Regenerative Construction Ecosystems Symposium
on Mass Timber Passive House Building
Planned for Jan 26-27
The free online event will examine and highlight the intersection of community economic resilience, the urgent need for more effective forest management, new industrial development opportunities and healthy high-performance Passive House homes, schools and office buildings.
Humboldt County, CA January 4, 2022 – The Passive House Network is pleased to announce a free symposium titled Regenerative Construction Ecosystems, accessible live-online, January 26 & 27, 10 AM – 1 PM PT / 1-4 PM ET. The symposium will gather experts in mass timber design, planning, construction in combination with Passive House, embodied carbon tools, wood components, and industrialized construction. It will focus on fostering an ecosystem that serves forest sustainability and wild fire prevention, while producing leading edge building technologies and results. This symposium offers educators, designers, consultants, and policymakers the opportunity to gain insights in connecting these emerging market trends.
Wood as a building material is durable, affordable, and light. It holds the potential to radically transform our carbon-heavy building infrastructure while improving upon health, quality, and comfort. When integrated with Passive House design, these benefits are expanded, occupant resilience is strengthened and the climate impact is maximized.
“California’s climate, megafire, and affordability crises are forcing us to think holistically and find solutions that work across these interrelated challenges. How do we prevent unnaturally massive wildfires with sustainable forest stewardship, while positioning rural communities as key partners and beneficiaries of cutting edge construction and climate jobs?” said event co-organizer, and founder of FABRIC Workshop, Scott Ehlert. “Part of the answer must be a robust, wood-based construction industry that utilizes mass timber and other wood components, industrial prefabrication, and high-performance Passive House methodologies.”
The symposium kicks off on 26 January with discussions on making industrialized and mass timber construction a reality. Participants learn mass timber from production to design to development. While also being keyed into industry developments in education and new leaders in the field.
On 27 January the symposium showcases the tools necessary for low-carbon building construction. Presentations will overview effective planning and design, and how to connect consumers to this exciting opportunity. The Passive House Network will provide early insights to their new PHribbon embodied carbon calculator with an emphasis U.S.-specifics. These tools will transform how we plan our building design, paving the way for a sustainable built environment.
“Mass timber industrial production is uniquely powerful in driving down the embodied carbon footprint of buildings, while Passive House drives down operational carbon emissions, making the pair an unbeatable strategy in tackling climate change and forging a resilient future for our families and communities,” said Michael Eliason, co-organizer, founder of Larch Lab, and the symposium moderator. “This symposium will demonstrate that we already have the knowhow, and that we are now looking at large scale investment and implementation of these strategies.”
The symposium is made possible in part by the financial support of Blue Lake Rancheria, A Federally Recognized Tribe, and the North Fork Lumber Company, both of Humboldt County, California.
“The Passive House Network is proud to host this symposium because there is a growing realization in California and across the country that business-as-usual is not going to deliver a livable future,” said Bronwyn Barry, Board Chair of PHN and founder of Passive House BB. “And we have a message of hope – that transformation is possible – that smart wood use and smart building methods, integrated as a system, can drive a better future. Let’s embrace it!”
Find out more and register: https://passivehousenetwork.org/wood-symposium/
# # #
