Green Building Haikus

Subtitle:

A few 17-syllable poems about building science, sustainable construction, and the Passivhaus standard

Images:

[![][1]][2]

My part-time employer, [BuildingGreen][3], recently celebrated the overlap of National Poetry Month and National Architecture Week with [a sustainable design haiku contest][4]. I am not normally someone who writes poetry, but I quickly discovered that writing haiku was a great way to blow off years of accumulated steam from trying to build a Passive HouseA residential building construction standard requiring very low levels of air leakage, very high levels of insulation, and windows with a very low U-factor. Developed in the early 1990s by Bo Adamson and Wolfgang Feist, the standard is now promoted by the Passivhaus Institut in Darmstadt, Germany. To meet the standard, a home must have an infiltration rate no greater than 0.60 AC/H @ 50 pascals, a maximum annual heating energy use of 15 kWh per square meter (4,755 Btu per square foot), a maximum annual cooling energy use of 15 kWh per square meter (1.39 kWh per square foot), and maximum source energy use for all purposes of 120 kWh per square meter (11.1 kWh per square foot). The standard recommends, but does not require, a maximum design heating load of 10 W per square meter and windows with a maximum U-factor of 0.14. The Passivhaus standard was developed for buildings in central and northern Europe; efforts are underway to clarify the best techniques to achieve the standard for buildings in hot climates..

[1]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blog-river/Aqua Tower in Chicago - George Showman.jpg (Photo of Aqua Tower in Chicago)
[2]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/guest-blogs/green-building-haikus
[3]: http://www.buildinggreen.com/
[4]: http://www.buildinggreen.com/live/index.cfm/2012/4/5/Poetry-Month-Meet-Architecture-Week-The-BuildingGreen-Haiku-Contest

URL: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/guest-blogs/green-building-haikus