SUSTAINABILITY

At MLA we are dedicated to designing sustainable buildings.  This means addressing both energy efficiency and the embodied carbon in the buildings we create.  It also means creating timeless designs, as this is also a function of long-term sustainability.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

We’ve found the Passive House design approach to be a comprehensive and rigorous building standard that guarantees exceptionally low energy use.  We also support Step Code 4 & 5 objectives for achieving low energy use as well as Net Zero targets.  A super insulated, air-tight, well-constructed home means low utility bills, but this is only one of the many benefits.  It also creates a quiet home easily maintained at a consistent temperate with excellent air quality regardless of external environmental factors such as heat waves, cold snaps, and smoke events.  Passive House and Step Code 4 & 5 homes are designed for the future.   The result:  a building that is resilient and can adapt to a changing climate.

Passive House design features 5 major components:

• Super Insulated - We typically use a wood framed wall with 6-8” of rock wool exterior insulation. This provides a thermal resistance of around R-60.

• Airtight Construction - Achieving maximum 0.6 Air Changes Per Hour, targeting a lower ACH. This keeps the heat in during the winter months, and the cooling in during the summer months.

• High-Performance Windows & Doors - Triple pane glazing is standard in a Passive House. R-values for windows and doors is around 7.0.

• Thermal-Bridge-Free Detailing - Reduces heat loss. The high attention to detail produces an exceptionally well constructed building.

• Heat Recovery Ventilation - A quality HRV is fundamental to a healthy house; fresh air is constantly provided, but without heat loss (or cool air loss in the summer). We recommend a unit with around 90% heat recovery efficiency.

EMBODIED CARBON

We are committed to designing buildings with low embodied carbon.  The choices we make about building form and construction materials can have profound effect on the embodied carbon required to build.  This in turn affects our contribution to global warming.  Using Life Cycle Assessment tools to select appropriate materials we can lower our embodied carbon intensity. 

To calculate embodied carbon in construction materials we have used BEAM (Building Emissions Accounting for Materials) software.  A tool designed by Builders for Climate Action.

A Life Cycle Assessment allows us to view our decisions through the lens of Global Warming Potential (GWP) – the ultimate objective of energy efficiency.  When viewed through this lens we can understand the value of retaining and re-using existing buildings.   In many situations a deep retrofit to an existing building is less carbon intensive than constructing a new energy efficient building.  To achieve sustainability goals, we must consider both the embodied energy required to build and the operational energy over the life span of the building.  We must consider whether it it better to build new, or retrofit.