Passive and climatic building techniques have been an integral part
of building design for many centuries and for many cultures. In the
twentieth century however, building design and technologies have created
an “international building style”, characterized by a heavy dependence
on non-renewable energy and resources (RMI, 1). Modern designs typically
ignore the link between building and environment, focussing their efforts
on the use of mechanical systems in order to provide human comfort.
There are however, an increasing number of architects and designers that
are concerned with the appropriateness and sustainability of modern building
design and techniques. It is unfortunate in our culture that many
architects are limited to environmental add-on features rather than being
able to deal with environmental issues in a systemic fashion.
Many passive and sustainable building designs that are currently
considered innovative are actually common to vernacular architecture.
What makes sustainable building designs innovative is that it recognizes
the need for a return to efficient, effective and responsible building
style that beneficially affects the environment and occupant. When
John Todd, and the New Alchemy Institute, used modern modeling equipment
to discover the most efficient shape for a passive solar green house,
they discovered that the ideal shape was almost identical to the longhouses
built by natives more than two centuries ago in north eastern North America
(Todd, 46). What is important about the modern applications
of vernacular principles of passive and climatic design is that the imagination
of society is again being forced to seriously consider the link between
architecture and the natural environment.
Principles of passive design have worked in the past and should theoretically
work in the future. The challenge is to adapt these design ideas to function
with modern building practices and materials, or to adapt modern building design
to adapt to a change in material use. The effectiveness of passive design
is understood by many architects and designers. However, few tests are
ever done in order to evaluate the specific performance of passive and climatic
design techniques. This is our primary concern. It is for this reason
that the building at Paradise Lake was chosen. It is our intention to
study the appropriateness of design for passive and active heating methods used
in “the Burrows” earth residence because it provides a good example of integrated
passive and active design strategies in the cold temperate region of southern
Ontario, Canada.
Building Background
While walking the winding path that leads to “The Burrows”
earth residence, one can occasionally see the form of an unobtrusive building
fitted appropriately into the landscape. “The Burrows” is one of the buildings
found at the YMCA Environmental Learning Center at Paradise Lake, located twenty
minutes from Kitchener-Waterloo, in southern Ontario. The residence building
was designed to accommodate up to 40 people, usually school children who come
for two to three day visits.
The building consists of eight bedrooms, two bathrooms and a
large south facing common room, as well as a room off the foyer used for
electrical power generation, via a stationary bicycle (used to raise awareness
of the effort needed to create electricity). The building does
not appear to be designed as a ‘showy’ example of environmentally sensitive
architecture. Instead the goals of sustainability are found in the
explanation of the building itself.
At its core, the building preaches environmental responsibility
About 95% of the wood used in the construction of the
residence was milled on site from used wood. The once old growth timber
was salvaged from the deconstruction of a couple of old factories in southern
Ontario. Old concrete formwork was used as sheathing, and the concrete
for the project came from a recycled source.
These are some of the elements of the project
that are not visible. More obvious is the presence of a wind generator
and photovoltaic solar panels that supply the building’s electricity.
The residence is completely off the electrical grid. One reason for
this is to make the students more accountable for their energy use.
If they use too much, they lose their lights. Another more obvious
feature of the residence is the use of composting toilets. The toilets
dispel the myth that a composting toilet is simply a disgusting indoor
outhouse. The use of the composting toilets also decreases the cost
of on-site sewage treatment or disruptive infrastructure. It
also prevents the contamination of the natural bog that might occur with
the use of a leaching system.
The heating system of the Burrows is our biggest concern and one of the buildings
key features given Ontario’s cold climate. There are two sources of heat
in the residence; the first is passive solar gain through the south oriented
windows of the common room and potentially the clerstory windows in the bedrooms,
and the large custom built masonry heater also located in the common room (See
photo). The windows are triple glazed with Low-E coatings and an argon
fill. This is a necessary feature for such vast expanses of glass used
in passive heating techniques. The element of design common to both passive
and active heating methods is the heavy use of mass within the building.
The interior walls separating the common room from the bedrooms are made of
composite brick, providing thermal storage and transfer. Within this wall
is contained an air to air heat exchanger that functions by natural convection
currents. Concrete is used on all floors (except where the basement is
located beneath the main floor) and in the back walls of the bedrooms.
The masonry heater is located in the common room and is situated in front of
the south glazing,
presumably to act as a heat sink for solar irradiation. The Masonry heater
was custom built and is the largest one known to exist in this region of Canada.
It requires two firings per day during the winter months, and burns at such
high temperatures that harmful emissions are negligible.
(Integrated active and passive heating diagram. Ref: Charles Simon
Arch.)
(Site orientation diagram. Ref: Charles Simon Arch.)
The Building itself is situated north of a bog on a slope
with southern aspect and is also sunk into the ground and earth bermed.
The residence is also encircled by coniferous trees to the north, west and east.
These site features have been ideally used to increase the passive solar sunspace
in front of the glazing in winter months, as well as reducing conductive heat
loss due to winter winds. No insulation has been used between the base
of the building and the earth in order to create a year round heat sink that
stabilizes building temperatures in the winter when not in use (Heater not fired),
and to provide earth cooling in the summer. One possible deficiency in
the buildings strategies to prevent heat loss is the size of the air locks.
The residence is used by large numbers of people, who usually enter and exit
at the same time. It is very likely that, given the small space, both
doors would be held open at the same time, causing major potential heat loss.
The Burrows residence was completed in 1995, and has been used consistently
ever since. The center’s director, Callum McKee, has been very satisfied
with the thermal performance of the building. In the winter, when the
masonry heater is not fired, it takes up to five days to cool off to a mean
temperature of 4 to 5 degrees C, and takes another five days to regain its normal
operating temperature.
residence was milled on site from used wood. The once old growth timber
was salvaged from the deconstruction of a couple of old factories in southern
Ontario. Old concrete formwork was used as sheathing, and the concrete
for the project came from a recycled source.
The heating system of the Burrows is our biggest concern and one of the buildings
key features given Ontario’s cold climate. There are two sources of heat
in the residence; the first is passive solar gain through the south oriented
windows of the common room and potentially the clerstory windows in the bedrooms,
and the large custom built masonry heater also located in the common room (See
photo). The windows are triple glazed with Low-E coatings and an argon
fill. This is a necessary feature for such vast expanses of glass used
in passive heating techniques. The element of design common to both passive
and active heating methods is the heavy use of mass within the building.
The interior walls separating the common room from the bedrooms are made of
composite brick, providing thermal storage and transfer. Within this wall
is contained an air to air heat exchanger that functions by natural convection
currents. Concrete is used on all floors (except where the basement is
located beneath the main floor) and in the back walls of the bedrooms.
The masonry heater is located in the common room and is situated in front of
the south glazing, 
