Barriers and opportunities in the design and delivery of social housing Passivhaus for adaptive comfort

Zhao, Jing; Carter, Kate

Abstract

This research resides Passivhaus concept under the framework of adaptive comfort, reviews two case studies of social housing Passivhaus communities in Scotland, and explores the occupants’ lived experience and their perception of comfort in Passivhaus. The study focuses on the concept of comfort from a socio-technical point
of view in order to explore more effective adaptive opportunities that can be integrated at the design stage. Through in-depth interviews with the occupants, site visits and architectural analysis, the research highlights comfort issues in those two social housing Passivhaus projects, and identifies barriers and opportunities for behavioural and psychological adaptations specifically for designing social housing Passivhaus. The findings suggest that the Passivhaus concept has potential opportunities for promoting behavioral and psychological
adaptations and sustainable living. However, in order to ensure the energy performance, the design and delivery of Passivhaus system in some cases tends to limit the role of occupants and their adaptive opportunities. The research argues that through careful consideration of architectural and mechanical design, and through effective communication of technology and supportive role of community to establish sustainable social norms, the social housing Passivhaus can provide the opportunity for the occupants to ‘co-evolve’ with the house itself, and to achieve a transformation to sustainable living.

Citation

Zhao, J., & Carter, K. (2016). Barriers and opportunities in the design and delivery of social housing Passivhaus for adaptive comfort. In Proceedings of 9th Windsor Conference Making Comfort Relevant. NCEUB - Network for Comfort and Energy Use in Buildings, UK (1052-1332)

• Conference Name: 9th Windsor Conference Making Comfort Relevant 2016. NCEUB - Network for Comfort and Energy Use in Buildings
• Conference Location: Cumberland Lodge, Windsor Great Park, UK
• Start Date: Apr 7, 2016
• End Date: Apr 10, 2016
• Acceptance Date: Feb 7, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Apr 7, 2016
• Publication Date: Apr 7, 2016
• Deposit Date: Apr 5, 2023
• Pages: 1052-1332
• Book Title: Proceedings of 9th Windsor Conference Making Comfort Relevant. NCEUB - Network for Comfort and Energy Use in Buildings, UK
• ISBN: 978-0-9928957-3-0
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10609519
• Publisher URL: https://windsorconference.com/_archive/Proceedings_Windsor_Conference_2016.pdf
• Related Public URLs: https://windsorconference.com/proceedings/; ; https://comfortattheextremes.com/history/