Hi, I’m looking for more info on the failure of a Belgian PassivHaus
![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/7f428c2600e25433c4d5e636e9cac86b?s=52&d=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.greenbuildingadvisor.com%2Fapp%2Favatars%2F200x200%2Fr.png&r=g)
There was an article on this site about the failure of a Belgian PassivHaus that rendered it uninhabitable due to poor indoor air quality. The previous page address now says ‘access denied’ or has been removed over the past couple of days – can anyone point me in the direction of further information?
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
![](https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/app/themes/greenbuildingadvisor/dist/img/modules/detail-library/thumb1.png)
![](https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/app/themes/greenbuildingadvisor/dist/img/modules/detail-library/thumb2.png)
Replies
Richard,
You've got the right link. Here it is again: Belgian Passivhaus is Rendered Uninhabitable by Bad Indoor Air.
When you get an "Access Denied" message, it is a sign that the GBA website is suffering its dread Mystery Glitch, the software problem that our engineers are still working on fixing.
When it happens, there are two possible fixes:
1. Sign in to the site (assuming that you have registered). Registering on GBA is free. Registered (signed in) visitors appear to suffer the "Access Denied" problem at a lower rate than others.
2. Send me an e-mail and ask me to fix the problem. There are a few things I can do behind the curtain. My e-mail address is martin [at] greenbuildingadvisor [dot] com .
Since I have just pushed a few levers, try again and let me know if it works.
Great - thanks, that worked.
it should be pointed out, as was hashed out in the comments, this project was never a passivhaus. or it was a passivhaus, in the same way that this is a passivhaus.
http://simplydifferently.org/Present/Data/Zome/Polyhedral/photos/Zome%2012%20Baronnet%2000.jpg
Yes – I've asked around and it seems to be quite a well known case study of a single individual house, much quoted. It seems pretty badly built and I assume wasn’t certified. It clearly suffered from defects which are nothing to do with passivhaus – lacked a ventilated cavity and had badly installed earth tubes which were full of water. In every analysis we’ve done earth tubes in any case do not have any useful effect, are expensive, and should therefore be avoided. But still interesting and lessons to be learnt - thanks