The Guardian reported this month on an energy-saving approach to construction. Craig Morris says that, in attempting to present “both sides” of the story, the journalist misses the point. By 2020, new builds in the EU are to be nearly zero-energy buildings, with the focus primarily on reducing demand for heating and cooling; efficient appliances technically fall under the category of EcoDesign, not architecture. The target may sound challenging, but those of us following the issue in fact wonder why we are moving so slowly. A handful of new neighborhoods have gone up in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria over the past few decades, demonstrating that this type of architecture works in everything from single-family homes to residential complexes, schools, office buildings, and even indoor swimming pools. What’s more, Passive House involves no extra costs when properly designed. The Guardian journalist mainly seems to have two problems with Passive House: the looks and the “checkboxes.” In both cases, he seems to have been acting upon the misconceived notion that a journalist must find both sides of … Continue reading In defense of Passive House architecture