FSJ Exterior South

FSJ Exterior South

FSJ East

FSJ Exterior North-Garage

FSJ Main Floor-”No Penetrations”

FSJ upper floor West

FSJ upper floor East

FSJ Interior 2×4 framing and SIGA tapes

FSJ Airtight Concept

If you have any questions, please contact us here: Marken Projects contact

Last week the assembly of the prefab structure finally went ahead which was delayed by the rather extreme winter conditions in Fort St. John. The prefab wall and roof wood panels, which are cellulose insulated, were constructed and assembled by BC Passive House out of Pemberton.

Here are a few first impressions:

Fort St. John Passive House

Fort St. John Passive House

Fort St. John Passive House

Fort St. John Passive House

Fort St. John Passive House

Fort St. John Passive House

Fort St. John Passive House PLUS

We will post more images as they come in – stay tuned.

For more information on this project, please visit http://www.markenprojects.com/en/fort-st-john-passive-house.html

by Ayme Sharma

Starting this fall, Vancouver builders will be eligible for a refund of up to $20,000 for building permits, development permits and other fees for new homes under the proposed Building Bylaw amendments if passed by City Council in May (which it is anticipated to do).  This “feebate” program is aimed at new 1&2 family homes including laneway and infill housing and works as follows: the higher the EnerGuide rating, the higher the refund to a maximum of $20.000.

Since our Passive House designs achieve a minimum EnerGuide 88 rating without the use of renewable energy sources, we expect that Passive House projects will qualify for the highest feebate refund level.

If you are building a new house or own a home in Vancouver, it is likely that you will also be considering a secondary suite, laneway home or infill home on your lot.  The City of Vancouver is in the process of amending the Laneway Housing Program to allow for more laneway housing (LWH) by:

-       Expanding the program to other single family zones

-       Providing more floor area for living space and storage

-       Encouraging more 1-storey laneway homes by relaxing setback requirements thereby reducing bulk and loss of privacy issues associated with 1-1/2 storey LWH

-       Speeding up the permitting process

Lots that are eligible for a LWH:

 -      Lots that are at least 32’ wide

-       Lots on an open lane, double fronting or a corner lot with a lane dedication

-       Lots with a single-family house or single-family house with suite

Together the Feebate program and the LWH amendments will increase the affordability of energy efficient housing in Vancouver.

Casa Pasiva Infill

Some RS zones permit multiple-family housing.  In these zones, infill houses can be built rather than LWH. Infill housing is not as restrictive as LWH and can be stratified.  We are currently close to achieving building permit for an ultra low-energy infill home in Vancouver.   This house is on target to achieve an EnerGuide rating of 88/89. Although infill housing is different than LWH, they are similar in scale.

 As part of the ReTHINK Competition, Marken Projects in collaboration with Red Door Energy Advisors made the case for a Passive House Prefab Duplex as the most affordable way to build and live in this city. Following this proposal, we are continuing our investigation by developing a prototypical duplex.

Passive House Duplex Massing Study

Our team is working on an adaptable, conceptual design for a Passive House Prefab Duplex for a typical RT5 zoned 122’ x 33’ Vancouver lot.  We are currently in the early schematic design stage and are designing this duplex to meet the following criteria:

-       Meet the stringent Passive House Energy Standard

-       Achieve an EnerGuide rating of 88+

-       Qualify for the maximum refund under the Feebate Program (up $20,000)

-       Utilize high-quality prefab construction

-       Affordable construction

-       Adaptable to different neighbor and client scenarios

-       Include a secondary suite

If you are interested in learning more about our Passive House Prefab Duplex concept or if you have questions in regards to Laneway & Infill housing, please contact us at maurer@markenprojects.com.

by Alexander Maurer

PH Office Lofthaus – Germany

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The Passive House Standard is largely known for drastically reducing a homes energy consumption, at the same time providing an extremely comfortable and healthy living space. But the standard is also applicable to other building types including schools, kindergardens, care facilities, wineries and all types of commercial buildings including office spaces. While the general benefits are basically the same, the planning  is quite different: For example, if it comes to office space (and larger buildings in general), projects in Europe and North Amercia have shown that meeting the stringent Passive House heating requirement is less of a challenge compared to residential buildings – more attention is paid to optimizing the energy consumption of the ventilation & cooling system and lighting. Also, over-insulation can make it more difficult to passively cool the building thus potentially increasing the cooling load. Careful planning and early building simulation is therefore crucial to avoid costly mistakes.

Passive House Office Buildings consume up to 85% less energy for heating and cooling and up to 65% less in overall building energy consumption compared to conventional construction. More importantly, working in a PH office building increases the occupants overall productivity, well-being and comfort – not to mention drastically reducing certain health concerns such as allergies, etc. All features the potential tenant(s) and investor(s) will appreciate. But how does a PH Office Building compare visually? 

