Output details
16 - Architecture, Built Environment and Planning
University of Dundee
Plot 19 to Maryville : modifications of a rural house prototype to meet Passivhaus standards
Content
The Maryville Passive House continues research into development of an appropriate contemporary architectural form for a large house (over 150m²) that responds to regional vernacular building typologies. It is flexible to the occupants’ changing lifestyles without disrupting the purity of the form as an object in the Scottish landscape. The architectural design concepts of the Maryville Passive House (1: Abstract the Scottish rural vernacular, 2: Split house into two volumes, 3: Shift volumes to create positive outdoor space) are based on those of the Plot 19 prototype house at the Scotland Housing Expo 2010, Inverness. The core design ideas are abstract enough to allow for minor regional variation, permitting integration into a variety of contexts. The Maryville Passive House is located in a different context to the Plot 19 house and has been designed and built to a higher environmental standard. Despite these changes in context and performance specification, the Maryville Passive house demonstrates the effectiveness of the core architectural ideas: to create a detached dwelling prototype for speculative development proposals.
Questions
How to develop a rural house prototype (Plot 19) designed to BRE Ecohome excellent standard (Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4) to PassivHaus standards without altering the fundamentals of the design?
How to achieve this within a 15-20% increase in construction cost?
Methods
Amend the prototype to suit the needs of client, context and Passivhaus performance criteria.
Maintain core design concepts to keep costs within stipulated budget
Test the design by building it.
Dissemination
Published in: client blog, Scottish Home Awards 2013 publication and popular press including the Scotsman (June 2013). Publication in the architecture press forthcoming.
Esteem
Finalist for the 2013 Scottish Home Awards in categories:
- Architecture Excellence (single dwelling).
- Environmental Excellence.
