The growth of the Passive House standard in the U.S. has been slow, but it could still produce significant influence, according to a recent panel of industry experts.
That group is looking to expand the standard beyond single-family houses to projects like schools, hospitals and high-rise towers, according to a Construction Dive report. Today, there is roughly 475,000 sf of certified Passive House project square footage in the U.S., including 16 multifamily projects, seven commercial buildings, and one school, in addition to 111 single-family homes.
Passive House Institute U.S. (PHIUS) wants to expand acceptance of the standard in the commercial and institutional markets. As more buildings achieve certification, they provide proof-of-concept and data that can inform design decisions and influence new codes and regulations, and thereby create momentum for the standard.
Local governments will be able to collect the data from new Passive House buildings and help inform decision-makers in the built community about how the standard achieves results in sustainability. Optimistically, Passive House could thus have a larger influence than might be expected from just looking at the number of certifications.
Related Stories
Sustainability | Apr 4, 2017
Six connected CLT towers create an urban forest in India
The mixed-use towers would each rise 36 stories into the sky and connect via rooftop skybridges.
Urban Planning | Apr 3, 2017
Capturing the waterfront draw
People seem to experience a gravitation toward the water’s edge acutely and we traverse concrete and asphalt just to gaze out over an open expanse or to dip our toes in the blue stuff.
Mixed-Use | Mar 27, 2017
The Plant brings terrace-to-table living to Toronto
Curated Properties and Windmill Developments have teamed up to create a mixed-use building with food as the crux of the project.
Sustainability | Feb 28, 2017
Workplace wellbeing
Organizations are starting to realize that there are benefits to addressing employee wellbeing.
Sustainability | Feb 20, 2017
‘Forest cities’ could help solve China’s air pollution problem
The architect behind China’s first vertical forest skyscraper has bigger plans for entire cities filled with vertical forests.
Green | Feb 6, 2017
A to Z: Seoul’s elevated park features 24,000 alphabetized plants
The plants will represent 250 species found in South Korea.
Green | Feb 3, 2017
Nanjing Green Towers will be Asia’s first vertical forest
The project will be covered in 1,100 trees and 2,500 cascading plants and shrubs.
Sustainability | Jan 27, 2017
An office building proposed for Norway would generate more power than it uses
Over it’s 60-year lifespan, the power generated form the project would cover the energy cost of construction, production, and material transportation.
Sustainability | Jan 24, 2017
From an industrial park to an eco-neighborhood in Brussels, Belgium
At the heart of Vincent Callebaut Architectures’ eco-neighborhood will be three 100-meter-tall Vertical Forests.
Sustainability | Jan 19, 2017
How NYC is slashing 80% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050
To help one of the most complex cities in the world develop an actionable strategy to meet visionary GHG reduction goals, we focused on strategies for deep carbon reductions for the city’s entire building stock, which constitutes 73% of citywide emissions, writes HDR's Jennifer Bienemann.
