Conference Program

Our conference committee is working hard to develop an insightful engaging program for both in-person and virtual attendees. CLICK HERE to download a PDF of the full Program including schedule, sponsor profiles, articles and more!

*All times listed are local Ontario EST.


Session Themes
Track 1: Successes and Future Opportunities
Track 2: Influences on Policy and Practice: Legacy and Futurity
Track 3: Passive House and Beyond

  • 7:00am - 8:00am
    Registration & Networking Breakfast

  • 8:00am – 9:00am
    Plenary Session: Conference Kick-Off & Opening Feature
    Chris Ballard
    Passive House Canada
    Esther Pauls
    Councillor, City of Hamilton
    Julie Dabrusin
    Member of Parliament

    Description

    Our conference will begin with an address by Chris Ballard and Councillor Esther Pauls, followed by our keynote speaker, Member of Parliament Julie Dabrusin.

    Speakers

    Chris Ballard
    Passive House Canada
    Read Bio

    Chris Ballard
    Passive House Canada

    Chris Ballard has a history of supporting environmental and land use causes, most recently as the Ontario’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change implementing the government’s plan for a clean environment and a sustainable economy. He also served as the Minister of Housing and the Minister responsible for Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy and a Member of the Treasury Board. Chris’ political experience also includes being a municipal councillor in Aurora, Ontario. Chris is a past Executive Director of the 60,000 member Consumers’ Association of Canada (Ontario) and a founding board member of the Consumers Council of Canada. His leadership in journalism, communications and public affairs includes terms as President and Board member of the Public Affairs Association of Canada.

    Esther Pauls
    Councillor, City of Hamilton
    Read Bio

    Esther Pauls
    Councillor, City of Hamilton

    Esther Pauls was born in Sicily and immigrated to Canada in 1963. From 1973 to 1988, she worked at the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) while raising 4 sons and coached hockey for 4 years. She attended Mohawk College to obtain a Registered Insurance Brokers of Ontario (RIBO) license. A sport enthusiast, she competed in nine Ironman competitions, over 20 marathons, over 30 half-marathons, 5 Around The Bay races, and numerous other races throughout North America. Combining their avid athleticism with their enthusiastic entrepreneurship, Esther and her husband Gord opened Runner’s Den in 1996 and leveraged significant charitable fundraising, organizing the Road2Hope marathon benefitting Haiti and local charities, including City Kidz, Liberty For Youth, Boys and Girls Club, and Edudeo. Esther’s leadership, philanthropy, and community services, including her work as a Coordinator for Strengthening Hamilton’s Community Initiative, were recognized with prestigious awards and honours including the YMCA Peace Medal, the Athena Award, the Woman of the Year Award, Spirit Award, and being selected as a torchbearer for the 2015 Pan-Am Games held in Canada. Most recently, Esther took up another kind of running – running for public office – and was elected as the Hamilton City Councillor for Ward 7 in both 2018 and 2022.

    Julie Dabrusin

    Julie Dabrusin
    Member of Parliament
    Read Bio
    (Keynote Speaker)

    Julie Dabrusin
    Member of Parliament

    Julie Dabrusin was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Toronto—Danforth in 2015. Since her Election, Ms. Dabrusin has served as member of various committees, parliamentary associations, and interparliamentary groups. After previously serving as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Ms. Dabrusin was appointed in December 2021 as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Ms. Dabrusin grew up in Montréal and completed her undergraduate degree in Near and Middle East Studies at McGill University, before attending law school at the University of Toronto. She then practised litigation, including for a time as commission counsel to the Toronto External Contracts Inquiry, which reviews municipal government procurement. Ms. Dabrusin was and continues to be an active volunteer in her community. She founded Friends of Withrow Park, served on the Board of Directors of Park People, and started initiatives such as the local Second Harvest Hunger Squad. In 2012, she was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for her community service. Ms. Dabrusin has been a strong advocate for her community on issues like advocacy for small businesses, healthy eating, and banning single-use plastics. She is also a champion of Canada’s creative and cultural industries. She and her family have lived in Toronto for over 20 years.

