Are you interested in renovating your house to higher standard, and getting financing for increasing energy efficiency?

By the end of this year I will be accredited ‘Auditeur Énergitique’ by the French government. This means that when I do an energy audit, and, if you choose, the implementation of the improvements, you have right to financial help, e.g. MaPrimeRénov‘, CEE (certificats d’économies d’énergie), regional, as well as éco-PTZ,  a bank loan with no interest. 

Price for energy assessment: 600 – 1500€ (of which up to 500€ paid by the state!) 

Price for improvement: Up to 90% for a humble household, but interesting constributions also for deep-pocket households. 

The choice of materials used has implications on several levels:

• Health and wellbeing of the occupants
• Ecological footprint
• Our inherited associations to different materials

I let natural materials as much as possible define the spaces I create. Research makes the case for natural materials in construction stronger for every year. Whether it is for the health and wellbeing of the occupants, for creating a pleasant indoor climate, for the carbon footprint, for acoustic insulation, or for direct running costs over a period of time, and possible mortgages taken for the construction.

IN bioclimatic architecture one goes beyond the confines of the walls of a building.

You take for example the trees around the building in consideration.

You optimise the shape of the building in relation to the sun, the main windd direction, the eventual slopes of the property.

You do with the geometric structure of the building and the property what in many cases engineers would take care of by installing different equipments, such as heat pumps and mechanical ventialation.

Spoken about but rarely addressed seriously in architecture is the role of changing our habits to meet the climate goals we have set.

The spaces I create seek to address this question by proposing a playful yet down to earth design, that help us transit to more sustainable habits.

We all know how difficult it can be to get rid of ‘bad’ habits, such as eating less sugar or quit smoking. Nowadays few people would throw their empty pop soda can out of the car window, but it has taken time to implement the idea of recycling. Architecture might not be able to generate the change of habit by itself, but can at least support that intention.

What makes me ready to take on this challenge is that I believe that in changing the manner how we interact with the built environment and the attitude we have to it, at the end of the day the most valuable result is greater health, well-being and happiness, which are core qualities for change to come from within, from each person’s own choice.