Passive House Design of High-Rise Relies on Structural Thermal Breaks

Located in New York City’s South Bronx neighborhood of Mott Haven, the newly dedicated $175 million 425 Grand Concourse high-rise building serves as the largest Passive House project to date in North America. Passive House is an internationally-recognized building standard designed to ensure thermal comfort while significantly reducing energy use when compared to traditional construction. To meet Passive House criteria at 425 Grand Concourse, the design team incorporated strategies to cut energy use by as much as 70 percent. 

The 310,000 sq ft (28,800 sq m), 26-story mixed-use/mixed-income structure uses a combination of high-efficiency building systems including an air-tight, insulated building envelope, rainscreens and a façade support system that minimize thermal bridging, energy recovery ventilation (ERV) that introduces continuous fresh air, energy-efficient mechanical systems, water-saving fixtures, sunshades, overhangs, a rooftop trellis, and green roofs.