  • 9:30am - 10:30am
    Session 1: UNECE High Performance Buildings Initiative: partnership for global consensus and local adaptation of energy efficiency standards in buildings
    Dario Liguti
    United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

    Description

    The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) promotes development and dissemination of international standards in energy efficiency through its High Performance Buildings Initiative (HPBI) and engages with relevant partners worldwide to support and advance the principles of energy efficiency as set forth in the Framework Guidelines for Energy Efficiency Standards in Buildings.

    Speakers

    Dario Liguti
    United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
    Read Bio

    Dario Liguti
    United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

    Dario Liguti is the Director of the Sustainable Energy Division at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). He has 30 years of experience in sustainable energy, finance, insurance, and sustainable lending at the global level. He has held numerous executive positions incorporating organizational strategy, business development, along with the facilitation of significant mergers and acquisitions. He also has extensive experience working as an advisor to the European Commission and several governments at the national level.

  • 9:30am - 10:30am
    Session 2: Getting Started in Passive House: From Initial Design to Project Completion
    Michael Ingui
    Baxt Ingui Architects

    Description

    Often, the largest hurdle to building a Passive House is knowing where to start. Understanding why to build to the Passive House standard can be simple: Passive Houses are better, healthier buildings with high-performance envelopes and ventilation strategies that lower energy demand of a building, leading to low-usage, well-sealed buildings.

    Over the last decade, our office has honed a repeatable, systematic approach to Passive House design and building. After recent conversations with over 20 Passive House community members, I will share the most common, universal steps to successful Passive House projects, followed by an interactive Q&A with audience members.

    Speakers

    Michael Ingui
    Baxt Ingui Architects
    Read Bio

    Michael Ingui
    Baxt Ingui Architects

    Michael is a Partner at Baxt Ingui Architects, a highly collaborative, design-driven firm with extensive experience in residential, institutional, and commercial projects. He joined the firm in 1994 and became Partner in 2000. Since then, the firm has become a leader in the US Passive House movement. Michael believes that creative and successful collaboration starts with forming a close relationship with each member of the team early and being inclusive to completion. In his practice, he takes care to respect the unique individual qualities of each client and home to create distinctive, personal projects.

  • 9:30am - 10:30am
    Session 3: In the Face of Electrification: Opportunities and Challenges
    Lisa DeMarco
    Resilient LLP

    Description

    This presentation will highlight the opportunities and challenges we face as we shift to electrify our buildings and homes across Canada. It will start with the global perspective of where the world’s going, how far ahead Europe is and then bring it back to Canada and local distribution companies. It will dive into the role of public policy makers, what role we can play, and how we can influence the process.

    Speakers

    Lisa DeMarco
    Resilient LLP
    Read Bio

    Lisa DeMarco
    Resilient LLP

    Lisa DeMarco is a Senior Partner and CEO at Resilient LLP. She is recognized as one of the world’s leading climate change lawyers with over 25 years of experience in all aspects of climate change and clean energy law. Lisa regularly advises on renewable power project development, energy storage projects, sustainable and climate finance transactions, carbon capture and storage, climate-related financial disclosure, corporate climate risk, ESG, green bonds, and sustainable business strategy. Lisa plays an active role for Fortune 500 companies in corporate ESG, climate change, and transition strategy, target setting, and compliance. She represents several governments and leading energy companies in a wide variety of natural gas, electricity, pipeline, and energy storage matters before various regulatory agencies. Lisa is a director of the boards of Blue Dot Carbon Corp., the Advanced Energy Centre at MaRS, Chair of the International Emissions Trading Association, and member of Climate Economy Strategic Council.

  • 10:30am - 11:00am
    Networking Break & Exhibits

  • 11:00am - 12:00pm
    Session 4: Panel: Community Impact, Building Action and Inaction
    Corey Diamond
    Efficiency Canada
    Julia Langer
    The Atmospheric Fund
    Marc Soberano
    Building Up
    Blair Feltmate
    Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation

    Description

    This panel will explore the efforts underway to advance more sustainable communities for all people. Panelists will have the opportunity to share their perspective of the progress to date, what needs to be done, and the impact of action or inaction.

