Passive Resiliency Strengthens Communities

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The fall 2024 issue of Passive House Accelerator magazine focuses on how passive buildings create stronger and more resilient communities. Some of the highlights include an interview with University of Northern British Columbia's Director of Facilities Management and Capital Planning David Claus, who describes how the UNBC Wood Innovation Research Lab survived the explosion of a building next door ("Resiliency in the Face of Disasters"); commentary on the new Phius REVIVE 2024 ("Phius REVIVE 2024: Charting the Course to Efficient and Resilient Retrofits"); and the story of how the owners of a Passive House in the upper reaches of Michigan fared when their heat went out for a week in January ("Up North Resiliency in Michigan").

Among the many case studies, this issue also contains two standouts by architects who currently live in passive homes. In "Embodied Carbon and Real-World Energy Consumption in a Passive House," Tandem Architecture Écologique Founder Evelyne Bouchard provides data and details about the relationship between embodied carbon and operational carbon using her PHI-certified home in Quebec as an example. In "Sonoran Desert Passive House," Brubaker Architects President David Brubaker shares his reverence for the deserts of Arizona, as well as some of the design challenges he had to overcome while building an absolutely stunning, Phius-certified home just outside of Tucson.

In addition to news and case studies, we also have a new section, Best Practices, which covers topics like adaptive reuse and preservation ("Building Reuse Is Climate Action" by Nakita Reed); accounting for the embodied carbon of building components ("Upfront Carbon Emissions and the Built Environment" by Dyann Stewart); drawing Passive House details ("Drawing Passive House Details: From Sketch to Construction" by Paul Thompson); and meeting Passive House cooling loads ("A Novel Approach to Meeting Passive House Cooling Loads" by Andrew Peel).

We hope you enjoy the issue!

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Articles in this Issue

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9/13/24

Phius REVIVE 2024: Charting the Course to Efficient and Resilient Retrofits

The new standard aims to provide all the benefits of passive building balancing budget restraints and accounting for the social costs of embodied carbon.

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8/16/24

Resiliency in the Face of Disasters

David Claus of UNBC describes how the university's Wood Innovation Research Lab fared against an August 2023 fire.

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9/24/24

Underground Railroad Interpretive Center to Be Showcase of Sustainability

The new center will provide a fresh look at the history of the Underground Railroad in New York's Capital District and seek Core certification through ILFI's Living Building Challenge.

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7/12/24

Reimagining a Harlem Marketplace

The Passive House certified Malcolm Shabazz Harlem Plaza will serve as the new home for the Malcolm Shabazz Harlem Market and create over 100 units of affordable housing in Central Harlem.

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6/28/24

Embodied Carbon and Real-World Energy Consumption in a Passive House

Evelyne Bouchard, Founder of Tandem Architecture Écologique in Quebec, uses data from her own home to better understand the relationship between embodied carbon and operational carbon in a Passive House.

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7/26/24

Timber Panelized Approach Supports Flexible Housing Solutions

Andrew Michler describes the CABIN_ph project, a modular, mass timber home that performs up to Passive House standards and can serve as an off-grid sanctuary or a cozy ADU.

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10/10/24

Repurposing the Commons in Lake Oswego

Mercy Greenbrae Apartments at Marylhurst Commons brings 100 units of affordable housing to Oregon and could soon be one of the largest Phius-certified buildings on the West Coast.

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10/3/24

A Celebration of Longevity and Resiliency

The Lirio, a new development in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen, will create 112 units of affordable housing. More than half of the units will be reserved for the original survivors of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

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4/26/24

Straw Bale Standout in Uruguay

Casa AYA combines straw bale construction with the Passive House approach, marking a significant milestone in the region's environmentally conscious architecture

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8/2/24

Up North Resiliency in Michigan

How the PHI-certified Burnt Angle House is keeping its owners comfortable all year long.

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8/22/24

Building Reuse Is Climate Action

Architect Nakita Reed describes how preservation is more than just protecting historical sites. It can be a tool to promote climate action, social equity, and more inclusive historical narratives.

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8/30/24

Upfront Carbon Emissions and the Built Environment

Dyann Stewart describes the key insights from research conducted in 2023 into the upfront carbon emissions for fenestration systems in New Zealand. Many of these insights are applicable in markets outside of New Zealand.

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7/19/24

Drawing Passive House Details: From Sketch to Construction

Architect Paul Thompson of BluPath Design takes us on a journey through the approximate workflow of designing a Passive House through 12 drawings.

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5/22/24

A Novel Approach to Meeting Passive House Cooling Loads

Andrew Peel of Peel Passive House Consulting describes recent laboratory experiments to determine under what conditions cold air distribution (CAD) is feasible in residential buildings.

Author: Jay Fox
Categories: Magazine