Traject begeleiding (Building process guidance)

Since 2013, the Passiefhuis-Platform offers a “Building Process Guidance, BPG” service to building professionals in city of Antwerp (and wider in Flanders), specific for the building teams involved in passive house developments.

This BPG has grown from necessity to support professionals throughout the whole building process with clear direction and quality milestones, in order to reach the high quality and avoid unnecessary costs from building design phase till operation phase.

The origins of this service is from the Brussels Capital Region support within Sustainable Building Facilitator Network ‘that served as inspiration to develop the BPG. Two pathways are possible:

• 1. Building Process Guidance: Sustainable Buildings and Neighbourhoods, and
• 2. Building Process Guidance: in the framework of certification.

1. http://www.passiefhuisplatform.be/trajectbeleiding-bouwproces

2. http://www.passiefhuisplatform.be/trajectbegeleiding

The Building Process Guidance: Sustainable Buildings and Neighbourhoods is aimed at cities and municipalities that would need support by developing sustainable buildings based on passive house standard with renewable energy and sustainable neighbourhoods. The method of this BPG service is based on PHP defining a clear check-points from project definition until project delivery. The level of wished/needed support is agreed together.

Specific support is provided on:

• definition of requirements
• evaluation of the received applications on the design competition for the project
• optimalization of the winning project
• control of energy calculations including assessment of possible risks that may appear during construction phase to which attention should be given (e.g. air tightness).

During the construction phase itself, quality aspects that are supported are in checking possible defaults and assisting by air tightness measurement. Also, attention is given on the quality of ventilation installation.

In the end, a certification-as build is given for the building.

The Building Process Guidance: in the framework of certification. In order to enable buildings to have healthy indoor climate as well as being very energy efficient, PHP developed, several years ago, a specific certification framework. This framework is suitable for non residential buildings of different use such as schools, offices, kindergardens, fire stations, etc. and it can also be applied to collective residential buildings (multi family apartment blocks).

The aim of this framework, i.e. building process guidance, is to increase the chance of a successful project in the passive house developments. The framework includes providing support to the parties involved in the building development at the right time for this support in the whole building process.

Specific procedures are placed for the developer, architect, engineers, contractor(s). In addition to increased chance to successful project, the end result is also a certificate at building level (as built). The path to success is based on different information exchanges between the building team and PHP support, at all phases of the building process. At the start, a check is done to the project definition.

Support is then provided to the pre-design phase, including meetings where PHP gives independent advise for optimalisation of the pre design. Then, checks are done to the tendering/execution files (plans, details, texts, energy calculations). Aim is to avoid any choices that can be harmful to the quality of the building as passive house. During construction phase checks are done with the contractor(s) on technical documentation and on site visits.

At the end a full as-built file is checked and should satisfactory a certificate is given.

During PassREg, this solution was improved in terms of refining its procedure. Namely, the procedure is improved and includes now elements that address renewable energy technologies in the building developments that undergo a BPG. The renewable energy technologies are stimulated by means of informing at early stage of the building design, later during the pre-design and tendering phase the renewables are also addressed and advice given to the building team. During the construction phase on site check involves attention to installations and in the as built file, what is installed on the building is verified.

The whole Building Process Guidance within PassREg has aimed at providing local capacity raising assistance to passive house developments in the Aspiring Region, city of Antwerp.