By Jen Cole
The morning seminar was presented by three partners and principals from FXFOWLE: John Schuyler, Ilana Judah, and Gustavo Rodriguez. It featured an introduction to the Passivhaus Standard, which is based on the concept of using simple, direct, and primarily architectural solutions with mixed-use building designs to create ultra-low energy buildings. The firm covered how this standard is applicable to higher education and residential projects, and the relevant case studies involved. Common approaches were identified that can be used to apply Passivhaus to a broad range of high-rise residential building designs.
The presented study also addressed an industry-wide lack of familiarity with Passivhaus and dispels misperceptions about its applicability. The study aimed to determine how the construction industry can become more energy efficient when considering how high-performance envelopes contribute to architectural sustainability.
