Acton Passive House Awarded at Phius Passive House Design Competition

ZED’s Acton Passive House was a winner in the Source Zero Category of the 2022 Phius Passive Projects Design Competition. To even be considered, projects had to be Passive House Certified by Phius, and competed against the best of the best in passive design. In addition to being PHIUS+ 2018 Certified, the Acton Passive House also attained Source Zero certification, an additional designation indicating that the home produces any remainder of energy demand with on-site renewable energy.

The Source Zero category was one of 8 medals awarded at ‘PhiusCon’ 2022, held in Chicago’s historic Palmer House Hotel. This recognition is testament to the Acton Passive House’s incredible performance. With rooftop solar panels, the home is projected to produce more energy than it uses over the course of a year, making it net positive energy as reflected in the negative pEUI (-3.81kBtu/sf/yr).

The 8th Annual Phius Passive Projects Design Competition Awards Ceremony recognized a winner and honorable mention in each category, with submissions from throughout the United States and Canada. Categories were: Single-Family, High-Rise Multifamily, Low-Rise Multifamily, Commercial/Institutional, Retrofit, Source Zero, Best Project by a Young Professional, and Best Overall Project. All awardees pushed the boundaries of passive building design.

MORE: ARCHINECT NEWS PUBLISHES WINNERS

MORE: PHIUS PROJECT DATA

List of Winners:

Phius Project Data:

ZED WINS SILVER IN 2022 PRISM AWARDS

ZeroEnergy Design’s Acton Passive House was awarded a Silver medal for Best High Performance/Energy Efficient Home at the 2022 PRISM Awards, held annually to celebrate the best of the best in the local residential building industry. A record 370 PRISM entries were received this year with 12 judges from across the country choosing Gold and Silver crystal award winners who were announced at the gala.

Acton Passive House. This custom home was designed as a primary residence for a client who desired high performance as well as a respite from urban life. His vision was a home nestled in the woods and right-sized for his lifestyle, nothing more, nothing less. The result is a sleek house with a simple shed roof, designed to the PHIUS+ 2018 performance standard, which offers energy efficiency and exceptional comfort. In order to help ensure low operational cost, the roof is outfitted with a solar (PV) array and has also achieved Source Zero Certification.

The Builders and Remodelers Association of Greater Boston (BRAGB) is one of the leading trade associations in New England since its inception in 1944. The PRISM Awards Gala is the BRAGB’s flagship event of the year and winning an award is considered a sign of excellence and superior achievement. Each entry submitted in the PRISM awards competition is judged on its own merit by a national panel of distinguished industry professionals.

ZED Celebrates 10 Years of AIA 2030 Commitment

According to the newly released 2020 Summary of the AIA 2030 Commitment report, ZeroEnergy Design is one of only 15 firms to achieve 80% or greater predicted EUI savings across their entire architectural portfolio. In 2020, 378 companies reported, representing 3.8 billion square feet across 102 countries.

For the tenth year in a row, ZED tracked and reported its energy data against the AIA 2030 Commitment and 2030 Challenge, each year exceeding the minimum thresholds. 2020 marked a significant milestone for the challenge, increasing the carbon reduction target from 70% to 80%.

Measuring Progress: AIA 2030 Report Summary for 2020
Over the course of 2020, ZED reported an impressive 102% reduction in pEUI savings across its entire architectural portfolio, outperforming the target for the 10th consecutive year.

The AIA 2030 Commitment program supports the AIA 2030 challenge, which calls for all new construction and major renovations to be carbon neutral by the year 2030 and provides architects, engineers, and owners a global platform to demonstrate action against climate change through energy-efficient design.

In 2020, the 2030 Commitment participants reported energy savings equivalent to carbon emissions that would be sequestered by more than 42.3 million acres of forest, or 34.6 million tons of CO2 emissions, in one year. Click below for the full report.

MORE: AIA 2030 Commitment Report

ZED WINS GOLD AND SILVER IN 2021 PRISM AWARDS

ZeroEnergy Design took home two medals at the 2021 PRISM Awards, held annually to celebrate the best of the best in the local residential building industry. A record 331 PRISM entries were received this year with 12 judges from across the country choosing Gold and Silver crystal award winners who were announced at the gala.

ZED’s Hingham Marshfront home won a Gold PRISM Award for Best Single Family Home: 3,000 to 4,500 SF. This green home was designed for a Hingham-based couple who commuted to Boston for work and desired a modern residence on their marshfront property that fit with their green lifestyle. Outdoor connections include a gracious 1,000 SF deck with al fresco living areas overlooking the vegetated salt marsh, a vegetable garden and an outdoor shower. Green features include a super insulated enclosure, triple-glazed windows, efficient cold climate heat pumps for heating and cooling, plus a rooftop solar electric system to offset energy consumption. These features not only reflect the owners’ efforts to be ecologically responsible, but also their desire for year-round resilience, protection from the elements, and optimal thermal comfort.

ZED’s Mt. Hope Modern home won a Silver PRISM Award for Best High Performance/Energy Efficient Home. This seaside Portsmouth, Rhode Island home home features warm stylish interiors, incorporates coastal resilience, and achieves near net zero performance, all while capturing commanding ocean views. While the design of the home gives it the appearance of being light on its feet, it is truly heavy on both energy performance and durability. The all-electric, super-insulated home’s consumption is offset with clean energy production from a 20kW solar electric system - and in terms of performance, the home has an amazing 2.8kBtu/sf/yr actual EUI, which is effectively 95% better than a typical code build house in New England.

The Builders and Remodelers Association of Greater Boston (BRAGB) is one of the leading trade associations in New England since its inception in 1944. The PRISM Awards Gala is the BRAGB’s flagship event of the year and winning an award is considered a sign of excellence and superior achievement. Each entry submitted in the PRISM awards competition is judged on its own merit by a national panel of distinguished industry professionals.

MORE: Awards Presentation

Brookline Masked Modern - New Case Study - Custom Home Design

ZED is pleased to release our latest Custom Home Design Case Study - the Brookline Masked Modern home in Brookline, Massachusetts. Architecture and Mechanical Design by ZED.

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in the Fisher Hill neighborhood, the home was originally built as a stable for a larger estate before it was relocated and converted to a residence in the 1920s. ZED’s new design revisions the space to better suit a growing family of five and creates a comfortable and environmentally sensible place to live with modern aesthetics, plenty of natural light, and multiple outdoor recreational spaces - all while preserving the historic exterior.

Full case study is linked below.

MORE: BROOKLINE MASKED MODERN CASE STUDY