Bay Beach

This home on the shore of Lake Erie was designed for a lovely couple looking to retire and ensure low energy costs on a fixed income. It was determined early on that the design and construction would target Passive House Certification. As such, it is a solar ready all electric home. The clients wanted to embrace a durable, low-maintenance exterior while connecting the design to the local agricultural heritage. This drove the form, materiality and aesthetics of the building as a contemporary “barn”. 

ph43 Architecture designed the Bay Beach PH to be a Passive House level home for ageing in place with all main spaces located on the ground floor. The great room is an expansive space, that has a mezzanine surrounding the lower level which hosts the client’s photographic works. The sunlight that spills into the home through expansive south-facing windows and clear-story spaces to create a light, open atmosphere for its inhabitants. In summer solar control of the south facade is achieved through extended wing walls and roof which cover an exterior deck and patio. Screens provide additional shading on the South, West and North facades as required, which double as security screens for lock-up. The primary heating system is a Heat Pump with point-source distribution in the interior. The garage is completely detached from the thermal envelope of the main house, and can only be accessed from the exterior. 

The building was constructed by evolve builders using a pre-fabricated envelope built and installed by Lowry Building Construction. This strategy worked well for quality control of the building envelope. Initial air-tightness was 0.53 ACH. The clients just started living in the home, and to sum up their experience so far “It’s a fun house to live in!”