Infill Housing | Secondary Dwelling | Regenerative Design

This compact open plan living proposal is a research regenerative design proposal.

The plan is characterised by a centralised yet asymmetrically positioned wet area. The asymmetry entails a variable proportioning of space setting a variable use hierarchy enhancing flexible use and adaptation for the future user. The northern orientated spaces are characterised by an open aspect and the south enclosed retreat. There is the flexibility to model the dwelling as solar passive or passive Haus or a hybrid model of optimising both.

The proposition endeavours minimising material use by way of geometric efficiency through an approximation of the cube.  Embodied carbon and embodied energy of applied materials is net carbon negative through primarily timber framed construction.  

Using a building a simplified energy efficiency calculator (by Jame Pedersen) to model heat loss and solar heat gain through walls, windows and doors, roofs and floors, as well as internal heat gains, heating and cooling demand can modelled over an average season.  Taking these ‘loads’ and allowing for ventilation to a Passive Haus standard an annual energy demand can be modelled where zero kWh is the optimal result and a low heating or cooling demand indicative of the energy efficiency.

The design resulted in a low 828 kWh/year that can be offset 14 times by 18 solar panels.

Using the Royal Danish Academy’s CINARK material pyramid https://www.materialepyramiden.dk/ to calculate the embodied carbon for each material type. 

The small amounts of concrete, steel, glass can be offset by timber as a renewable resource being biogenically carbon negative.