BREWER, MAINE – Wright-Ryan Construction is wrapping-up work on the 48-unit Village Centre Apartments, and this new option for workforce housing is already generating a lot of buzz. At 54,000 square feet, the project would be one of the largest Passive House certified buildings in the country. An article released Wednesday by Green Building Advisor highlights the collaborative effort necessary to meet certification requirements of the Passive House Institute U.S.

Team members included Community Housing of Maine, CWS Architects, Thornton Tomasetti, and Wright-Ryan provided Preconstruction Services and served as the project’s Construction Manager. The fixed construction budget added complexity to achieving Passive House goals. The design team evaluated a wide array of wall assemblies and mechanical systems and Wright-Ryan’s estimators developed cost-effective solutions for each option. Scott Gibson of Green Building Advisor noted, “Wright-Ryan stressed the importance of maintaining the integrity of the building’s air barrier to everyone who worked on the project…Very low air-leakage rates showed that their efforts paid off.” The building envelope upgrades made it possible to downsize the HVAC system. Significant operating expense cost savings are projected over the life of the building as a result of the initial, minimal added investment required to target Passive House results when compared to traditional building methods.

• Read the full article here.
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