22: Passive House & PoE | Hotel Marcel

In this episode, Cherise is joined by Bruce Redman Becker, President of Becker + Becker, an integrated sustainable architecture and development firm based in Westport, Connecticut. Bruce plans, designs and implements projects that have a social and environmental value, rebuilding and strengthening communities to help revitalize cities. In this conversation, Bruce shares his experience and insights into the adaptive re-use of the iconic Pirelli building, originally constructed in 1969 and designed by legendary Bauhaus trained architect, Marcel Breuer. Hotel Marcel is 100% electric and designed to produce all of its energy on site with over 1,000 solar panels. To see project photos and details discussed, visit arcat.com/podcast

Hannah Walker, Chief Operating Officer at Sinclair Digital, provides additional insight into the low voltage DC solutions on the project, including a Power over Ethernet (PoE) technique that delivers DC power to devices over copper Ethernet cabling.

This project provided unique challenges and opportunities - Financing opportunities inspired pursuit of national historic registration, the existing structure and preservation efforts added some complexity to building upgrades, Passive House principles led to unexpected but welcomed sound attenuation, and much more.

Topics Discussed:
Concrete Precast Panels
Aerogel Blanket
Battery Storage
Solar Panels
Heat Pump

Hotel Marcel

Photo Credit:
Seamus Payne