Photos courtesy of Corey Saft
It started off as a privacy wall on the same lot as his family’s home. It became an ode to the South’s traditional shotgun shacks — albeit a two-story one. Architecture Professor Corey Saft ended up building the Southeast’s first certified Passive House. That’s significant because the Passive House model, originally developed in Germany (as Passivhaus), is generally viewed as a energy efficiency philosophy and certification system most conducive to colder climes. The 1,200-square foot structure was completed in February and certified as a Passive House in June. So why am I telling you all this now? Because the Passive House Institute U.S. is holding its Fifth Annual National Conference in Portland, Ore., later this week. How’s that for timely? A brief article in EcoHome on Saft’s house describes the challenges the University of Louisiana at Lafayette professor faced:
The plan quickly evolved into a vehicle for architectural experiment: a second house that would test Passive House criteria for a hot, humid climate while providing the desired buffer from an adjacent street. The resulting project also established a cost-effective prototype for sustainable urban infill. Long and thin, the new house bounds the street edge of the Saft’s property opposite their existing house, creating a central courtyard for family recreation. The narrow 1/7-acre site dictated the new home’s 17-foot-wide-by-50-foot-long form and compact footprint—800 square feet. According to the Passive House Institute U.S., it is the first residence in the southern United States to have been certified under the Passive House standard.
The EcoHome article also features a photo gallery. A lot more information can be gleaned on the house, which Saft currently rent to a group of students, from an article in the Independent Weekly, an alternative newspaper based in Lafayette.
