Building 1

Housing Solutions for Women and Children with Adsum House

A Tale of Hope and Home | Lakeside, NS, Canada

Adsum Sunflower

Space with a Purpose

The Sunflower, a 25-unit housing development and community center by Adsum for Women and Children in Halifax, NS emerged from the Federal Rapid Housing Initiative in 2020. It addressed the pressing need for safe, permanent housing for those experiencing homelessness. Situated on a former school site, the project replaced outdated facilities with modern housing units.

Net-Zero Design

A key design focus was to incorporate Passive House principles and to achieve Net-Zero - a must for the long-term financial sustainability of project given the below-market rents that were required through the funding model. By increasing the efficiency up-front through thoughtful design, reaching Net-Zero site energy became an attainable goal.

The Perfect Product

Within such a tight, Passive House structure, outdoor air cannot penetrate the building’s thermal envelope; consequently manifesting an unhealthy living environment. The top-ported, HERO® Fresh Air Appliance was installed within each housing unit to bring fresh air in and exhaust stale air out while optimizing the energy required to do so, and keeping the design focus at Net-Zero.

2022
Application

Rental Housing

Architect

Passive Design Solutions

Location

Lakeside, NS, Canada

Product

HERO® Fresh Air Appliance

Image of a kitchen in one of the Adsum Sunflower houses

Dive Deeper into this Case Study

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HERO, HRV for balanced ventilation in single- and multi-family homes
HERO
HRV for balanced ventilation in single- and multi-family homes