The Triangle

摘要

The roof cowl is not for exhausting smoke like a traditional chimney, but is a fundamental part of the environmental strategy for the houses. Increasingly modern homes are comfortable in the winter, but tend to overheat in summer due to high levels of insulation and airtightness. At the Triangle the design of the natural ventilation system overcomes this problem, ensuring comfortable internal conditions throughout the year. A vent behind a secure aluminium-louvred screen can be opened on the ground floor allowing warm air to vent through the chimney using the open stairs as a 'stack'. Thus the home stays cool without mechanical ventilation and, to prevent waste, the heating is interlocked with an insulated ventilation hatch so that the heat pump-driven heating system does not operate until the hatch is closed.