Green Project of the Week: Spark Side Passive House
As a Phius-certified Passive House, Spark Side, designed by Kaplan Thompson Architects, requires 90% less energy to heat and cool and is achieving Net Zero Energy on an annual basis with help from a 12.4KW photovoltaic array. Located in Durham, N.H., the clients came to the firm originally seeking an old farmhouse to renovate, hoping to fit into their outdoor lifestyle.
Instead, they chose to build a new legacy with a PHIUS-certified Net Zero Energy Passive House. The clients purchased a wooded, 2.8-acre lot bisected by an old stone wall and flanked by hemlocks. The property had optimal south-facing exposure, but in a direction almost 90 degrees off the primary drainage plane.
Gabled volumes recall New England’s colonial architecture and embrace rectangular forms, both for their vernacular aspect and the performance efficiencies. A detached, barn-like garage connects to the farmhouse porch via a slatted breezeway. Sunlight filters through a trellised cutout on the roof to dance across a massive boulder that sits beneath it. Harvested from the site and rolled into place, the monolith pays homage to the wall it once served as a cornerstone for.
