EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE A
HIGH PERFORMANCE HOME
Healthy, resilient, high performance buildings are what you can expect from Patricia Chen Architecture. We believe that all of the clients’ aesthetic and functional goals can be achieved within a high performance home.
What makes a home high performance?
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Its energy efficient design results in a lower cost of ownership
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It improves health through cleaner indoor air and stress reducing design
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It is more comfortable
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It is quieter
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It is resilient
Architects design homes that stand the test of time. Well-designed homes can last over 100 years. Homes built for the next 100 years will need to be different than the homes of the last 100 years. We must enhance climate resiliency in our homes. Some ways in which we are doing that – making more solid structures, proper roofing, durable materials, stormproof windows and doors, tiedowns, backup battery storage, and appropriate landscaping.
Passive House, Zero Net Energy? What home is right for you?
Do you want a Passive House?
We can help you achieve that goal.
What does Zero Net Energy (ZNE) mean? It means that your house does not consume more energy than it generates.
What if I don’t want my home to generate energy but I want to reduce my carbon footprint?
We can help you electrify your home. By converting from fossil fuel burning systems to electrification, your home will be ready to receive clean energy when it comes to your electrical grid.
What if I'm not interested in any of these options?
You can still have a high performance home. We design with sound building science and Passive House strategies in mind. We empower our clients with information on how and where to prioritize energy efficiency goals. Many strategies do not add cost to the construction but some do. You, as the client, are in control of these decisions.
Why does it matter?
I love our world. I care about human health. I care about flora and fauna health. I enjoy taking hikes through the woods. I enjoy spying on my backyard wildlife. I want the next generations to be able to enjoy it, too. I don’t want climate change to fundamentally reshape life on Earth. On its current trajectory, that is exactly what will happen. I believe that global climate change is the biggest environmental risk we face today.
What inspired me?
The first time I felt empowered to make a more sustainable built environment was when I was an undergraduate and William McDonough became Dean of my architecture school. He spoke to us about what was possible and how we could be those agents of change. It didn’t seem attainable then but it did inspire us. Today, many of his pioneering ideas are reality. Many years later, I attended a discussion by Ed Mazria, the mastermind behind Architecture 2030: rapidly transform the built environment from the major emitter of greenhouse gases to a central solution to the climate crisis. With the 2030 Challenge, he gave us a roadmap to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. That afternoon, we committed our office to the 2030 Challenge and began making more energy efficient buildings. Recently, I attended a lecture by Ed Mazria. He’s now tackling the next challenge – embodied carbon. Once again, he is inspiring us to make our buildings even better. I now consider the carbon used to create the materials I specify. I prioritize materials that are low or zero carbon and materials that sequester carbon.
Every building I design is a step toward these goals. Most days, I think these steps are too small. The amount of square footage I design is so small compared to the work that needs to be done. Yet, more and more architects are doing their part and together, we are changing the trajectory of carbon emissions in the built environment.
