Description

Overview: A renovated Greek island getaway and a Connecticut home provide invigorating and inspiring destinations for living.

Presentation 1:

Retrofitting on a Greek Island: The Inspiration, Construction Challenges, and Delight of it

Presented by George Kontaroudis, Ikc

Approaching a retrofit of an old home on a Greek island with constrained access meant rethinking one’s Passive House experience and asking: How do you design and build a Passive House in a place with no local expertise or material availability? How do we adapt? Discover the journey and the resulting data.

Presentation 2:

No Excuses: Making High-End Homes Passive House

Presented by Stas Zakrzewski, ZH Architects

High-end residential construction can readily support innovation and meet the highest standards of energy performance, durability, and climate responsibility, yet it remains one of the least optimized sectors in terms of performance. This home demonstrates that when clients invest in bespoke design, we can make rigorous energy modeling, airtightness, embodied-carbon reduction, and long-term resilience fundamental expectations rather than exceptions.

1.25 AIA & 1 PHI CEUs

Moderated by Bria Josephs, b.a. forma

Learning Objectives:

1. Analyze the technical aspects of Passive House detailing in masonry retrofits.
2. Identify the importance of precisely calculating all potential sources of heat gains.
3. Assess embodied carbon implications of structural system selection, comparing hybrid mass timber and alternative systems to quantify reductions in life-cycle global warming potential.
4. Identify verification and commissioning practices that ensure modeled performance translates into measurable operational outcomes, including iterative blower door testing, envelope detailing coordination, and post-occupancy monitoring.