Taking a Passive Perspective

Phius Certification Success at La Mora Senior Apartments, Yonkers, NY

La Mora Senior Apartments, Yonkers, NY 

La Mora Senior Apartments, an affordable housing project for seniors in Yonkers, NY, is the first modular-built, Passive House-certified senior living building in the United States. Passive House Institute US (Phius) CORE certification was targeted because of its industry-leading performance requirements for operational energy, air quality, thermal comfort, and acoustical comfort.

The project provides accessible housing for seniors in a densely populated part of Yonkers. Its 60 one- and two-bedroom units feature large, operable windows in the living area, providing ample daylight and fresh air. The architecture is inspired by the neighborhood’s historic homes and features alternating bays to suggest a townhome appearance. The use of modular construction expedited the project schedule, improved installation quality, and optimized apartment count within budget.

Passive House certification required rigorous attention to detailing and installation quality, both vital to passing the whole-building blower door test. The design’s high-performance envelope and systems are crucial to minimizing energy use. The building envelope’s air leakage rate is extremely low at 0.053 cfm/sf @50 Pa, as demonstrated by the blower door test. The building’s projected energy use intensity (EUI) of 23 kBtu/sf/yr is highly efficient for the building type.

HIGH-PERFORMANCE ENCLOSURE

Continuous insulation throughout the entire building enclosure helps to reduce heating and cooling needs and improves comfort.

THERMAL BRIDGE ELIMINATION

An enclosure free of thermal bridging eliminates “cold corners,” minimizes risk of mold growth in the interior, and improves user comfort.

HIGH-PERFORMANCE GLAZING

Passive buildings employ high-performance windows (double- or triple-paned windows, depending on climate and building type) and doors with additional focus on proper solar heat gain and orientation.

AIRTIGHTNESS

A cornerstone of passive building design, airtightness ensures both durability of the enclosure as well as energy savings achieved by minimizing infiltration of outside air and loss of conditioned air.

BALANCED VENTILATION WITH HEAT AND MOISTURE RECOVERY

With an airtight enclosure, continuous, balanced ventilation is absolutely critical to indoor air quality (IAQ). Passive buildings continually exhaust stale air from bathrooms, kitchens, and other areas and supply fresh air to all living and working spaces.