Elliott Elliott Norelius Architecture, with Matthew O’Malia as project architect, has received the prestigious 2009 Special Mention for Excellence in Architecture from the New England chapter of American Institute of Architects.

Photo: Paul Warchol

The New England chapter of American Institute of Architects acknowledges design excellence each year through their design awards program. Awards are given in categories consisting of: Honor, Merit, and Special Mention. This year, 4 architects were given honor awards, 11 given merits, and 6 received special mentions. Among the 6 who received special mentions were Elliott Elliott Norelius Architecture with Matthew O’Malia, partner of G•O Logic, as project architect for the house on Penobscot Bay, Maine.

Despite this spring’s torrential rains, excavation for the utilities and the driveway proceeded rapidly. By restricting the footprint of the utility work and quickly replacing the topsoil in disturbed areas, we prevented the site from deteriorating into an unworkable mud pit.

It was decided early on in the project to have all the utilities enter the building from below grade. Although this not the least expensive option, it has distinct advantages. The first advantage is aesthetics as we can avoid telephone and power lines connecting to the building. The second is based on the Passive House recommendation of providing one single utility service enter into the building from below grade. Having one point of entry allows for better air sealing and reduced thermal bridges at the service entry locations.

The water line leading from the street to the house is buried at a depth of 5 feet in order to protect it from freezing in the winter. Included with the water trench, we installed a 100 foot long, ½ inch diameter tube with a closed water loop connected to a water to air heat exchanger that will act as a preheat for the incoming ventilation air. Strangely enough, we have also run an additional closed water loop in the septic tank to utilize bio thermal heat exiting the building. To verify the performance of these lines, we have installed heat probes with both loops. We will be posting the performance of the house on line when it is complete- be sure to check that out.