As we attempt to slow and reverse global climate change, we are pushing hard as a society on decarbonization strategies to prevent excess carbon from entering our atmosphere. Strictly speaking, this term can be broken down into its component parts to mean exactly the opposite, that we’re reversing the desirable process of creating carbon as […]
As part of 2021’s Design Philadelpha, Drew and Kristen provided their insights in a pecha kucha format in response to the prompt, “What’s next for Philadelphia?” They envisioned a bright future for Philadelphia framed around the imperatives of the Living Building Challenge: We treat water as the precious resource that it is. Our city generates […]
News surrounding recycling in the US has increased public demand for transparency from an industry that has, for too long, remained hidden behind a trusted triangular symbol. Most of the attention has focused on residential waste, while construction and demolition waste recycling has been quietly experiencing an equally troubling downward trend. Building standards like LEED […]
Presented as part of Green Building United’s 2019 Materials Summit, this presentation looks at embodied carbon through the lens of the architect practitioner. Utilizing Re:Vision architecture project case studies including a tenant fit-out, an adaptive reuse building, and new construction, the theme of “reduce, reuse, then recycle” is unpacked through operational, embodied, and sequestered carbon. […]
Although nearly 1/3 of US commercial office space is in buildings smaller than 25,000 square feet, net-zero energy(NZE) dialogue and research on small office buildings is hard to come by. Utilizing a comparative study of a standard small office building design and an optimized NZE version, this presentation explores the barriers and opportunities for NZE […]
This presentation focuses on the technical requirements of PHIUS verification for both single family and multifamily dwellings. While some requirements, such as blower door testing, are generally well-understood by Passive House designers, others are more opaque. While it is the job of the Verifier, not the Designer, to perform all required tests and inspections, Designers […]
Assemblies like the wall section are fundamental to how we construct our buildings. Selecting materials has most commonly been driven by performance, cost and aesthetics. In the current transformation in the industry towards environmental and health conscious building practice, the emerging focus for material analysis is on lifecycle assessment, toxicity, and moisture transport as well […]
Passive House is fundamentally a tool for combating global climate change by reducing carbon emissions; however, as a system, Passive House focuses on reducing operational energy which is only responsible for part of a larger carbon footprint. Without a full accounting we are left asking the question: Have we built a Passive House or a […]
