6 Uber Cool Passivhaus Designs from Around the World!

Passivhaus designs are among the most <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/research/industrial_technologies/energy-efficient-buildings_en.html">energy efficient buildings on earth</a>, and that's why we are so excited to bring you a roundup of 6 of our favorites! Europe has already produced more than <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_house">20,000 Passivhaus buildings</a> - drastically reducing the continent's overall carbon footprint. As you might have expected, America is quite far behind, but watch out because we're definitely catching up. Step in to see a handful of the world's coolest low-energy homes.

This stunning FabLab House is a solar panel-covered <a href="http://inhabitat.com/passive-houses-in-germany/">passive building</a> designed by a team from the Institute for <a href="http://www.iaac.net/">Advanced Architecture of Catalonia</a>. Built on three legs, it has a pile of awesome green features, including natural ventilation, smart energy and temperature-monitoring systems, a garden, and a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainwater_harvesting">rainwater collection system</a>. We were lucky enough to see this gorgeous project in person when it competed at the <a href="http://www.solardecathlon.gov/blog/archives/tag/solar-decathlon-europe-2010">2010 Solar Decathlon in Europe.</a>

This unique Passivhaus in Brussels, Belgium has a chalkboard skin which gives it tremendous curbside appeal. <a href="http://www.blaf.be/">BLAF Architecten</a> expertly strikes a balance between creating a Passivhaus design that slightly exceeds requirements while still creating an environment that is inviting to children who are eager for play.This project's extraordinary <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efficient_energy_use">energy efficiency</a> combined with a 3.7 kW solar array puts it high up on our list of most sustainable homes.

Employing the principles of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_house">Passivhaus design</a>, the JustK house by Deutschland-based <a href="http://www.amunt.info/">AMUNT</a> makes use of its local climate, superior insulation, and passive design to create an uber energy efficient prefabricated home. Other challenges that the designer met along the way included strict building codes and a small plot and budget. Even so, they persevered, and we are completely enamored with this beautiful project.

Wanting a low-cost home with a small footprint, <a href="http://www.hawkesarchitecture.co.uk/">Richard Hawkes</a> kept finding more ways to make this now-certified Passivhaus even more sustainable than originally planned. It has a beautiful living meadow on its roof, which insulates the home, several <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy">renewable energy sources</a> provide heat and electricity, and all kinds of recycled goodies were mixed in with the building's lime mortar. A great deal of this project's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_mass">thermal massing</a> is derived from 26,000 clay bricks that were dug and formed just four miles from the vaulted home's site.

<a href="http://www.karawitz.com/">Karawitz Architecture</a> designed a home in Bessancourt, France that looks just like a traditional farmhouse but that actually conceals a whole pile of extraordinary green design details. The home has an extraordinary shuttered bamboo skin - one of the world's most <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_resource">renewable materials</a> - in addition to solar panels on the roof. This is the first house to receive the Passivhaus certification in the Ile de France region.

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