Building Form
PASSIVE RESILIENCE
Recorded by Sofie Pelsmakers, images by Essi Nisonen and Veera Saastamoinen
KEY READINGS
Kimpian, J., Hartman, H., Pelsmakers, S. Energy, People Buildings: Making Sustainable Architecture Work, RIBA
Pelsmakers, S., Donovan, E., Hoggard, A., Kozminska, U., Designing for the climate emergency, a Guide for Architecture Students, RIBA
Pelsmakers, S. The Environmental Design Pocketbook, RIBA
Vivienne Brophy and J. Owen Lewis, A Green Vitruvius: Principles and Practice of Sustainable Architectural Design, 2012, Routledge
INSPIRATIONAL BUILT EXAMPLES
Milena Karanesheva and Mischa Witzmann, Passive House, Bessancourt, France
ACMS Architekten Variowohnen Wuppertal Student Housing, Germany
Allmann Sattler Wappner and Transsolar engineers, Passivhäuser Piusplatz, Munich, Germany
Studio Bark, Box House, UK
Bearth and Deplazes, New Monte Rosa Hut, Zermat, Switzerland
Waugh Thistleton Architects, Whitmore house, London, UK
Adobe Pueblo Houses, New Mexico, USA
BUILDING FORM
Building form considerations are crucial for your design approach to ensure that your project responds to the local context and the logic of the proposed functions, underpinning low-energy design. The building form you design impacts on surroundings in a positive or negative way - and what kind of neighbour your proposal will be should be a key consideration. The goal is to not simply create a compact building form, but to create an appropriate building form for the given climate, context, users and functions. This requires climatic and contextual knowledge and careful consideration of other aspects and needs, such as balancing natural light access and views etc in your project, specifically:
create a suitable built form and massing with careful distances between buildings
use solar orientation of buildings, (indoor and outdoor) spaces and windows to maximise or avoid solar gains.
remember that the further away from the equator, the more pronounced shade from neighbouring buildings is, and this peaks in winter-time.