There is a view about passive houses that the requirements of high energy efficiency have repercussions on architecture. That a passive house should be as compact as possible, which restricts the imagination of the architect, forcing him to forgo aesthetics in favor of energy efficiency. The house in Ceahlău, Neamt, which we present here, contradicts this theory. The atypical, multi-pitched roof, the large windows and open spaces, the high living room up to the roof are not typical passive house elements, but with a well thought out and well thought out integrated plan, they will not prevent the house from reaching the parameters and certification.
The architecture of the house is not the only attraction of this project. The site was conceived from the start as a little corner of heaven. A swimming pool is to be set up next to the house, a play area will be built with a tree house, and a zip line will descend from the top of the hill to the playground. Trees, fruit trees, bushes, shrubs, flowers, ivy will be planted all around the boundary and inside the space. There will be a greenhouse, half in the ground to take advantage of the warmth of the soil, the upper part enclosed with glass to capture the sun's heat. Next to the greenhouse will be a garden area with raised bedsThe plants will be grown in wooden boxes raised from the ground. At the top of the hill, beehives will be planted and photovoltaic panels will be placed in the sunniest part of the hill to make the property energy independent.
A project of the soul, thought out at length
The plan of the house and the site had been long thought and prepared by the owners. A young family, with two active and adventurous boys, they wanted a comfortable space for themselves and their children, as well as places for the kids to play freely. Energy independence was also a prerequisite for their well-being. That's how they came up with the idea of a passive house, and after some serious research into the available options, they decided to build a timber frame house, attracted by the warmth of wood and the speed of construction.
After settling all the details for both the house and the land, they contacted the specialists. The architectural design of the house was done by Raluca Munteanu (Archimedes Studio), architect of passive houses. Raluca understood the particularities of the house and chose the right solutions to combine aesthetics with energy efficiency. Responsible for the technical design was Cătălin Caraza, from Creative Engineeringwho designed the structure and energy configuration of the house. They chose Litarhand APPA Atelier de Peisaj for the garden design.
The owners have thought and planned very carefully every detail of the work they have to do and have chosen suppliers who can deliver what they want. Their wish is that both the house and the landscaping will be finished by the end of this year, even though work only started in April. They don't make this an ultimate goal, but the important thing is that everything is done well and turns out the way they wanted.
A one-level house with a playground in the attic
The house has about 150 m² and is spread over two levels, ground floor and attic. Most of the rooms of the house are on the ground floor, the attic covering only part of it. On the ground floor will be the living room, kitchen, master bedroom, children's bedroom and two bathrooms. The living area has been placed in the brightest and highest part of the ground floor. There is no ceiling in this area, the rafters seem to be left exposed. In fact, they are false rafters, mounted on a false roof under the real one, which is very well insulated. It is the solution found to meet the aesthetic requirements of the beneficiary without jeopardizing the passive house performance.
The open space on the ground floor consists of the living room and kitchen, and above the ceiling covering the kitchen area, the attic will be the children's play area, a space opening into the living room, but well protected with a parapet and protective netting. Also in the attic is the guest room. Here, thanks to the special architecture of the roof, the walls have a special honeycomb appearance. The two spaces are lit with attic windows, the one in the play area being very generous.
On the ground floor, on the kitchen wall opposite the window, is the staircase to the attic. It is a narrow staircase and therefore has a special design that makes it easy to climb. The entrance to the bathrooms is very discreet, almost invisible thanks to a special locking system. The door blends in with the wall, making it difficult to notice. A small sauna will be built in one of the bathrooms.
In order to have the warmest possible spaces, wood will be used for the floors, with cold materials such as ceramics being used very little. In the bathroom, too, ceramic tiles will be avoided, with walls finished with Tadelakt plaster, a warm, silky-soft material.
Passive house with special architecture
The house was erected by the Litarh team in a slightly longer time than usual. The special roof architecture took time to execute perfectly. One of the requirements of the passive house is elimination of uncontrolled air exchange with the outside. They most commonly occur at wall joints or where walls meet floors and roofs. The more complicated the design, the greater the risk of air leaks at joints. This is why passive houses are usually made very compact, with as few architectural gimmicks as possible.
The Litarh team can erect a 100 m² house in less than a week. At Ceahlău, the particular shape of the roof, with many waters that had to be joined correctly and precisely so that there was no air loss, slowed the pace of work. However, within a month and a half, the house and garage were erected.
In order to meet the necessary conditions for the certification, the house was very well insulated with basaltic wool, vapor barrier foil was installed, the windows were tightly installed. The windows of the house in Ceahlău are made of stratified wood, manufactured by DanProd SRL from Targu Ocna, in compliance with the standards required for passive house windows. The airtightness of the house will be determined at the end by blower-door test.
The landscape design reveals a garden, many trees, swimming pool, greenhouse, beehives and solar panels
As well as the house design, the landscaping plan is equally complex. It's the garden that will ultimately transform the whole place into a magical place. On the land where the house is being built, there will also be a swimming pool, a garage, a children's playhouse and the terminus of the zip line coming down the hill. The hill behind the house will be terraced. A summer kitchen will be built on the boundary of the next level, reinforcing the land with the back, and placed over a cellar. Also here will be placed a cistern with heated water.
On the next level, the greenhouse will be built and raised beds will be spread out to grow vegetables. In order not to depend on soil that is not very conducive to growing them, they will be planted in special wooden crates, raised from the ground, in which compost will be put. This mini-garden will be in front of the greenhouse, and a few beehives will be placed somewhere in the back.
On the top level will stretch "firm" photovoltaic panels. The sunny location is ideal for such a use, as the panels will make the whole space energy independent. There will be lots of fruit trees, shrubs, flowers and everything will be green and alive.
The house at Ceahlău is still under construction and the garden is being landscaped. We plan to go to the end to see how everything will look. We're not nervous about the outcome because everything is very well planned and organized, we're working with reliable companies and people, it can't be anything but good. We just want to show you the end result of an integrated project, a project that transforms a hillside into a fairytale land.
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