Introduction
Passivhaus Tenement is an adaptable housing unit that can fill the gaps in the fabric of the city, increasing the density and attractiveness of existing neighbourhoods. It can provide accommodation that takes into account the needs of the growing proportion of small households and that is affordable in that it costs no more than 25% of the household’s chief earner’s income to rent. 2 It uses a construction system that is quick, sustainable and with components that could be produced locally. Chapter 1 focuses on the context in which the prototype is set, and cross-laminated timber construction is described in Chapter 2. Relevant case studies are presented in Chapter 3.
The prototype is based on Package 1 described in clause 6.1.2 of the Building Standards (Scotland), but the design was updated to bring the performance of its components to the standards defined by the Passivhaus Institute. Only the minimum targets were set, so as to avoid high construction costs. Whether this yields a working Passive House in the worst case of orientation and overshadowing and how well it performs in comparison to the alternatives is investigated in Chapter 4.
2
Paul Balchin and Maureen Rhoden, Housing Policy: An Introduction, 4th Edition, (Routledge, London, 2002), p.253
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