ARCHITECTURE 2030

STREAM Collaborative has established energy-efficiency as a central tenet of our firm’s design philosophy. STREAM has adopted the Architecture 2030 Challenge and we are asking each of our collaborators and clients to join us in our efforts to reduce greenhouse gases and keeping our planet cool. Architecture 2030’s mission is to rapidly transform the built environment from the major contributor of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to a central part of the solution to the climate and energy crisis.

The following information is extracted from the Architecture 2030 Implementation Guidelines:

The urban built environment is responsible for 75% of annual global GHG emissions: buildings alone account for 39%. Eliminating these emissions is the key to addressing climate change and meeting Paris Climate Agreement targets.

To accomplish this, Architecture 2030 issued The 2030 Challenge in 2006 asking the global architecture and building community to adopt the following targets:

All new buildings, developments and major renovations shall be designed to meet a fossil fuel, GHG-emitting, energy consumption performance standard of 70% below the regional (or country) average/median for that building type.

At a minimum, an equal amount of existing building area shall be renovated annually to meet a fossil fuel, GHG-emitting, energy consumption performance standard of 70% of the regional (or country) average/median for that building type.

The fossil fuel reduction standard for all new buildings and major renovations shall be increased to:

• 80% in 2020

• 90% in 2025

• Carbon-neutral in 2030 (using no fossil fuel GHG emitting energy to operate).

These targets may be met by implementing innovative sustainable design strategies, generating on-site renewable energy, and/or purchasing (20% maximum) off-site renewable energy.

Passive House Principles

STREAM Collaborative has established energy-efficiency as a central tenet of our firm’s design philosophy. STREAM has adopted the Passive House Principles in the design of our buildings. The following information is extracted from the Passive House Institute of the United States:

Passive building comprises a set of design principles used to attain a quantifiable and rigorous level of energy efficiency within a specific quantifiable comfort level. "Optimize your gains and losses" based on climate summarizes the approach. To that end, a passive building is designed and built in accordance with these five building-science principles:

• Employs continuous insulation throughout its entire envelope without any thermal bridging.

• The building envelope is extremely airtight, preventing infiltration of outside air and loss of conditioned air.

• Employs high-performance windows (double or triple-paned windows depending on climate and building type) and doors - solar gain is managed to exploit the sun's energy for heating purposes in the heating season and to minimize overheating during the cooling season.

• Uses some form of balanced heat- and moisture-recovery ventilation.

• Uses a minimal space conditioning system.

Passive building principles can be applied to all building typologies – from single-family homes to multifamily apartment buildings, offices, and skyscrapers.

Passive design strategy carefully models and balances a comprehensive set of factors including heat emissions from appliances and occupants to keep the building at comfortable and consistent indoor temperatures throughout the heating and cooling seasons. As a result, passive buildings offer tremendous long-term benefits in addition to energy efficiency:

• Superinsulation and airtight construction provide unmatched comfort even in extreme weather conditions.

• Continuous mechanical ventilation of fresh filtered air provides superb indoor air quality.

• A comprehensive systems approach to modeling, design, and construction produces extremely resilient buildings.

• Passive building principles offer the best path to Net Zero and Net Positive buildings by minimizing the load that renewables are required to provide.