Passive House Los Angeles (PHLA+) is located in Culver City, California a bustling independent city in West Los Angeles near the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Marina Del Rey, the beach cities of Santa Monica, Venice, Malibu, and close to Beverly Hills. PHLA+ is the first newly built certified Passive House Plus in Los Angeles and among the first Passive Houses built in Southern California. The home has received two AIA awards since completion.
PHLA+ is a project designed by PARAVANT Architects strategically planned to showcase the international passive house construction standard. This includes demonstrating the back-end technologies, comfort, indoor air quality, high energy efficiency, and sustainable building practices.
Passive House LA is a Zero Net Energy (ZNE) home. It turns out after the first year of operation; it is an all-electric Energy Plus Home. This home clearly shows that passive house buildings make a lot of sense in the Los Angeles / Southern California market.
PHLA+ is located on a duplex lot, infill site, and is comprised of 1,750 sq.ft. of living area with an additional large deck area over the carport. Large windows provide sufficient natural light and a connection between indoor and outdoor living even with this home’s limited footprint. Exterior fully automated venetian blinds reduce UV, heat, and glare, effectively keeping the house cooler and comfortable. The entire building envelope including airtightness, windows, exterior wall systems and insulation are combined to produce significant energy cost savings not possible with conventional building practices.
Superior indoor air quality is provided around the clock with a MERV13 filter and heat-recovery ventilation (HRV). A 5.4kW photovoltaic system combined with a storage battery keeps the house electrically self-performing even during a black-out.
Project Credits:
Architect: PARAVANT Architects, Christian Kienapfel
AIA, LEED-AP, Certified Passive House Designer
Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Architekt (Germany)
CPHC: Sylvia Wallis, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, CPHC & Christian Kienapfel
Certification: Certiphiers, Tad Everhart, Christina Snyder & team
Shading: CPHBA, Cyril Petit
Photography: Fraser Almeida
Contractor: Guillermo Delgadillo & team