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A few notable Passive House Office Buildings from Austria and Germany:

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PH Office Building – Lemgo, Germany

FAST FACTS:

•3 storeys •~ 2,000 m2 •0.31 ACH •10 Kwh/m2/yr (HD*) •111 Kwh/m2/yr (PED*) •GeoExchange Cooling •PV Panels •Masonry Construction

[*HD: Heating Demand *PED: Primary Energy Demand]

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PH Office Building ETRIUM, Cologne, Germany

FAST FACTS:

[*HD: Heating Demand *PED: Primary Energy Demand]

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PH Office Building ENERGON, Ulm, Germany

FAST FACTS:

PH Office Building – Woerrstadt, Germany

FAST FACTS:

•3 storeys •~ 7,000 m2 •0.3 ACH •13 Kwh/m2/yr (HD*) •60 Kwh/m2/yr (PED*) •PV Panels  •Rainwater Harvesting •Blackwater Recycling •Wood Construction

[*HD: Heating Demand *PED: Primary Energy Demand]

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PH Office Building, Berlin

Credit: http://www.passivhausprojecte.de

FAST FACTS:

•5 storeys •~ 25,000 m2 •0.14 ACH •12 Kwh/m2/yr (HD*) •88 Kwh/m2/yr (PED*) •Waste Water Heat pump •Triple Pane Wood Windows •Steel Concrete Construction

[*HD: Heating Demand *PED: Primary Energy Demand]

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PH Multifunctional Building, Stadl-Paura, Austria

FAST FACTS:

•3 storeys •~ 2,000 m2. •0.4 ACH •14 Kwh/m2/yr (HD*) •110 Kwh/m2/yr (PED*) •Waste Water Recycling •Rainwater Harvesting •PV Panels

•Wood Construction

[*HD: Heating Demand *PED: Primary Energy Demand]

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PH Sparkasse Bank Building, Dinslaken, Germany

FAST FACTS:

•5 storeys •~ 3,000 m2 •0.4 ACH •8 Kwh/m2/yr (HD*) •101 Kwh/m2/yr (PED*) •GeoExchange Cooling •PV Panels •Wood/Concrete Construction

[*HD: Heating Demand *PED: Primary Energy Demand]

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Marken Projects will assemble a complete project team for your Passive House Building project including mechanical engineer, consultants and other professionals plus a selection of cutting edge Passive House prefab building systems for larger projects.

Contact is today for more information: maurer @markenprojects.com and visit us at www.markenprojects.com.

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CREDITS: Images/Info: www.passivehouseprojects.de

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by Alexander Maurer

Designing and building to the Passive House Standard is one thing – successfully certifying a building is another altogether. The process is very stringent; every little detail is assessed and reviewed. Quite some work is going into gathering the extensive list of documentation required. And yes, it takes a while. That said, it is quite rewarding to learn that things have been done properly and the building is working as intended. Congratulations to the entire team working on this project including the builders Durfeld Constructors & BC Passive House and the structural engineer Equilibrium Consultants plus (last but not least) our Austrian friend Erich Reiner who coordinated the certification of this project. Thanks very much.

CLT Floor

I believe this project was a success on several levels:

1. The project has qualified for the Whistler Restricted Housing Initiative – an affordable housing program

2. 90% Canadian and Regional products were used

3. New technologies were showcased including Cross Laminated Timber (manufactured by Structulam in Penticton, BC)

4. One unit was pre-sold – the other was sold shortly after completion with lots of interest – talk quick sales

5. The construction process was smooth and efficient including the assembly of the new prefab panels by BC Passive House – Assembly video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHt3InxyvSg

6. Over a 1000 visitors have toured the building experiencing first hand what Passive House is all about

Where do we go from here?

Interest is certainly building in the Passive House Standard with more and more professionals taking courses offered by CanPhi in Canada and PHIUS in the States.

With more Passive House buildings underway and occupied, public awareness is rising – not only about the principles, but also about how a Passive House building operates and feels. This is one of the key factors to bringing this standard into the mainstream in North America, as it has been in Europe for over 15 years now, next to communicating the post construction economics: Lower Monthly Costs of ownership and Higher ROI!

In our upcoming blog posts we will introduce some other exciting projects we just completed or are working on – such as a Low Energy Infill Dwelling in Vancouver, the 1st Passive House on Vancouver Island and a nice Energuide 85 Renovation in Vancouver…..more to come, stay tuned.

If you are interested in learning more about our projects, Passive House Certification or other please do not hesitate to contact us @ maurer@markenprojects.com or visit us at www.markenprojects.com

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