T2305 / Tiny Queens Passive House
The existing layout—composed of three bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and an efficient, effective configuration—was mostly kept intact. The owner wanted to bring this older home into the next century, whilst celebrating its art deco flourishes and embodying this spirit in the new finishes; ideally unifying the new and old.
Intentional and surgical interventions were made to wrap the home in an air-tight, vapor open membrane, and significantly insulate all around the perimeter of the building.
In the back of the house, large new apertures were inserted in the dining room overlooking the rear deck, in turn bringing in more natural light into the ground floor spaces. Existing openings in the masonry facade previously used for through-wall air conditioning units were used for the new ERV (energy recovery ventilator) system, which now provides filtered, fresh air, while also helping control humidity levels in the home. A checkerboard brick infill pattern on the building’s facade denotes all exterior changes to the facade. South facing openings received new operable exterior shades in bright blue to match the new high performance window frames, keeping the hot summer sun out before it has a chance to heat up the house.
The home was transformed into a fully electrified house, complete with a new solar canopy on the rooftop.
This renovation is CO Adaptive Building’s first as the Construction Manager, and represents our most materially efficient project to date to turn an existing building into a Passive House.
We focused on deconstruction, rather than demolition; carefully taking the materials apart, and separating them by type. Thus ensuring that everything that was taken out of the house to achieve its upgrades were either donated for further use, or up/down cycled, rather than going to landfill. In doing so, most of the existing floor build-up and wall framing remained, and only what was necessary for the thermal upgrades was removed. This move was commemorated at the finish layer by stitching back reclaimed local red oak flooring to match the original, laid at an angle to the existing flooring.
After surgical interventions to upgrade all infrastructural systems—electrical, plumbing, a small HVAC system and energy recovery ventilation—all finishes throughout the home were redone with the exception of the existing wood floor. The material palette is made up of all natural materials, which includes a lime and sand-based plaster layer forming the initial natural vapor retarder on the interior, ensuring the porous masonry wall can breathe and dry-out, and all natural mineral wool and blown-in cellulose insulation. The floors in the kitchen are covered in red linoleum, providing a softer finish underfoot. Kitchen millwork is made of maple-faced plywood, while the countertops, backsplash and all bathroom tiles are porcelain.
New material selection takes into account how they are manufactured, ensuring they are healthy for the planet in the process of making them, and in their installation. In a house that is tight and operationally efficient, it matters that air quality is considered; alongside these specifications, no VOC paint was used throughout.
The new Passive House envelope makes this house Net Positive, with the solar array providing more than enough energy to cover the significantly reduced heating and cooling loads of the building, in addition to heating water, cooking with an induction stovetop and charging an electric vehicle.
The owners have spent whole winters without turning on the heat since the building’s occupation, and have significantly reduced cooling loads in the summer with the use of the exterior shades. Their largest electric loads represent hot water heating (due to a penchant for long hot showers) and cooking. This is an amazing testament to a rigorous envelope—given that heating and cooling are nowhere near the top of the usage list.
Featured in:
Awards:
- 2025 Architect’s Newspaper Best of Design Awards, Editors’ Pick
MEP Engineering: ABS Engineering
Structural Engineering: ADoF Structural Engineers
Carpentry: CO Adaptive
Plumbing: DAO Mechanical Corp.
Electric: Denmar Electric
Kitchen Millwork: Armada
Wood Flooring, Stair and Other Millwork: Tri-Lox
Solar Panel Installation: Brooklyn SolarWorks
Windows: Optiwin
Exterior Shading: Hella
Location: Astoria, NY
Type: Residential
Values: Creative Reuse, Low Carbon, Healthy Materials, Energy Efficiency
Floor Area: 1,224 ft2
Gross EUI: 5.01
Finished Photographs: Naho Kubota