A New York Times article on the Passivhaus standard
Martin Holladay
| Posted in PassivHaus on
The latest New York Times article on the Passivhaus standard is called “The Passive House: Sealed for Freshness.”
The article quotes Katrin Klingenberg, and interviews Don Freas, the owner of the Freas house that I described in one of my blogs, More Passivhaus Site Visits in Washington State.
The article also mentions GBA and the Pretty Good House. So check it out.
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I read it just this morning. Clark brought me a copy and stood there while I read between customers. Great article.
I was very pleased to see this article leading off the section this week. Props all around!
I used to live in the Madison Park neighborhood (30+ years ago), and yes,
“They probably wanted something Craftsman here.”
...which would have fit the vibe of the neighborhood a lot better than the Euro-modern slabs-of-obsidian look, and it's not as if doing something more in keeping with the neighborhood couldn't be done on the same budget. But I guess they actively WANTED to stand out like a sore thumb (or would bird-crap on a Beemer be more appropriate?), sort of an "in your face" kind of attitude or something? Seriously? This:
http://ww1.hdnux.com/photos/22/72/10/4956688/3/628x471.jpg
... in a neighborhood full of nice Craftsman bungalows?
Getting to PassiveHouse doesn't have to look unconventional- it's a choice. Plopping THIS house in THAT neighborhood reminds me of some of the charmless ultra-modern buildings in the middle of 16-18th century developments in Amsterdam NL, like alien mushrooms sprouting in the craters left where bombers were shot down during WW-II. (What were they thinking?) You don't have to absolutely preserve every aspect of the character of a neighborhood, but you don' t have to clash with it either. But 'tis still a free country, I s'pose...
full of nice craftsman bungalows? you mean the 8500 sf house two lots down? the 5500 sf one across the street? the 4900 sf one two lots to the north? maybe the $2.6M 7000 sf house for sale a block down the road? or the 6,000 sf georgian colonial a block to the south? perhaps you're thinking of another part of madison park?
the PH is actually pretty subdued. there are several more austere projects in the neighborhood (at several times cost, much less efficient) - like this...
http://www.archdaily.com/59761/mad-park-residence-vandeventer-carlander-architects/
architecturally, madison park is pretty diverse (e.g. many cape cods, some pretty heinous tudors, some modernist gems tucked in there as well)
So you're saying a lot has gone on since I've been in the 'hood, eh? ;-)
In 1980 is was a pretty laid back place, with but a few modern bits of architecture closer to lakefront. Taking a google-street view tour it looks like the nice ~2800' 2-story California style bungalow with the big front porch I used to live in has been replaced by a boring 6-plex condo or apartment. (Oh well, there went the neighborhood...) There were a few stucco-clad oddities around back then but I don't recall any Tudors (which would be have been pretty weird, too.) It's definitely not the same flavor as the neighborhood that I lived in, but there are still some blocks that appear similar.
Flat roofs don't make a whole lot of sense to me in a place as rainy as Seattle either, but there seems to be trend for rooftop decks for mountain & lake viewing on those Euro-cubes, eh?
Lloyd Alter of TreeHugger has written a blog responding to the NY Times article.
Here is the link: Passive House movement gets noticed by the New York Times.