    Speakers

    Corey Diamond
    Efficiency Canada
    Read Bio

    Corey Diamond
    Efficiency Canada

    Corey has more than two decades of experience leading social change organizations focused on engaging people to take action on critical environmental and social issues. Corey was previously the COO and Partner of global consulting firm, Realized Worth, a company focused on the design and implementation of corporate volunteering and giving programs. Managing the business development and operations, Corey worked with FORTUNE500 companies (including Apple, Deloitte, AT&T and SAP) around the world to engage their employees in critical and sustained community projects. Corey also spent 10 years helping to lead Summerhill, a national firm focused on engaging the public on energy efficiency behaviours. Holding various positions, including President/Chief Transformer, U.S. expansion lead and Executive Director of the non-for-profit arm, Corey worked with utilities, government agencies and the private sector to drive significant energy savings across Canada.

    Julia Langer
    The Atmospheric Fund
    Read Bio

    Julia Langer
    The Atmospheric Fund

    Julia Langer is CEO of The Atmospheric Fund (TAF), a non-profit corporation endowed by the City of Toronto, Province of Ontario, and Government of Canada to advance low-carbon solutions for cities. Julia has held senior leadership positions in the environmental sector for nearly 30 years, managing campaigns and organizations, defining strategy and policy, and inspiring public and private action to address air pollution and climate change. She leads TAF’s staff in advancing the organization’s solutions to climate and air pollution, and with support from TAF’s Investment Committee, oversees the fiscal integrity of TAF’s endowment. Julia is a recipient of the 2016 Minister’s Award for Environmental Excellence for her environment and climate work and a member of the federal government’s Generation Energy Council.

    Marc Soberano
    Building Up
    Read Bio

    Marc Soberano
    Building Up

    Marc founded Building Up because he felt it needed to exist. Building Up's work is rooted in the ideas that we all have incredible untapped potential and that the role of a social enterprise is to connect people that want to make socially-minded purchasing decisions with the opportunity to do so. Marc graduated the Richard Ivey School of Business, canoed across Canada, and understands the untapped transformative powers of the construction sector.

    Blair Feltmate
    Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation
    Read Bio

    Blair Feltmate
    Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation

    Blair is the Head of the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation, University of Waterloo. Previous positions he has held include Vice President, Sustainable Development, Bank of Montreal; Director, Sustainable Development, Ontario Power Generation; Partner, Sustainable Investment Group/YMG Capital Management. Blair has written textbooks on Sustainable Bankingand Aquatic Ecology. He is on the Advisory Table, National Adaptation Strategy, Canada. He is Sustainable Finance Council member, Global Risk Institute, and he is a member of Climate Proof Canada (Insurance Bureau of Canada). Blair is Expert Member, ISO Strategic Advisory Group, ESG, and he is on the Science, Innovation and Policy Board of Canada’s Forest Trust. He is on the Climate Advisory Board, Minister of Environment (Ontario). Blair was Chair, Federal Government of Canada Expert Panel on Climate Adaptation. Blair was an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow (University of Waterloo). He holds a Ph.D in Theoretical and Applied Ecology (University of Toronto), Master’s in Sustainable Development (Wilfrid Laurier University), Master’s in Zoology (University of Toronto), and Hon. Bachelor’s Biology (University of Toronto). He is generally interviewed by the media 150 times per year on climate change/ESG related issues.

  • 11:00am - 12:00pm
    Session 5: How to Deliver Passive House Cost-Effectively
    Andrew Peel
    Peel Passive House Consulting
    Sarah Borde
    YWCA Hamilton, Vice Chair, PHC Board of Directors

    Description

    Passive House Buildings, we know they work. We know they can be delivered cost-effectively. But how? The session explores the keys to delivering a Passive House Building cost effectively, whether a single family home, a 20-storey tower, or an office retrofit. Learn insights and solutions from an experienced consultant and a developer.

