Commercial "Passive House" Buildings in Europe

Diagram by the Passivhaus Institut via Wikipedia

The next educational event hosted by the Eugene Branch of the Cascadia Green Building Council is a presentation by Peter Reppe of SOLARC Architecture & Engineering. Peter will talk about architectural and engineering design solutions that are used on European commercial buildings built to the stringent Passive House standard.

Peter’s presentation will provide a glimpse into the future of net-zero commercial buildings in this country, as an increasing number of techniques used in European examples have started to infiltrate the American high-performance buildings market.

Peter has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Germany and a master's degree in environmental policy from the University of Michigan. He has over 15 years of professional experience in energy efficiency and green building, including environmental life cycle assessment, embodied energy, and LEED certification. While at SOLARC, Peter has focused on energy design support for high-performance commercial buildings, including energy modeling and facilitation of design charettes. He is a certified Passive House consultant.

I have the good fortune to currently be working with Peter on two projects, the Lane Community College Downtown Campus in Eugene, and a new Community Living Center for memory-care patients at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Roseburg. In both instances, Peter and SOLARC are providing energy modeling services, which are critical to ensuring that the designs will meet our targets for energy efficiency.

Here are the details for Peter’s presentation:

What: Techniques, Systems and Experiences with Commercial "Passive House" Buildings in Europe

When: Tuesday, September 20, 2011; 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

Where: Tykeson Room, Eugene Public Library (main branch), 100 West 10th Avenue, Eugene, OR

Cost: Free

Learning Units: You can self report your attendance at this presentation for GBCI Credential Maintenance (one CE hour) or one (1) AIA CEU. Find information about self-reporting on Cascadia's website.

RSVP: Please call Jenna Garmon at (541) 682-5541 or email her at eugene@cascadiagbc.org to RSVP.

Feel free to bring your lunch. Please bike, walk, carpool or take a bus.

About Cascadia: Cascadia promotes the design, construction and operation of buildings in Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live, work and learn. The Eugene Branch of Cascadia generates momentum towards a sustainable built environment by facilitating education and connections and celebrating our community. The chapter hosts monthly lunchtime presentations and tours and quarterly evening events on the latest green building topics.