Built Environment

PassivHaus Building Design
Coming to a Neighborhood Near You

Stuart Fix, Vital Engineering

Free presentation and discussion. No registration required. Free refreshments at 6:30 pm

Popular in Europe for years, the German PassivHaus design standard aims to design buildings that do not require active heating or cooling systems. In reality this is not possible, but through radical envelope upgrades and optimized solar gain design, a Passive House building will require only 15kWh/m2yr to heat, roughly corresponding to a 90% reduction over code built buildings. Passive House buildings focus on reducing a building’s energy loads to an optimized minimum, before renewable energy technologies are sized. Capital cost savings are generated through reduced mechanical system size, which can nearly offset the capital cost increases due to the envelope upgrades. This presentation will explain the Passive House design method, highlight its advantages & disadvantages, and give an overview of the Passive House movement’s growth in Canada. Read More

Marcus McCabe, director of Hempire Building Materials is an accomplished scientist, plasterer, hemp-lime builder, straw bale builder and Permaculturalist who has been researching experimental building materials since the early nineties. He is going to be in Calgary this month speaking at an information/ Q&A evening for both public and industry interested in sustainable building technologies for both residential and commercial applications. 

$15.00 (Calgary Dollars accepted) Read More