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Passive House Condo in Whitby – Green Living in the GTA

A New Environmentally Conscious Condo Building Targeting Passive House Certification

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Exterior render of Eco-Joy, the first phase of Rossmont to be built.

Built to achieve the Passive House standards of environmental design, Rossmont condos are setting the bar for what an urban dwelling can and should be in 2022. Eco-concious multi-unit housing!

Rossmont achieves Passive House via a highly energy efficient envelope and windows, air-tight construction, improved air quality and reduced carbon emissions all make for a passive design, while also reducing maintenance and energy bills for the residents.

Residents of the buildings will experience all the features of a “sustainable” and eco-conscious lifestyle without forgoing the conveniences of modern life. The new development includes 1-bedroom 1 den, and 2-bedroom suites that provide all the comforts of home for families and young people. In addition to the private homes, residents will have access to a fitness studio, party room, BBQ area and green space with mature trees. Services available on site include bicycle parking, underground parking, electric vehicle charging station, car wash, pet spa and commercial daycare.

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Interior view of the entry area and lobby.
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The commercial daycare will have plenty of access to the outdoors and natural light with big windows onto the gardens.

The principals of a Passive House design are: a highly insulated envelope, continuous air barrier, lack of thermal bridges, and high-performance glazing.  Following these principles can make any condo, multi-unit housing, or even single family residential home into a building that uses very little energy to keep comfortable. A buildings operating energy (the monthly energy use) is far and away the largest contributor to carbon emissions in buildings, therefore a Passive House building can really meaningfully address the climate change targets the world has set.

Sustainability is not about sacrificing comfort, instead it optimizes it and increases it by providing even temperatures, no cool draft, adequate summer shading, and natural ventilation. As Rossmont’s website explains, air-tight barriers not only improve building envelope performance, but control noise pollution between units. Triple glazed windows prevent heat-loss and heat-gain, and offer large amounts of natural light in the suite’s living areas. The thing is, there is a balance between having too many windows and the heat loss in a suite, so we have worked closely to place windows where they are needed, and otherwise we will have very well insulated walls to conserve energy.

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The suites are filled with light, but also use windows wisely to minimize heat loss in winter.

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The private balcony’s have wood screens for vines to grow on

For more information, or to register for phase 2 of condo sales, visit https://rossmont.ca/# .

Exterior renders by Dayluxe Gallery

Interior renders by Diana Rose Design

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