There’s some interesting changes going on at the Department of Energy: The new 45L provisions include two tiers of credits, with the higher credits for eligible homes and dwelling units certified to applicable ZERH program requirements. The Inflation Reduction Act 45L credit is $1,000 for apartment dwelling units that are part of a building eligible to…
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“Beautifully designed and beautifully built” This laneway housing project, designed by BSN Architects, received a SAB Award for small residential category (2021). Local Impact Design was Passive House Consultant, energy modeler and structural/HVAC engineer. The project is exemplary in a number of ways, proving the concept of pre-fab + Passive House + net zero energy.…
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This presentation was recorded on October 8th, 2019 for the Passive House Rocky Mountian monthly online roundtable, a regular event typically on the first Tuesday featuring a wide range of speakers and topics related to Passive House and low carbon buildings. The goal of Zero Carbon Multifamily starts with Passive House Tim McDonald is the President and…
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The $12-million-dollar Parade Street affordable housing project, which uses The Build SMART System, in Erie’s East Side is complete! The Parade Street Commons East is located just off of Parade Street between East 19th and 20th Streets. This new addition of housing gives families with low to moderate income another option of somewhere to live.…
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Hurricane Michael. Superstorm Sandy. The Phuket Tsunami. The Nepal Earthquake. Super Typhoon Haiyan. Whenever and wherever a natural disaster wreaks havoc in the world, sustainability and building resilience, a.k.a. resilient design, becomes the topic of conversation amongst architects, builders, and contractors. Yet the two, while equally important, are not synonyms. A newsfeed populated with catastrophic images of death and…
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Original Post by Passive House California California’s Codes and Standards (CASE) team issued their review of PHCA’s low-rise multifamily Reach Code proposal last week and the results are remarkable. We’ve posted the full report on our website for those who want all the details, but for those wanting a high level summary, here it is: PHCA is now working…
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Tenants have moved into Blossom Park! This Indwell Passive House Affordable Housing project was built using Build SMART LLC panels and includes PV panels which make it net electricity positive. There are 34 units, common spaces, a large kitchen for daily meals, and offices for Indwell We loved working with Build SMART, Fourth Pig: green & natural construction ,…
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Closer analysis of total cost leads to the ultimate concept of “total value” in home building After working a variety of construction jobs and for a large commercial lumber dealer in my youth, I cut my teeth after college at U.S. Steel, then Motorola—low-tech and high-tech manufacturing, respectively. I truly saw the good, the bad,…
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Most builders and component suppliers do a marginal job of calculating true, fully loaded, total cost when comparing various methods. It’s time to remedy that The articles, columns, seminars, and social media posts describing how off-site construction methods will revolutionize home building continue unabated. With labor shortages once again polling near the top of home builder concerns,…
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Prefabrication is not new for the construction industry. Drawn to their cost-effectiveness, convenience, and streamlined design, consumers have been able to choose prefab homes since the early 20th century. Though it has not had the same uptake in North America than in parts of Europe (84% of detached homes in Sweden are prefabricated), prefab is on the rise. …
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