    Speakers

    Andrew Peel
    Peel Passive House Consulting
    Read Bio

    Andrew Peel
    Peel Passive House Consulting

    Andrew’s primary areas of expertise is Passive House buildings. His professional and academic experience ranges from consultancy, program management, authoring technical and non-technical articles, course and lecture delivery, and technical research. Andrew provides Passive House and sustainability consultancy, certification, and training services to the building sector. Andrew has extensive experience presenting on various Passive House topics to diverse audiences, including at many local and international Passive House conferences and events.

    Sarah Borde
    YWCA Hamilton, Vice Chair, PHC Board of Directors
    Read Bio

    Sarah Borde
    YWCA Hamilton, Vice Chair, PHC Board of Directors

    Sarah is currently Manager of Capital Project at the YWCA Hamilton and is involved on a research project in partnership with TAF, CMHC and UofT on the new Putman Family YWCA. The most fascinating aspect within the PH community is the desire to share knowledge and more specifically the lessons learned. The general contractors, architects, project managers, and other professionals in non-for-profit organizations are all willing to get together to make it work. Sarah is keen to increase her knowledge in the energy efficiency field and is always on the lookout for prospective opportunities, like PV solar panels or PH retrofit.

  • 11:00am - 12:00pm
    Session 6: Bridging High Performance Design to Prefabrication
    Chris Hill
    B Collective
    Jeff Clarke-Janzen
    B Collective
    Rebecca Sorbara
    B Collective

    Description

    Our industry is facing increasing pressure to reduce our carbon footprint. To meet these demands, a new type of building is emerging; closed panel prefabricated buildings with biobased products. Biobased materials can store carbon, delaying the carbon footprint of the construction process. Implementing the Passivhaus Standard allows for highly energy efficient building, reducing energy consumption and costs.

    A gap exists between the design, prefabrication and execution in the offsite process. How can we leverage the existing capacity to close the gap and advance high performance prefabrication? Building Offsite Sustainable Systems (BOSS) highlights a potential solution through industry collaboration and prescriptive approach.

    Speakers

    Chris Hill
    B Collective
    Read Bio

    Chris Hill
    B Collective

    Chris Hill, CPA CMA, is President of BCollective, brings 10+ years practical building experience and is an extremely active member of the high-performance building community in Vancouver. His professional accomplishments include: Master Residential Builder – CHBA; Bachelor of Arts, Economics – UVIC; Certified Passive House Tradesperson; Passive House Canada Board Member; SaferHomesBC Board Member; and a BC Housing registered builder.

    Jeff Clarke-Janzen
    B Collective
    Read Bio

    Jeff Clarke-Janzen
    B Collective

    Jeff is the Sustainability Manager of BCollective Homes and a Certified Passive House Consultant and Tradesperson. Jeff is responsible for day-to-day pre-construction operations of the organization, while also ensuring that our projects are being built and operating in an environmentally sustainable and socially responsible manner. Jeff has a significant background in Passive House, prefabrication and sustainable building practices.

    Rebecca Sorbara
    B Collective
    Read Bio

    Rebecca Sorbara
    B Collective

    Rebecca is the founder of Montsera Project Solutions, a mutli-faceted project management consulting company specializing in guiding high performance projects for both new and existing buildings. Rebecca is a Certified Passive House Consultant and a certified Project Management Professional. She lives in the Metro Vancouver area and spends her spare time exploring the area with her husband and two daughters.

  • 12:00pm - 1:30pm
    Lunch & Special Speaker: Codes Canada
    Haley Martin
    Codes Canada, National Research Council Canada

    Description

    T.B.D.

    Speakers

    Haley Martin
    Codes Canada, National Research Council Canada
    Read Bio

    Haley Martin
    Codes Canada, National Research Council Canada

    Hayley Martin is a Technical Advisor at Codes Canada and supports the Standing Committee on Energy Efficiency.

  • 1:30pm - 2:30pm
    Session 7: High-Performance Mass Timber Buildings: Developer and Design Team’s Perspectives
    Adam Molson
    Daniels Corporation
    Carl-Peter Reinecke
    Blackbaer Sustainability Inc.
    David Stanton
    RDH Building Science Inc.

