For the Schrooten family from the Dutch town of Wierden, the idea of a “passive house” was always a riddle wrapped in an enigma. It wasn’t until their local council opened up bidding on their dream property that they decided to finally get to grips with what the concept meant – since the right of purchase would only be granted to the party that came up with the most sustainable house design. “We’d never given any consideration to the idea of building or living in a passive house, but now we’re so glad that the competition forced us to learn about the concept,” says owner Armand Schrooten. “Together with the architect we contracted and a number of other experts, we got stuck into all the components this kind of design requires, in great detail.”