165 Washington Ave | Northern Burner Supply Redevelopment | Portland

[DV74]

Designed it.

 

[TC_zoid]

Did they design it or were they just the Architect of Record? I would assume a similar situation would happen with Holst unless they're licensed in Maine.

Elkus Manfredi in Boston did the initial basic design and SMRT completed the remainder. For a University structure, Passivhaus and LEED are big feel-goods and probably result in additional and free money from the Fed Gov. I know that the U.S. Dept of Energy is "throwing" money at energy ideas and startups now. Passivehaus structures are considerably more expensive to build. And I think triple glazed windows and doors primarily come from Germany. Kaplan Thompson has a partner deal with a small company in Belfast that make Passivhaus certified pre-fabricated walls. They built the green colored L shaped apt building alongside Franklin Arterial.

 

[cneal]

Elkus was the design architect and SMRT was the AOR, meaning they did the more detailed construction drawings and was the local liaison for permitting work:

Elkus Manfredi designs University of Southern Maineâs Career & Student Success Center and Portland Commons Residence Hall projects

University of Southern Maine’s Career & Student Success Center - Portland, ME Portland, ME A new chapter for the University of Southern Maine (USM)...

nerej.com

Passivhouse isn't merely a "feel good," it requires much more attention to detail and is therefore a clear indicator of higher construction quality, which longer-term tenants like universities and nonprofit housing developers are willing to pay for.

There's also considerable evidence that within 10 years, the energy savings more than pay for the additional construction cost. Again, not something that cheap condo-flippers are interested in paying for, but long-haul tenants and building owners will.

FWIW, the Bayside Anchor building in East Bayside is Passivehouse and came in around $170,000 per unit for total development cost, which is insanely cheap, and AFAIK most of the new-development Portland Housing Authority projects since then have been designed to target Passivehouse certification.

 

[TC_zoid]

I have a friend who has built a few. It's not really about quality, though detail is important to eliminate thermal bridges. Then comes the "blower test" to see how tight everything is to get certified. And, ironically, one of the best designers/builders of Passivhaus is in Portland, OR! They are so good at it that they have figured out how to allow a gas range in the kitchen. But the best heating source, in my experience, is heated stone floors. It's like having a foot massage when walking on them--no joke. Not really possible with a Passivhaus as the interior would become too warm and you'd have to open the windows or turn on the AC.

 

[PlantArch]

Elkus Manfredi in Boston did the initial basic design and SMRT completed the remainder. For a University structure, Passivhaus and LEED are big feel-goods and probably result in additional and free money from the Fed Gov. I know that the U.S. Dept of Energy is "throwing" money at energy ideas and startups now. Passivehaus structures are considerably more expensive to build. And I think triple glazed windows and doors primarily come from Germany. Kaplan Thompson has a partner deal with a small company in Belfast that make Passivhaus certified pre-fabricated walls. They built the green colored L shaped apt building alongside Franklin Arterial.

There are a number of manufacturers building triple glazed windows in the U.S. including Paradigm in Portland.