The liberal arts college’s newest dorms substantially reduce energy consumption through efficient design and have been certified by the Passive House Institute.
Passive house certification is a rigorous performance-based standard for very high energy efficiency and thermal comfort within buildings of all kinds. Because passive house buildings require very little energy to heat and cool, they reduce climate impacts and improve resiliency and comfort for their occupants. Located in Anandale, New York, the four dormitory buildings within KPF’s Bard College Residence Halls also connect to the college’s geothermal energy system to further reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
Core elements of passive house design found in the project include optimizing building orientation to take advantage of solar heating, increasing insulation and eliminating thermal bridges in the building envelope, using high-performance windows, introducing heat recovery ventilation systems, and constructing an air-tight building verified by blower-door testing. These systems ensure not only that the buildings are extremely energy efficient, but that students who live in them will benefit from a comfortable interior environment year-round. Learn more about how KPF designed the dormitory buildings to meet passive house standards here.
Find more information about the Passive House Institute (PHI) here.
