What is Passivhaus?

Earlier in the month, we provided living walls for Passivhaus consult & construct company Polaris Passivhaus.  Polaris needed green walls to enhance their stand at the Grand Designs Live show at the Excel in London.  Of course, we were delighted to play our part.   Passivhaus is a sustainable design concept.  The idea is a simple one, but amazing.  The building techniques used allow the creation of homes and workspaces that maintain an almost constant temperature within.  This is all without the use of traditional heating or cooling systems!  For the occupants, this means enhanced comfort, as well as reducing their energy bills by about 90%.  Sounds amazing, doesn’t it? It’s good for the environment, of course.  However, it’s also great for the health and wellbeing of the people that occupy the buildings.

The Polaris website explains the attraction of the Passivhaus standard.  It says that “The principles of Passivhaus represent the apex of sustainable design and development. Using readily available techniques, that have been available to us for over a quarter of a century, you are able to create truly energy efficient, comfortable, healthy and superior living and work spaces”.

How do living walls fit the passivhaus ideal?

Of course we support this idea at Rosewood Living Walls – who wouldn’t?  We also believe that interior green walls are really beneficial, as well as bang on trend.  Bringing nature indoors creates a restful, soothing and beautiful environment.  Not only that, the plants in a living wall clean the air and provide more oxygen.  We asked Liam, founder of Polaris Passivhaus, why living walls fit the Passivhaus ideal so well.  Here’s what he told us:

We have a development arm of our company that proactively seeks to break the development mould by delivering carbon positive projects that combine biophilic design and Passivhaus (or EnerPhit for our Retrofit projects) certification as a minimum standard.  We wholeheartedly believe that the integration of biophilic design (such as the use of living walls) goes hand in hand with the Passivhaus concept. This integration creates a connection back to the natural environment which has been proven to enhance our mental wellbeing, whilst the standards deliver a truly energy efficient and comfortable property. Combine the two and you create beautiful sustainable places that truly enhance our environment whilst providing luxurious settings that will stimulate, enthuse and inspire.

We agree wholeheartedly with Liam’s statement, and it’s been wonderful to have been a part of Polaris’s Grand Designs Live stand.  If you’d like to know more about Polaris, or about the Passivhaus movement generally, head to the Polaris Passivhaus website where you can read all about it.

Do you support a greener world?

Perhaps you live in a home that meets the passivhaus standard.  Or maybe you just want to bring some nature into your life with an interior green wall.  Whether it’s a small contribution you’re making or a large one, you can work towards a more ecologically aware world in as many ways as you can.  If a living wall sounds a good idea to you, give Calum a call and he can discuss the possibilities at your property or workspace.  Get in touch and he can answer any questions you might have.

If you want a recommendation, this is what the guys at Polaris had to say: “Thanks for all your hard work, mate. Incredibly happy with you, the company, the service and the work ethic. Spot on. We will be doing business again in the not too distant future. You are a credit to Rosewood.”