    Description

    The panel will discuss the early phase decision process that leads to mass timber buildings. We will focus on the decision process from both the developer team and the design team perspective, including the benefits/drawbacks of using mass timber and the changes in the design and construction process when mass timber is used. We will build on past project experience, research, and lessons learned to help guide the industry towards future high-performance mass timber buildings.

    Speakers

    Adam Molson
    Daniels Corporation

    Adam Molson
    Daniels Corporation

    Carl-Peter Reinecke
    Blackbaer Sustainability Inc.
    Read Bio

    Carl-Peter Reinecke
    Blackbaer Sustainability Inc.

    Carl-Peter Reinecke, Vice-President at Blackbaer Sustainability, and has over 15 years experience in building science engineering and project management. He has collaborated with leading architecture firms, consulted governments and guest-lectured internationally on the subjects of net-zero construction and mass timber. He led the technical design, engineering and procurement of Ottawa's first two mass timber homes. Carl-Peter studied Timber Engineering and Wood Science at the University of Applied Sciences in Rosenheim, Germany.

    David Stanton
    RDH Building Science Inc.
    Read Bio

    David Stanton
    RDH Building Science Inc.

    David works on a variety of new construction building projects and existing building assessments and investigations. He is involved in projects from design through construction, and conducts site field reviews and performance testing, including water penetration testing of fenestration systems and whole-building air leakage testing. His recent projects have generally targeted low-energy certifications, including Net-Zero Carbon and Passive House. David earned his master’s in Civil Engineering with a focus on airtightness modeling and prediction.

  • 1:30pm - 2:00pm
    Session 8A: BCR8 Passive House Energy Modelling Case Study
    Eric Catania
    RDH Building Science Inc.

    Description

    The BC building code allows for code compliance using either Step Code modelling procedures and dynamic energy modelling (with software such as IESVE), or calculations using the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP). These compliance options are based on different input assumptions and calculation methods, particularly related to operating schedules, internal gains, and heat loss. In addition to this, future weather is expected to be different from today, which will affect energy use and consequently affect design choices. This study includes PHPP and IESVE modelling comparison of total energy use intensity (TEUI), thermal energy demand intensity (TEDI), and cooling energy demand intensity (CEDI).

    Speakers

    Eric Catania
    RDH Building Science Inc.
    Read Bio

    Eric Catania
    RDH Building Science Inc.

    As a Senior Energy and Sustainability Analyst at RDH Building Science, Eric Catania’s primary responsibilities include Passive House consulting, building energy modelling, building science research, and sustainability related work. With over 15 years of energy modelling experience, Eric is adept at several modelling tools/services such as PHPP, eQuest, EnergyPlus, DesignBuilder, and IES-VE. Over the course of his career, he has worked on a variety of building types, including hospitals, office buildings, laboratories, residential buildings, and recreational facilities, each of which pose unique design challenges. As a PHI Accredited Passive House Certifier his experience involves determining the feasibility of Passive House certification for buildings.

  • 2:00pm - 2:30pm
    Session 8B: Benchmarking Passive House Projects To Code Minimum Buildings – Energy Performance and LCA
    Esther Van Eeden
    Kearns Mancini Architects
    Irene Rivera
    Kearns Mancini Architects

    Description

    To achieve energy efficiency in buildings, many North American social housing projects demonstrate environmental commitments by benchmarking designs to hypothetical reference buildings.

    However, a disconnect exists on how passive houses compare to their code minimum counterparts because they do not follow the same back-end testing procedures. Promoting “Efficiency Now”, the Passive House community suggest policies to tighten energy performance requirements in codes, but an understanding of what drives the gap between code-compliant buildings and Passive House is imperative. How far off are code minimum buildings to achieving Passive House, and what is the resulting difference in their embodied carbon footprints?

    Speakers

    Esther Van Eeden
    Kearns Mancini Architects
    Read Bio

    Esther Van Eeden
    Kearns Mancini Architects

    Esther is the Director of High Performance Buildings and a Certified Passive House Designer with extensive project management experience, provides technical as well as strategic direction for all KMAI's Passive House projects. She has skillfully led interdisciplinary teams across the UK, South Africa and Canada over the past 11 years. This has provided an opportunity to test numerous design and sustainability strategies in various contexts and climates. Her credentials are as follows; MsC., BCOM. (HONS.), BID.

