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So, most of us architecture fans are familiar with the work of Jacques Herzog, Pritzker prize-winning partner at the firm behind the Tate Modern, a great example of adaptive reuse, and the Dominus Winery, a well-known stateside project that employs gabion walls as thermal mass.

For today’s post, however, we’d like to take a look at a lesser-known Herzog and a residential project that was designed in the 1970′s, but still resonates today as an early embodiment of energy efficient architecture.  The House at Regensburg, Germany, by Thomas Herzog, is elegant in its simplicity, with a form that enables one of the most fundamental principles of sustainable design:  passive temperature control through the thoughtful use of material and geometry, coupled with an understanding of how to manage thermal gains from solar energy.

The ‘sunspace’ concept has been in practice since the Victorian era, when conservatories were added to the exterior of buildings to control heat transfer, by providing a space between the exterior and interior to moderate daytime and evening temperatures.

Herzog employs this concept in the House at Regensburg, but within a distinctly modernist, rational form.  The sunspaces (also serving as greenhouses) face south, and the structure is divided into zones along the north-south axis.  The main enclosed living space is connected to the sunspaces with an intermediate hallway, as seen in the image of this transitional space below.

The entire system of spaces is enclosed by an angled plane of dual pane glass above the sunspace zone that turns into a titanium-zinc roof structure above the living spaces.  This spatial integration of solar gain, transitional, and occupied zones allows for a simple triangular form.  The visual strength of this form is apparent from the side, clad in locally sourced wood, which softens the minimalist form with contextual, sustainable materials.

A quick analysis of how solar energy is captured, stored, and re-radiated to maintain a comfortable temperature during the winter months is indicated in the section diagrams below.

During the daytime in the winter months, solar radiation penetrates into the sunspace, as well as the main living spaces at a low angle, allowing light and heat to enter the home.

To manage temperature at night, the concept of thermal mass is incorporated into the design and informs material selection.  Heat is gained and stored in the stone floors throughout the day and released slowly in the evenings to warm the occupied spaces.  Dual pane windows serve to further insulate the space.

This is a strategy used in countless projects, both old and new.  Today, we often see concrete utilized to serve this purpose, as discussed in February’s case study analysis of Stryker Sonoma Winery.  Last month, we also discussed the importance of site and context, and it’s relevant in today’s discussion as well…

Herzog designed the House at Regensburg to sit lightly on the earth, with a raised floor system which minimizes any potential environmental disturbance and protects existing drainage patterns, as well as the numerous beech trees on the site.  In fact, the design responds to immediate context by removing the sunspace element at a location where an existing beech tree remains.

Maintaining the natural tree canopy not only is inherently ecologically responsible, but this practice also provides for shade and natural cooling in the summer months by moderating the microclimate at the site.  Lifting the structure off the ground also aids in passive cooling by allowing airflow beneath the building and enabling natural ventilation.

One of the reasons we have featured this experimental home today is to emphasize the fact that environmentally responsive design doesn’t mean a building has to look a certain way.  Herzog rejected the widely-held belief during the early 1970′s that energy efficient design had to adhere to a specific aesthetic.  As opposed to many designers of the era, who turned to an anti-industrial ideology to help them define ecologically responsive form, he celebrated the convergence of science, modernism, and innovation to generate a unique solution.

The House at Regensburg has helped us to expand our understanding of sustainable design and to underscore the truth that creativity is not compromised by sustainability.  Creativity is, in fact, enhanced by this type of contextual and innovative thinking, and makes for a project that is, as we like to call it, sustainable by design.

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