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Mon 16 Jan 2012 – Tue 17 Jan 2012

Architectural Design Competition - Passive House http://project.passivehousebg.com/en/design-competition With the industrial development of mankind, its negative impact on the environment is growing steadily and has become one of the determinants of the ecological balance of the planet. The observed trends of the global warming and the associated increase in natural disasters are largely a result of human activity. Rising consumption of energy from non-renewable sources, leads to a strong increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. According to the analysis, the building sector consumes the most of the energy (40%), followed by transportation (32%), and industry (28%). Analyzing the energy consumption in the European countries with temperate climates in the buildings, it has been observed that 75.5% is spent on heating, 11.5% for hot water, 11.5% for household appliances and 1.5% for lighting. "Today the Bulgarian households use nearly two times less energy per person than the EU average, which indicates a lower quality of life and comfort in our lifestyle. The challenge is quality of life and level of comfort at home to be closer to the European level with no or minimal potential to increase of the consumption of the energy. The potential for energy savings in households in the country is considerable ..."(Summary of the First NationalAction Plan for Energy Efficiency, 2009.). With the implementation of the Passive House Standard and the combination of super-insulated, thermal bridge free, airtight building envelope, energy efficient and high quality windows, and balanced ventilation with energy recovery of exhaust air can be achieved reduction of the energy consumption for heating and cooling of approximately 90% compared with the energy consumption of buildings with traditional construction. This is the most cost-effective and most efficient way to reduce energy consumption. Passive House Bulgaria challenges the architectural community to develop affordable, low energy, single-family houses, focus the public attention to this new type of energy efficient buildings, and promote the design and construction of Passive Houses in Bulgaria. Important dates for the design competition of a Passive House in the village of Lozen, near Sofia: * Official announcement of the design competition and the start of registration for contestants - January 16, 2012 * Deadline for project submission - March 16, 2012 * Deadline for public vote, and vote from the teams participating in the contest to determine the ten finalists - March, 25, 2012 * Announcing the ten projects (finalists) - March 26, 2012 * Official announcement of the decision of the jury: Project Winners - April 2, 2012