East 10th Passive House

The mandate for this project was to build an intergenerational residence with a garage to the Passive House Standard, a rigorous set of voluntary energy-efficient building guidelines. Programming required there be a dedicated living space for the grandparents within the main dwelling, without separating it into a secondary suite.

With a strict budget, Fast + Epp’s disciplined solution for the L-shaped wood frame building uses prefabricated stud walls with an additional layer of exterior insulation. To ensure cost savings, the structure is efficient with no long spans or point loads – the chosen assembly streamlined construction and reduced thermal bridging. This was achieved through Fast + Epp’s early collaboration with the building envelope consultant, to mitigate the conflicts between structural systems and the building envelope.

Passive design strategies use ambient energy sources such as daylighting, natural ventilation and solar energy, rather than purchasing energy such as electricity or natural gas. This ensures the residences are not only more cost-effective to operate over time, but also reduces the building’s ecological footprint.