Passive House Affordable Housing Pops Up Across the Country

A home built to Passive House standards in the U.S. is often a single-family house commissioned by a wealthy, eco-conscious client. But some developers are offering it to a different audience.

Taking a cue from multifamily projects in many vibrant European cities, several developers on the East and West coasts have built affordable multi-family housing that is air-tight, energy efficient, and to top it all off, designed in a timeless, contemporary style.

One such development is the Knickerbocker Commons in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Its target tenants are disabled and low-income, who will pay $600 to $1,110 per month. Another example is the Belfield Avenue Townhomes in North Philadelphia. Certain elements of the project, such as its white-and-mint-green façade and solar arrays on the roof, are typologies not often associated with affordable housing.

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