PASSIVE RESILIENCE

Recorded by Sofie Pelsmakers, images by Essi Nisonen and Veera Saastamoinen

KEY READINGS 

INSPIRATIONAL BUILT EXAMPLES

  • Anne Thorne Architects, Cannock Mill Co-housing, UK

  • Matthew Barnett Howland and Dido Milne, MPH Architects, Cork House, UK

  • Rick Joy, Tucson Mountain House (rammed earth), USA

INSULATION

Insulation reduces and slows down heat transfer and therefore reduces heat loss in winter and heat gains in summer. This significantly reduces the operational energy and carbon impacts. To design low energy buildings you need to specify materials with low k-values, i.e. thermally insulating materials that reduce heat transfer. Human-made materials often have better thermal conductivity, so less insulation material is often needed for the same thermal performance, but at often a higher embodied carbon cost (i.e. more energy to manufacture). This is why it is important to evaluate the full life-cycle implications of insulation materials should be carefully considered, not only its thermal performance. .

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Low Energy Retrofit

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Building Fabric