Passive house vs. passive design: sociotechnical issues in a practice-based design research project for a low-energy house

Kroll, David; Breen Lovett, Sarah; Jimenez-Bescos, Carlos; Chisnall, Peter; Aitchison, Mathew

Abstract

Building performance simulation tools such as the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) can be invaluable for improving energy-efficiency in housing design. However, achieving improved energy performance is also a sociotechnical issue, and how this is dealt with during the architectural design process seems less well studied. This collaborative design research project for a low-energy prefab house with an industry partner, a manufacturer of Structural Insulated Panels (SIP), is used as a case study to show that it is possible to achieve high energy performance while addressing specific socio-technical concerns within an Australian volume homebuilding market. A key issue that emerged in this project was the perceived tension between passive design expectations in Australia and those promoted through the Passive House software tool.

Citation

Kroll, D., Breen Lovett, S., Jimenez-Bescos, C., Chisnall, P., & Aitchison, M. (2020). Passive house vs. passive design: sociotechnical issues in a practice-based design research project for a low-energy house. Architectural Science Review, 63(3-4), 361-371. https://doi.org/10.1080/00038628.2019.1697924

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 24, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Dec 6, 2019
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2020
• Deposit Date: Dec 12, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 7, 2020
• Journal: Architectural Science Review
• Print ISSN: 0003-8628
• Electronic ISSN: 1758-9622
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Open
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 63
• Issue: 3-4
• Pages: 361-371
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00038628.2019.1697924
• Keywords: Architecture
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3541286
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00038628.2019.1697924
• Additional Information: Peer Review Statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope.; Aim & Scope: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=tasr20; Received: 2019-05-05; Accepted: 2019-11-24; Published: 2019-12-06