    Irene Rivera
    Kearns Mancini Architects
    Read Bio

    Irene Rivera
    Kearns Mancini Architects

    Irene is an associate architect at Kearns Mancini Architects, which she joined in 2017. She holds a Masters degree in architecture and urbanism from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia in Barcelona where she focused on high efficiency architecture and Passive House systems. She works as a Project Manager on Passive House projects, leading the design and coordination from project inception. Irene has completed the PHPP course in Passive House Design and believes Passive House is the first step to sustainable design, but taking full accountability of the overall carbon footprint is the end goal. That's why she has also specialized in Carbon Calculations and Life Cycle Assessments.

  • 1:30pm - 2:30pm
    Session 9: Designing A Sustainable Future for Affordable Housing
    Daniel Ling
    Montgomery Sisam
    Enda McDonagh
    Montgomery Sisam
    Sean Botham
    CityHousing Hamilton

    Description

    Affordable and supportive housing are among the top development priorities these days, spurred on by joint incentives by the federal and provincial government. These building types are challenging. They have to be contextual and inclusive. They have to be economical in their design and operations. They also have to be efficient, resilient and responsible in the face of climate change, something the CMHC is further incentivising through its funding program. To this end, many investors are setting aggressive energy and emissions targets. They are demanding highly insulated, airtight envelopes to reduce heating and cooling loads. They are exploring renewable energy sources to reduce their impact and dependency on the grid. Our presentation will explore a range of opportunities for low energy and low carbon affordable housing design in response to these mandates, ranging from Passive House to Zero Carbon Building.

    Speakers

    Daniel Ling
    Montgomery Sisam
    Read Bio

    Daniel Ling
    Montgomery Sisam

    Daniel Ling is an award-winning architect and a Director of Toronto-based practice Montgomery Sisam. Over the last 20 years, Daniel has worked across many industry sectors, with a focus on social and civic infrastructure projects. He is an impassioned advocate for positive city-building and believes in design that celebrates diversity of scale, of built form, of open space, of people and of experience. And he is widely recognized for his hands-on practice that invites meaningful dialogue between all project stakeholders. Daniel is a former member of the Infrastructure Advisory Board for the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. He currently sits on the City of Brampton Urban Design Review Panel.

    Enda McDonagh
    Montgomery Sisam
    Read Bio

    Enda McDonagh
    Montgomery Sisam

    Enda McDonagh is a Principal at Toronto-based practice Montgomery Sisam. Enda came to Montgomery Sisam twelve years ago with an impressive pedigree of work overseas. He has since helped guide a number award-winning projects in mental health, formative education, higher education and transitional housing. He is committed in his practice to deliver architecture that performs at the highest standards – functionally, technically, and environmentally. Enda is currently managing Phase 2 of the City of Toronto’s pioneering modular supportive housing projects and is a key facilitator in blending high quality design and advanced building science with the latest construction techniques to create more resilient, responsive homes for vulnerable Ontarians. Enda is a certified Passive House Consultant.

    Sean Botham

    Sean Botham
    CityHousing Hamilton
    Read Bio

    Sean Botham
    CityHousing Hamilton

    Sean Botham is the Manager of Development at CityHousing Hamilton, where he leads the revitalization and growth of Hamilton’s municipally-owned housing provider. Sean led the restart of the City of Hamilton’s social housing development program, the first phase of which includes 8 projects yielding 495 affordable rental units. His work also includes providing oversight of redevelopments that are creating mixed income communities that add 114 assisted housing and over 1100 private rental and ownership units. Notably, his team have also advanced affordable housing preservation through tower renewal by completing the largest high-performance MURB EnerPHit in the world.

  • 2:30pm - 3:00pm
    Coffee Break

  • 3:00pm - 4:00pm
    Session 10: The Choices We Make
    Sakshi Sood Joshi
    Intern Architect, LEED AP, WELL AP, CPHD, MRAIC
    Deborah Byrne
    H.BEng, CEng, FIEI, CPHD, Resilient Building Consultant

    Description

    More than 8 of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are impacted by Goal 11, SDG.

