What do we mean by “health and comfort”?
We often refer to the “health and comfort” of building occupants. What does this mean? An ideal building would be one that you wouldn’t notice or feel, one that would allow the body to exist in a healthy and comfortable state and at a comfortable temperature, or even one which would improve your sense of wellbeing upon entering. How do architects know how to design for your comfort? How can that be measured? Continue Reading…
What does an Italian regional energy certification really tell you?
From a purely commercial point of view, the Italian real estate market seems to now understand the concept of the energy certification of buildings. However, the certificate itself is not sufficient to ensure the comfort and quality of the building. Why? PV panels cannot eliminate mold. Continue reading…
What does a Passive House look like?
After you’ve done your research, evaluated your options, and settled on passive design as a valid and worthy goal for your dream home, you usually arrive at this very important question: “But what will my passive house look like?!” The possibilities are limitless! Almost. Why almost? Continue reading…
What is a ”passive” building?
Here in Italy, there has been a growing interest in the term “passive” with regard to construction and architecture. Unfortunately, however, the word is often used haphazardly or without much definition. Added to that is the general confusion surrounding vocabulary in the green building market in Italy, leaving many people misinformed. As this is a subject to which we are quite dedicated, and one which we frequently discuss in our blog, we thought it would be appropriate to go over the correct definition of a passive building. Continue reading…
Replace my windows or add insulation?
We are often asked whether you should invest in external insulation or in new windows for the highest return of investment, as far as comfort and energy savings. The short answer is neither or both. Continue reading…
Can green roofs contribute to landscape heritage?
While the desire to preserve that landscape heritage is justifiably strong, I think a certain cultural resistance to change has resulted in an unfortunate hesitancy in architectural design and a modern building stock that is, frankly, not very attractive. For fear of stepping too far outside of the box, we have remained in it for far too long. With this little article, I would like to remind you of a modern and beautiful way of continuing to respect the landscape that has made Italy so famous: vegetated roofs, or “green roofs”. Continue reading…
Our most recent blog posts:
- Our impressions from the 2015 Int’l Passivhaus Conference in Leipzig, Germany
- Living Future unConference 2015 Recap and REGENERATION Italy
- Energy Efficiency: the importance of site supervision
- Shedding some light on Earth Hour and the like.
- Passive House Window Talks 2015
- The blackout-proof home: Passive House with high time constant
- Our Passive House Italy group surpasses 2,500 members
- The potential benefit of an early ‘Blower Door Test’.
- A Disastrous Case Study: How Replacing Windows Alone Can Lead to Mold
- Trends in Ceramics at CERSAIE 2013 (Bologna, Italy) | Houzz
