A Passivhaus is any building, new or retrofitted, that achieves the highest certifiable standard of energy efficiency while using negligible fuel for heating and cooling.
As the planet warms, this is clearly where we should all be heading, but passive houses are not without their detractors, who claim that these buildings are boxy, stuffy and chilly.
And is it enough for a building to be Passivhaus or does this still leave us a million miles away from achieving a truly sustainable built environment? What is the truth behind the hype? And is it possible to take a conventionally built 1990s house and turn it into a paragon of stylish sustainability?
For this episode, we are joined by Jenny Hamilton and Ian Chapman, founders and co-directors of BIID award-winning architecture and design practice, The Vawdrey House, to explore these issues through the lens of a recent project.
Traditionally, interior designers in the UK were well-heeled, well-connected lady decorators with good posture and expensive handbags, creating interiors for people just like them. ...
Designers rely heavily on contractors to faithfully execute and deliver on their visions for our clients. This reliance can mean that it is often...
In this episode, we're looking at design for the Third Age. The term “Third Age” was first coined by British historian, Peter Laslett, in...