A Tour of King’s Block Building – Passive House Historic Retrofit & Home of Patriquin Architects

Built in 1816 and originally functioning as a hotel within the oystering and fishing neighborhood that is Fair Haven, King’s Block is home to our architectural practice.

When we bought the building in 2018, we knew that a significant renovation had taken place in the early 1990s, saving it from demolition for the enlargement of the Grand Avenue bridge, but not much had been changed since then. Working in the building, we quickly realized that air quality was not wonderful because of ducted air systems coming from a long unkept basement, and poor insulation allowed for extreme cold and hot temperatures.

In 2020 we had the opportunity to begin to renovate King’s Block by bringing the building up to Passive House standards, while maintaining the historic exterior of the building. Key components of the design include a highly-insulated and airtight envelope, the use of triple-pane high performance windows on the interior of the existing historic windows, new electric ERV heat pump systems for ventilation, heating, and cooling and a solar array on the roof. King’s Block was officially PHIUS Certified in March 2023!