Passive House:
174 Grand Street in Williamsburg / Brooklyn

mixed use building: private residence above retail store

this our attempt to build NYC's first new building which fulfills the strict german Passive House standard.

envelope design:
- walls: load-bearing 8" concrete masonry units with 6" EPS exterior insulation
- parapets: autoclave aerrated concrete blocks to avoid thermal bridging
(CMU is a bad choice)
- exterior finish: EIFS dark grey
- interior finish: CMU painted, all electric installation exposed
- roof: 4" concrete on steel deck covered by 8" XPS insulation
- windows:
Schuco FW50 curtain wall with glass from SeriousWindows
(produced here in the US)
please see our blog for more about that
- residence entrance door: custom 3" thick wood panel

mechanical concept:
- one Daikin VRV Multisplit ducted indoor unit for remaining heating and cooling demand.
- Zehnder ComfoAir 350 Enery Recovery Ventilator
- exterior blinds at the south facade to avoid summer overheating

team:
A: us
S: Murray Engineering
MEP: Plus Group
PH: us and David White

you can follow the design and building progress by checking out our blog