Manhattan Gets its Second Passive House

Our firm specializes in applying the incredible building quality and performance of Passive House to our historic townhouse retrofits. Recently, we completed our second Passive House project in Manhattan.

This Upper West Side renovation includes features that are often considered incompatible with a sealed, climate-controlled home. An elevator reaches all six floors, including the fully furnished roof deck. Natural light filters down through a large skylight above the central staircase. The home also includes an externally-ventilated 6-burner gas range in the kitchen. A double-height space with floor-to-ceiling glazing connects the parlor-level living space to the garden-level kitchen.

We were able to include a number of unique amenities into the fabric of this project. The townhouse has four separate outdoor spaces: the rear yard, a roof deck, and two private terraces. The primary suite, which takes up the entire third floor, has private access to one of the terraces. The reinstalled historic front stoop, door, and detailing pay respect to the building's origins.

Our Passive House process relies on collaboration, so we would like to thank those who made this project a reality:

Contractor: Eoin Killen, Kleen Construction LLC

Consultants: Kevin Brennan, Brennan & Brennan Air Sealing, and Cramer Silkworth, Baukraft Engineering