Co-Housing Building May Be 'Most Energy Efficient' in NYC
The Brooklyn co-housing group’s building at 1901 Eighth Ave is slated to be one of the greenest buildings in the city, according to the project’s consultants: “The method of construction the group has adopted is called ‘Passive House’ or, as it is known in Germany where it originated, ‘PassivHaus.’ According to [co-housing spokesperson Alex] Marshall,…
The Brooklyn co-housing group’s building at 1901 Eighth Ave is slated to be one of the greenest buildings in the city, according to the project’s consultants: “The method of construction the group has adopted is called ‘Passive House’ or, as it is known in Germany where it originated, ‘PassivHaus.’ According to [co-housing spokesperson Alex] Marshall, it involves a set of techniques resulting in a nearly air-tight building that simultaneously is supplied with clean, fresh air. Often heating and air conditioning is unnecessary beyond minimal levels, he said, and energy use can be a tenth of what it is in an average building.” The are only a handful of private homes in the U.S. that meet ‘PassivHaus’ standards. The co-housing group is now composed of 16 families and has space for 14 more, said Marshall.
Windsor Terrace Cohousing May Have Greenest Building in NYC [Eagle]
Brooklyn Co-Housing Lands in Greenwood Heights [Brownstoner] GMAP
Rendering from Brooklyn Co-Housing Website
From the cohousing website:
“We are a group of people who want the option for greater community life where we live. We are creating a green sustainable community; we include families with children, single people, couples and retirees. We expect to share resources & interests (for example share child care, cook together some weekly community meals, share tools, garden together etc) while each owning our own fully equipped private apartments.
Cohousing is a nice balance between privacy and community. ”
Not very cult-like, seems to me. I don’t understand the disdain and nasty comments about this. While I, like sam, would not opt to live here, seeing as there are over 100 such communities in the US, plenty would.
what’s wrong if others make the choice to live there? The way this thread is sounding someone should start selling pitchforks and torches.
I’m also curious about exactly how much MORE it would cost and what the (hopefully accurate) energy savings projections are.
Mr white — could you comment on the construction cost of a passivhaus relative to regular construction — would be very instructive to get some idea of the additional capital investment
brooklynGreene: this is brooklyn, it isn’t Hamburg. You go fuck yourself you little self-righteuous dick wanker. You know shit.
I wish some of you would read up a bit before running your fingers over the keyboard. There is so much on the Internet these days so you can do some quick research on Passivhaus. Sam, in particular, please do some reading.
Thank you David and others who tried to explain this. It would be very nice if the basic concepts of more sustainable buildings were more widely understood…but what are you going to do? It’s one step at a time.
Both between our house in Brooklyn and our place in New England (which is shingled and old), I can certainly attest to the fact that old buildings can have leaky walls (well, with brick walls, it has to do more with the entire “skin” of the house and fact that the outer walls that have old plasterwork, crown mouldings and baseboards don’t allow for a ton of insulation…oh well). Our NE house feels like the wind is blowing through it in winter! I guess we have to take the plunge and deal with insulation, redo, or move on to an easier project.
We were interested in the Brooklyn Cohousing project and VERY glad when it was coming to Fort Greene…and really thought about participating but it was a very weird time (still is) when they finally thought they’d be able to pull off the project and, as I knew after an orientation, it was going to be too expensive overall and the apartment “prices”/shares were going to be too high for the “market”.
Well, I’m now very excited about the low energy/Passivhaus project but I have to wonder about exhaust and noise from the Prospect right down below the street there..Ugh–aside from the unfortunate not-so-cute area which I would probably be depressed by, at least at first. I guess there was no place large enough and affordable in more pretty neighborhoods…kind of a shame but maybe the project will give that area a lift.
LOL sam.
*rob*
I have valves in my house that allow for air exchange, I call them windows and they are not only functional but also very beautiful in a non-german-passiv way.
All I don’t need in my deep rowhouse are super airtight valves. On hot sunny summer days, do you know what I do? I close the shutters! American Victorian engineering at its finest!!
There’s a builder in CO who does a variation on it. It’s not hermetically sealed, that would lead to condensation I think. Not to mention poo mist. There are valves (sorry don[‘t know the correct terminology) that allow for air exchange
six: you are trying to tell me that I should be open to living, here in Brooklyn, in a housing type you lived in at chidren’s summer camp in rural Minnesota? I don’t think so.
On so many levels.