CLARUM HOMES OFFICE
Clarum Homes Office
“First Commercial Passive Building in California”
Location:
Palo Alto, CA (USA)
Building Type:
Commercial – Office
Year:
2013 (job completed in Apr 2014)
Area:
6,400 sf
Owner:
Clarum Homes, John Suppes
Architect:
EID Architects
Mechanical Contractor:
Green Air
Comfort Energy
Clarum Homes is a custom home developer that specializes in high performance and Passive House homes.
When they decided to develop a new office building for themselves, it only made sense to design and build it to the Passive House Standard. With a track record of successful projects together, Clarum Homes partnered with designers EID Architects and Passive House consultants Beyond Efficiency.
Green Air and Messana were challenged to design the radiant cooling and heating system with Heat Recovery Ventilation (AirMagic HRV 1200) and Neutral dehumidification (AirMagic NTD 1200).
The goal was to provide a system that could effectively condition the building and create a comfortable environment for the employee with the optimization of the energy consumption in order to achieve Net Zero Energy Building Certification, through a xxx KWatt solar PV system.
The signature of this modern office building is a linear cloud ceiling built with RayMagic gypsum panels in the open space area. The cloud system was chosen in order to give a contemporary touch and maintain the commercial look of the ceiling where, between the clouds, exposed wood ceiling trusses are still visible.
In very hot summer days, with outdoor temperatures hitting 100s degree (and dew-point temperatures over 65F), the office building was easily maintained in the comfort zone (74-76F radiant temperature) with a unique 5-Tons Daikin Altherma.
