Inglese per l’Architettura – Green/17 – Active House

_Scelto per voi/Video

Prima di un programma di otto case sperimentali, Home for Life, è usata come test per esaminare le condizioni di vita in un edificio la cui richiesta energetica è stata stimata in -9 kW/m2 annui che significa una produzione di energia superiore al fabbisogno. Il tetto, rivolto a sud, ospita pannelli solari per il riscaldamento disposto sotto il pavimento. Cinquanta metri quadrati di celle fotovoltaiche producono l'elettricità necessaria al funzionamento di tutti gli apparecchi. Finestre controllate da un computer, collegato ad un termostato, regolano automaticamente la climatizzazione interna aprendosi e chiudendosi a seconda della temperatura esterna e dell'ora del giorno. C'è anche un comando manuale, nel caso i Simonsen, la famiglia che abita la casa sperimentale, decidano di aprire le finestre, il sistema si adatterà e chiuderà poi automaticamente le aperture notificando che non stanno gestendo l'abitazione con criteri di alta efficienza energetica.
La casa ha due televisori a schermo piatto e una lavatrice, ma non l'asciugatrice, al fine di rientrare in un consumo annuo non superiore a 4.000 kWh. E' uno dei pochi sacrifici che la famiglia, con due figli di sei e otto anni, si sta abituando a fare nel percorso di consapevolezza sulle questioni ambientali al quale si sono sottoposti e per il quale hanno promesso di tenere un diario quotidiano del loro rapporto con l'abitazione.
Rikke Lindholdt, project manager della Casa Attiva dichiara, a proposito di questo esperimento "Non stiamo costruendo case, stiamo costruendo un idea". Viene da domandarsi come mai questo sogno zero-emissions non venga considerato qui da noi dove il cielo è sicuramente meno plumbeo che in Danimarca e le temperature più gestibili.

_Scelto per voi/Testi

Active House in Denmark
Designed by Aart Architects, this Active House in Lystrup, Denmark is one of eight prototypes being built across Europe by the Danish window company Velfac. A test family is to occupy each of the homes for a year while the building's performance is monitored.

The Active House is designed to produce an energy surplus so that in 40 years time it will have produced enough to offset the energy required for construction and materials. Its south-facing roof is covered in solar panels and cells, the windows are triple-glazed, and the insulation is extra thick. It has an energy dashboard that allows the family to monitor and control the home's energy production and consumption.

"The starting point was the roof," says architect Anders Tyrrestrup. "We were restricted to one-and-a-half stories by local planning regulations and the south-facing side needed to be angled at 35 degrees to optimize solar gain." By creating a steep northern pitch and stretching the south-facing side, the firm cleverly maximized the roof area that gets the most sun.
The materials - a timber frame, and slate and Douglas fir cladding - were selected for their low embodied energy and easy maintenance. The monolithic slate skin merges brilliantly with the solar panels positioned on the roof. "We imagined it as a cross between a home and a stealth bomber" says Tyrrestrup. Most impressive is the subtlety with which the building's forward-looking environmental agenda has been woven into the thoroughly modern design. "Hopefully, the project demonstrates how by integrating new technologies at the design stage, rather than adding them as an afterthought," Tyrrestrup says, "we can produce a new architectural language with a deeper meaning." Unsurprisingly, considering the sponsor, glass features heavily in the house with the equivalent of 40% of the 2,045-square-foot floor area (roughly twice as much light coverage as in the average home) bathed in light coming through the triple-glazed, argon-filled windows and their super-insulated frames. In most European eco-homes, large windows on all but the southern facades are frowned upon due to the material's poor insulating performance, but here every room receives light from at least two different directions.
According to Sophie this influx of natural light has proved the greatest change. "It's really made a difference to our mood," she says. "But it got very hot in the summer, and it was so bright you almost needed sunglasses in the kitchen." Privacy also proved tricky. Sophie reports that "the perforated solar screens are virtually transparent, so passersby could see what we were having for dinner."
Continua la lettura dell'articolo

Scarica la brochure Active House a Vision
Scarica la brochure Active House - Specification

Termine del mese
Active House - buildings that create healthier and more comfortable lives for their occupants without negative impact on the climate - moving us towards a cleaner, healthier and safer world. An Active House is energy efficient and all energy needed is supplied by renewable energy sources integrated in the building or from the nearby collective energy system and electricity grid.An Active House creates healthier and more comfortable indoor conditions for the occupants and the building ensures generous supply of daylight and fresh air. Materials used have a positive impact on comfort and indoor climate. An Active House interacts positively with the environment by means of an optimised relationship with the local context, focused use of resources, and on its overall environmental impact throughout its life cycle.

Tratto da www.activehouse.info

Dizionario tecnico

_Scelto per voi/False friends
Parole inglesi assonanti a parole italiane ma con diverso significato

Segui la fun page della rubrica "Inglese per l'architettura" su Facebook.

Scopri i segreti che l'architetto Bulletti ti propone per migliorare il tuo inglese tecnico.