I-Box 120 and Storelva - Northern passive houses





 

 Tromsø, Norway

A project by: Steinsvik Arkitektkontor AS

About

The three-storey row at the Storelva neighborhood sits on a site sloping down to the fjord. The site has a panoramic view of the fjord and the mountains. The name Storelva stems from a river that flows on the boundary of the site. The houses are fairly close to the road, but sheltered outdoor recreation areas have been established to the west and north, away from the traffic, and works as an effective buffer to the rushing sounds of the river.

All units, at both sites, have a roof terrace and share a garden, play area, seperate storage rooms, bicycle shed, a barbeque shed and carports at ground level. The main structure is solid timber elements produced in Austria by KLH massivholz GmbH, with external mineral wool insulation and untreated heartwood pine boarding. The environment-plant is located on the roof floor. There is a solar collector on the south facing facades where the large glass surfaces allow a grand view. There is movement-controlled lighting in all rooms and the carports, and there is an emphasis on daylighting rooms. All of the houses have almost closed facades to the north, (with the exeption of a window slit running down the entire facade to allow more daylight) to shield agains the harsh northern winds. The houses have thermic collectors in the ground for pre-heating/cooling of the air intake, a buffer tank for the heat collection systems combined with a backup air-to-water heat pump and stores and delivers energy to the underfloor heating system(located in bathrooms and entré).

The purpose of building these domicile projects was to show that a sustainable, ecological future-oriented solutions is possible, even in the most extreme climates, without utilizing external heating systems. Since the houses are located above the polar circle, enough daylight is not available during the two months of the dark season for the solar panels to pre-heat the water. During this season the air-to-water and thermic heat pumps provide enough energy to sufficiently heat the water and intake air.

To avoid condensation problems, which some previous passive house projects have struggled with, the buildings combines a structure of cross-laminated compact timber elements with a high level of insulation and sophisticated heat recovery systems. The load-bearing elements are on the warm side of the insulation, protected by a single-layer damp-proofing membrane. The insulation is clad with ventilated heartwood of pine paneling. Internally the compact timber elements give simple, jointless surfaces that breathe and help regulate humidity levels. None of the wood elements or heartwood pine panels have been surface treated to allow the abodes to «breathe» better.

http://www.architizer.com/en_us/projects/view/i-box-120-and-storelva-northern-passive-houses/34704/
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