methodology. Despite the fact that this home is located in a very cold region, he also wanted to find a substitute for the plastic foam insulation, which is typically used in these cases. Foam plastic insulation has high embodied energy, is made with hazardous chemicals and is full of toxic flame retardants.
The Passive House Che has recently been built in a forest in Romania and is currently still being evaluated to receive the Passive House standard certification. As such, it is of course equipped with all sorts of sustainable features, which also include an indoor lawn. It was designed by the local firm Tecto Architectura.
Multipod Studio, a French architectural firm, recently made the first prototype of a sustainable, lightweight, and recyclable modular passive home. Once they are finished testing it, they will begin selling these affordable and very efficient homes. This home is called Pop-Up House, which is a pretty apt name, since it can be assembled in just four days using only an electric screwdriver.
The modern home bristles with safety and home protection devices and technology. Smoke Detectors, Carbon Monoxide detectors, burglary alarms, and electrical circuit breakers just to name a few. But the most prevalent property insurance claim is damage caused by a failure of civilization’s greatest convenience, indoor plumbing.
