Passive House in the Woods
It is hardly likely for a person, living in the center of a big noisy city such as Sofia, not to dream of quietness and solitude in his home. How often it comes to your mind to emigrate in the closest village in order to live in a house with the children running and the dog fetching the newspaper every morning?
The two single-family passive houses in Dragalevtzi district of Sofia designed by Studio APXE will make a couple of families’ dream come true.
The residential buildings are settled on sloped land in the close proximity of pine tree forest land. The investor, who will also build both houses, is convicted in the future of the energy efficient construction and in the advantages of the energy efficiency standard with the tightest requirements, that is the passive house standard.
The passive house is the comfort house! The constant fresh air inlet in the premises through a specialized ventilation system for passive houses protects the inhabitants against diseases caused by stagnant air. The feeling of coldness in winter with passing from a heated to unheated room is gone, as in a passive house each premise has the same comfort temperature. Due to the sun protection of the windows, which has to be external, the effect of the “green-house room” in the summer is not an issue. In a passive house there are no problems with droughts in the premises and the appearance of condensation and mould around the windows and in the corners of the rooms. Beside the comfort of the passive house, one of its biggest advantages is the 10 times lower heating bills in comparison with the standard construction in Bulgaria.
Read more about the passive house standard.
House plans and approaches
The houses are oriented towards northeast – south. The northeast pedestrian entrance and the automobile approach to the garages are from an existing dirt road.
Each of the houses has 2 residential stores, basement and space under the roof. One of the houses is situated on 540 m2 plot area, has 4 bedrooms and build-up area of 332 m2 and the other – situated on 410 m2 plot area, has 3 bedrooms and build-up area 294 m2.
The spacious living and dining rooms face the south and expose the view of the forest land. In front of the living and dining room there are large south terraces on the terrain which adjoin the green yards.
Structure and materials
The residential buildings are an example of contemporary architecture with traditional construction approach and materials. The roofs rise in height with the ground elevation, giving the houses restful and harmonious appearance. The structure of the houses is well-known within the Bulgarian construction methods and proved in practice – reinforced concrete framework with brickwork walls. The exterior use of materials – natural stone, wood and plaster are a close reflection of the natural appearance of the environment.
Studio APXE Ltd is engaged with design work until Technical phase and is not involved in the project any further!
Sq. Area: 630 m2
Designer: Studio APXE
Design Team: arch. Georgi Nikolov, arch. Silvia Draganova
Investor: „Sigma – P” Ltd
Construction: „Sigma – P” Ltd