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Sustainable Design of The First Energy-Neutral House in Netherland Posted: 26 May 2011 11:53 PM PDT The original building of this green building house was build at the end of 20th century, used as a villa in Driebergen. It was then bought by a pair of preservation enthusiasts and renovated into the first energy-neutral house in Netherland. The collaboration between OPAi and Zecc Architects created a complete system for this green house design, so it can be restored and turned into an eco friendly house. The original house has a solid front door facing to the street and actually looks bigger than it is appeared. It is seen conventional from outside. The location itself is surrounded by high trees. The renovation and expantion was done in such ways, also to protect the historical value of the building. In this case, OPAi did the sustainable energy concept, where all of works done to the existing building is reversible and can be undone without leaving traces. Zecc Architects did the implementation, also the restoration processes. The expansion of this green house building was done by adding a glass box topped with concrete roof containing all new installations, as a new house extension to the back part. The  sustainable home design also involved the using of insulation. Natural green housing materials were used, such as the use of wood fiber finished with a layer of mud plaster as internal walls’ insulation. Another green building material used is called flax, a “breathable” material, usually used with half-timbered houses in the southern Netherlands and Germany. This material was used to insulate the original wooden roof. The new layers are applied in such way, so the original elements of the house still can be seen originally, such as the windows, the brickworks, etc. To provide full sustainability, photo-voltaic solar panels are used to provide electricity, especially for the heat pumps. The place for the panels at the roof were carefully chosen to preserve the traditional village aesthetic. To heat the water, solar energy collectors are also used. On sunny days, the excess energy is saved or returned to the public grid. The glass box extension is used as a kitchen, living room, and also a dining room. It was built by using sustainable building material, stucco made from crushed bricks reclaimed from the demolished part of the house. The main house building was left in its original design. By this sustainable house design, Zecc Architects can earn the BNA Building Of The Year 2011. This is a proof that a reclamation project can be done in a parallel way with a eco-friendly project. ref

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