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
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.
COLLABORATORS:Â
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: