We won the AIA Connecticut Sustainable Architecture Award of Excellence!
We are thrilled to be receiving this award for our Phius (Passive House Institute US) Certified Historic Preservation Project.
Located across from the Quinnipiac River, just out of the flood plain, this Passive House retrofit of an 1816 brick building drastically cuts carbon emissions and extends the life of a treasured historic landmark. As part of the comprehensive deep energy retrofit completed in May 2022, all major mechanical systems were removed from the basement to increase the building’s resiliency, while disconnecting gas hookups that fed inefficient furnaces and water heaters. At the building’s three upper levels (~ 4,000 sf total), existing finishes were removed down to the brick exteriors and an entirely new “exterior” envelope (walls, roof, and basement ceiling) built within the historic shell. In order to work within a strict historic district, the only adjustments to the building’s exterior were a series of small penetrations for the new ERVs, and the addition of a rooftop solar array.
The all-electric building employs a distributed, high-efficiency mechanical strategy: each floor has its own all-in-one heat pump / ERV / dehumidification unit.
Here is what the jury had to say about our project: “King’s Block is a thoughtful project which is notable due to its retrofit approach: to construct an entirely new envelope within the historic building’s shell. Fantastic achievement in PHIUS+ certification and dramatic EUI reduction for a retrofit project.”