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What Are the Key Features of a European Passive House Standard-Compliant Home?

It’s complicated. Burgers Architecture delved into the complexity of the European Passive House Standard, applied it to a challenging lot, and made it their own.


Photographed by Martin Tessler




Father an daughter outside of contemporary European Passive House Standard-Compliant Home

Designed to the exacting European Passive House Standard, this is architect Cedric Burgers’s family home, and a 2024 GRAY Awards-winning entry in the Sustainable category.


Burgers Architecture sited the house in West Vancouver, British Columbia, adjacent to a creek that bears salmon and river otter populations and serves as a corridor for wildlife through urban areas. With this in mind, the house runs the length of the property, allowing for a wide riparian zone to rehabilitate the creek border.


Despite its difficult achievement, the energy-neutral house demonstrates that climate consciousness did not come at the expense of comfort or lifestyle. The rigorous Passive House Standard requires energy usage of less than one-tenth of a code-built home. Among many specific details, the interior features two-story-tall concrete walls, polished concrete floors, and oak millwork throughout, and the Burgers chose electric ovens and induction cooktops that avoid fossil fuels entirely. Ultimately, the home achieved certification and has since become net-zero with the addition of rooftop solar panels.



living room looking toward glass staircase, beige sofa, marble end table
eco-friendly modern kitchen in neutral colors, beige and white cabinets, thin countertop
home office loft in modern eco-friendly home
close-up of dining room with chandelier, floral painting, wood table, wishbone chairs
glass staircase in modern eco-friendly house with concrete walls and large art
exterior of contemporary eco-friendly house with pool, indoor outdoor windows and doors, outdoor furniture


COLLABORATORS: 

Landscape: Ron Rule Consultants

Structural: Cam Mclean/Macintosh Perry

Energy: Sarah Malekpur and Rob Pope, Ecolighten Energy

Geotechnical: Ward Philips

Construction: CB Developments, Greg Lettau

Environmental: Sartori

Arborist: Burley Boys

Lighting: MP Lighting



GRAY Awards sponsor:

advertisement for MARVIN, make spaces for warm welcomes, with mom and daughters hugging hugging outside of modern house with large glass windows

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