Getting High Performance Buildings Done

Here are just a few highlights of the many sessions we will offer this year:

Opening Plenary: Getting High Performance Done
Jana Silsby AIA will present the MLK School in Cambridge as a case study, and Ellen Watts AIA will present on a range of projects including the Field Headquarters of the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife and Clark University’s LEEP Center. Finally, Seth Federspiel from the City of Cambridge will present a vision of what can happen when a whole municipality – not just an individual building – aims to be high-performance. The plenary will close with a Q&A from the audience with all three speakers.

Optimizing HVAC for Passive House and High Performance Buildings
Design for large Passive House buildings requires HVAC system efficiency, and must also deal with many challenges controlling humidity, airflow, central vs distributed systems and costs, among many others. Marc Rosenbaum will moderate this discussion with Dan Nall and David Madigan on what is working, what is exciting for the future, and what it takes to keep projects on target for success.

Training the Trades for Passive House Success
In-depth discussion on windows, air sealing, thermal barriers and more keys to passive construction. Featuring Patrick Muzilao from European Architectural Supply, Kenneth Kiefer from SIGA, and Jim Materkowsky from The Green Cocoon. Moderated by John Rodenhizer.

Practitioners Leading the Community: The New York Experience
Chris Benedict’s Knickerbocker Commons project in Brooklyn was just the second affordable housing structure in the country built to the Passive House standard. In this session, Chris will discuss how she and a small group of fellow New York practitioners have changed the way New York City thinks about quality buildings and how committed, visionary practitioners can get good projects done.

More sessions to be announced soon.

Discounted registration for students, and non-profit and government employees.

To learn more about Passive House Massachusetts, visit architects.org/committees/passive-house-massachusetts

Click Register to attend.