Passive House
Client: Serenity Women's Retreat
Location: Milton, Ontario
Date: Winter 2017
Concept
Mission Statement: The Serenity Women’s Retreat will provide you with the ability to center yourself among the chaos through relaxing body mediation & healing, creative outlets and thorough self reflection.
Design Concept: Retreat has a central design as gathering rooms are found in the middle of the main floor.
Floor Plans
First Floor
Second Floor
Elevations
Site Study
The Serenity Women’s Retreat follows passive design well as the building’s orientation lays perfectly parallel along the East to West axis. The South elevation of the retreat is fully exposed to the sun’s path allowing direct gain of the winter sun’s heat into the building while blocking out the summer sun’s heat with the use of overhangs extending 26” from the building’s side. With the site consisting mainly of deciduous trees, the retreat benefits from bare winter trees which allows the sun in for heating purposes meanwhile during the summer months when the trees are in full bloom, the sun is blocked out and the trees provide shade for the building.
Passive Solar Study
The design of the retreat factors in the ‘stack effect’ as operable centre pivoting windows are strategically placed on the upper and lower levels of the building. The building also incorporates operable clerestory windows that allows the lighter, warmer air to escape and be displaced by heavier, cooler air that enters the building through operable lower level centre pivotal windows. With an open concept floor plan, cross ventilation is easily achieved as air can flow in through the building and back out. Both window designs allow proper and efficient air ventilation while adding a sleek and modern overall look to the building. Due to the air tightness of the home, a Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV) will be installed to transfer stale air out of the retreat and bring in fresh air, allowing for a healthy and well-ventilated building for the occupants. When the HRV harnesses the stale air from inside the retreat it will warm the incoming fresh air through a heat exchanger so that no heat is lost and no cold air is brought in. Additionally, it will also prevent the growth of mould within the retreat.
Sustainable Building Construction
To invoke passive house design, the Serenity Women’s Retreat building is designed to be square shaped to reduce the exposure of weather elements to exterior walls. The simplified shape also reduces the risk of thermal bridging where heat typically gets lost in building construction. The foundation wall of the building is constructed of Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF) with a concrete centre to improve the strength of the structure and it’s thermal mass. The wall assembly is a double wall construction with Zip System sheathing and a stucco siding finish to reduce and seal air gaps and thermal bridging. The double wall system in insulated with a combination of loose fill and wet spray cellulose insulation while the roof is insulated with denim batt insulation. All insulation types contain recycled content and are efficient in insulating buildings. The building design incorporates triple pane centre pivoting windows trimmed with super insulated frames for superior protection from weather elements and temperature loss. In addition to the sleek and modern look it provides it also catches the air when the wind hits it and directs it into the building, improving ventilation and air flow. Artificial lighting is reduced by maximizing the use of day lighting in the space. With the use of large windows and sky lights opening up on the south side of the building natural lighting is sufficiently used. To reduce heat gain during summer months, overhangs that jet out 26” from the south building side block out the summer sun. The overhangs are a horizontal panel design made from any trees that were cut down on the site plan giving them a poetic purpose: the trees that once protected and shaded mother nature’s forest floors now protect and shade the women of the retreat.