KOMO News’ Melanie Biehl offers readers a preview of our View Haus 5 project:
“View Haus 5 offers striking views of the Cascade Mountains. The modern designed units are a mix of three-story two bedroom/two bathroom and three bedroom/two bathroom townhomes ranging from 1,100 to 1,700 square feet. Unlike many townhomes, the five units that make up View Haus 5 are individually designed, rather than mirror image cookie cutter dwellings.”
Read on below.
Inside View Haus 5: A Passive House
Last month I had a chance to see the brand new Cascade Built townhomes in Madison Park – View Haus 5 designed by b9 Architects. These are are built according to Passive House standards.
What’s that, you ask? I asked too.
Passive House homes use 80-90% less heating energy than traditionally-built homes. View Haus 5 achieves these standards with an air-tight, super-insulated building envelope and high-performance south facing windows that captures solar heat.
The five homes were designed to appeal to buyers that “understand the role air toxins play in asthma and allergies, are happiest when they can focus on living and not how much their utility bills will cost during a particularly cold winter, love the accessibility of living in the urban core, and they are visionaries in a larger global movement to reduce energy consumption,” said Cascade Built owner, Sloan Ritchie.
This is Ritchie’s second Passive House project. He lives in his first project, Park Passive, with his family.
“We know that buildings are the number one consumer of energy in the world, and we know how to change that, but that’s not even what is so amazing about Passive House construction,” continued Ritchie. “For me and my family, it’s an overall improvement in our health and happiness – living comfortably and being mindful of how comfortable it is to sit in front of windows in the middle of winter and not feel an ounce of cold, drafty air.”
View Haus 5 offers striking views of the Cascade Mountains. The modern designed units are a mix of three-story two bedroom/two bathroom and three bedroom/two bathroom townhomes ranging from 1,100 to 1,700 square feet. Unlike many townhomes, the five units that make up View Haus 5 are individually designed, rather than mirror image cookie cutter dwellings.
The homes are clad in 100-year old reclaimed barn wood and each unit has an open floor plan, large windows, and LED lighting. The outdoor spaces include a central common courtyard and private rooftop decks with gas BBQ piping.
“A friend of mine said it years ago when we were enjoying life and what it had to offer to its fullest – ‘it’s good living’. That’s the mantra of this project,” Ritchie said.
