Imagine having a house that works to save you money on its own. It seems utopian, but this is exactly what Spanish studio NordEst Arquitectura has done with their Passive Houses 1922 — a village of homes in Rupià, Girona, that cut energy costs completely.
The building was created using adobe, wood, and earth, incorporating bioclimatic, functional, and integrative qualities. Creators built the homes using natural materials by "reinterpreting typological solutions" to integrate the building with the environment.
Miquel Rusca and Jordi Riembau, the project's lead architects, explained that the successful project "compacted earth, adobe, wood or lime" for the outside installation to "create, on the outside, a building consistent with its surroundings and, on the inside, a healthy atmosphere, free of toxins and with hygrothermal properties."
NordEst Arquitectura has worked on passive homes before. They work with property owners to obtain a "value-generating and environmentally integrated project" meant to fit within the natural landscape both aesthetically and holistically.
Passive houses are considered the most highly energy-efficient buildings in construction and architectural standards that offer residents year-round comfort and insulation. They are a construction concept that has repeatedly shown that they can be applied by anyone, anywhere.
The Passive House Institute reported that passive houses are more than just low-energy buildings. They "allow for space heating and cooling related energy savings of up to 90% compared with typical building stock and over 75% compared to average new builds."
They also make use of the climate, using the sun as a natural source of heat, rendering conventional heating systems unnecessary throughout even the coldest of winters. Alternatively, strategic shading keeps the homes comfortably cool in warm months.
At the same time, they reduce the dire issue of climate-induced natural disasters by reducing man-made interferences usually attributed to wildfires.
Renting without heating significantly lowers the cost of living. While passive homes are new, their popularity is rising, especially since they can be built for all types of buildings anywhere in the world.
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Energy independence ⚡ And, as the number of Passive House suitable components on the market increases with their popularity, prices are expected to drop, making their initial price far more affordable. Financial support for Passive Houses is also currently available in a number of countries, which are further reducing their cost.
"In this light then, building a Passive House nowadays is even more affordable over the long term than building a conventional home," Passipedia reported.
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