In addition, parapets wrapped with insulation barriers remain part of the heated building mass, whereas parapets insulated and supported by structural thermal breaks sit outside of the heated building envelope above roof slab, retaining heat energy more efficiently.
“We’re an owner/operator, so energy efficiency is very important to us, not only for our residents’ comfort, but also because of lower operating costs, lower heating and cooling bills,” says PARC director of construction Bob Fritz.
Building to Passive House standards
Another owner-occupied senior residence, built by the Hellenic American Neighborhood Action Committee (HANAC) in Queens, New York, is the first affordable senior housing development in the U.S. to meet the Passive House Institute design standards for energy efficiency and ecological footprint reduction.
HANAC met the standard by building its senior residence with passive solar design, high-impact under-slab insulation, triple-glazed windows, balanced ventilation, efficient heating and cooling systems, a thermally-broken rainscreen system, energy recovery ventilation systems, and a continuous super-insulated building envelope.
To preserve the integrity of the envelope, HANAC installed structural thermal breaks where steel elements penetrate the insulated envelope to support rooftop ventilation equipment and two steel canopies.
“We’ve done LEED projects for years, but Passive House is a much more specific and robust system,” says Jack Esterson, design partner with project architect, Think! Architecture and Design. “Passive House certification makes perfect sense as HANAC holds onto and operates its buildings for a long time and wants to keep energy and maintenance costs low. Being able to save between 60 to 80 per cent on your energy bills is a real benefit.”
The Passive House standard looks to maximize occupant comfort, which is important as seniors are more sensitive to temperature,” adds Esterson.
Designer Brian Dobrolsky explains, “This is a concrete, cast-in-place building. For the two 2.8 x 3 m (8 x 10 ft) canopies, we have steel that is anchor-bolted back to the beam. One canopy shields the entrance of the early childhood education facility, and one shields the residential portion. Inside the canopies is steel tubing. So, for these connections, we needed to add structural thermal breaks at those points.”
