Architype

Four years has passed since we completed our first Passivhaus Schools, and since then there have been many more ground-breaking Passivhaus projects in the UK, with the standard increasingly adopted and recognised for it’s quality approach to construction by the industry and clients alike.

This aside, Passivhaus is still an unknown entity for many, with the design, construction and cost of delivering Passivhaus shrouded in myth and skepticism.

At Architype we have been rigorously monitoring our Passivhaus buildings for over two years, sharing our lessons learned in design and demonstrating the considerable benefits enjoyed by the people that use these buildings.

One of the main reasons a Passivhaus approach is so effective is because the principles of the standard are so simple. So simple in fact that even kids get it! As demonstrated in this film that we have just made with Ben Adam-Smith and the pupils of Wilkinson Primary School.

Completed in 2014, Wilkinson Primary School is our 2^nd generation Passivhaus school. Benefiting from the experience we gained delivering the first Passivhaus schools, we were able to simplify the design even further to make the building more efficient. Having included the pupils throughout to process, from fun consultation sessions to informative site visits, we asked them to explain what Passivhaus actually is, how their school works, and why it’s such a great environment for learning.

We spent the day with pupils from Wilkinson Primary School, who had been working hard to rehearse the script they had prepared.

They were joined by our senior architect, Jenney Kerrigan, who had been involved in the project since the start, and was on had to explain a few of the more technical aspects of the design.

Walking around the school, the pupils did a fantastic job, confidently explaining the main features of the design that make it special, deciphering any of the complicated language so that just about anybody can understand!

We would like to say a big thank you to the pupils, Mr Hodges, and Mrs Gibbon the head teacher, who did a fantastic job. Also to Ben Adam-Smith and his team at Regen Media, who prepared and filmed the video brilliantly, and our friends at Cygnum Timber Frame.

We hope that you enjoy the film and it will help to demystify some of the complexity associated with Passivhaus.