    As designers, we have a responsibility to provide clients with a fully functioning building that caters to all their needs and wishes, but also to do this ethically. We need to think beyond the envelope of the Passive House to adapt and be truly resilient.

    This presentation analyzes the implementation gaps in a sustainable design solution and the need to go beyond the performance matrices for a socially sustainable measure.

    Understanding the risk indicators during the design process can significantly accelerate the response and success in the execution.

    Speakers

    Sakshi Sood Joshi
    Intern Architect, LEED AP, WELL AP, CPHD, MRAIC
    Read Bio

    Sakshi Sood Joshi
    Intern Architect, LEED AP, WELL AP, CPHD, MRAIC

    Sakshi is an internationally trained architecture professional with over 13 years of experience in design and construction from India and Canada. She has worked and managed a wide range of projects through various stages. Experienced in various project scales and delivery models, she continuously strives to improve the design dialogue and fill in the gaps to create sustainable solutions. She firmly believes that design has to be purposeful and respond to present and future needs. She strives to create resilient communities through efficient collaboration and participation. She drives her projects resourcefully with passion and perseverance. At BDP Quadrangle, she continues to nurture her passion for design and advancing change.

    Deborah Byrne
    H.BEng, CEng, FIEI, CPHD, Resilient Building Consultant
    Read Bio

    Deborah Byrne
    H.BEng, CEng, FIEI, CPHD, Resilient Building Consultant

    For the majority of her career, Deborah has been focused on low impact building design and engineering. Founding director of multiple passive house organizations, including Passive House Canada, she has been at the forefront of the market transformation towards the Passive House Standard within the construction and manufacturing industry across Canada and Ireland. Working with developers, manufacturers, not for profits and engineers, her newly established business focuses on climate adaption and mitigation for people and buildings as we move into a new climate awakening. While working with manufacturers she provides technical oversight with strategic business development to support companies' successful transition to high performance building components. Working with community groups, she supports their projects to meet high performance building targets that best suits their needs and financing in pursuit of energy and asset security. She's currently working with groups in the development and pursuit of their ESGs, with a focus on climate justice.

  • 3:00pm - 4:00pm
    Session 11: Royal Oak Dairy Redevelopment in Hamilton - four unique buildings on one historic site
    Emma Cubitt
    Invizij Architects
    Graham Cubitt
    Indwell

    Description

    Royal Oak Dairy began in 1898 on East Avenue North in Hamilton as a one-horse operation and grew to be one of the largest in the city, it was the last urban dairy that closed in 1981. Indwell purchased the site and created a plan for 131 homes (108 currently built) on the site, all designed to Passive House & fossil fuel free. The dairy building was rebuilt on the same site, the stables were restored, and a new midrise added. Two of the buildings sit atop a parking garage. A new 'walkup' style building for families is in the works to complete the site. Our talk will include the owner, architect, contractor, and passive house consultant as we discuss the complexities of working with existing buildings, brick structures, parking garages, in an infill setting - all on a budget - and an encouragement to other developers to follow suit.

    Speakers

    Emma Cubitt
    Invizij Architects
    Read Bio

    Emma Cubitt
    Invizij Architects

    Emma is Principal of Invizij Architects in Hamilton, Ontario and specializes in housing, work with non-profits, and sustainable design. A graduate of both the University of Illinois and Waterloo, she is a registered architect with the OAA and has over 15 years of architectural experience. In recent years she has designed over 1,500 units of passive house multi-residential dwellings that are either in design phases or constructed. Emma’s passions in liveable small spaces, affordable housing, heritage, and sustainability have shaped her as a designer, where she is driven by values of justice and inclusion. She is involved in various community-building initiatives in downtown Hamilton and an advocate for laneway housing and Passive House design, and was awarded “Environmentalist Of The Year” by Environment Hamilton. In recent years, she has been a regular speaker on Passive House and Affordable Housing in both the US and Canada.

    Graham Cubitt
    Indwell
    Read Bio

    Graham Cubitt
    Indwell

    Graham has overseen the housing development for over 1000 households in southern Ontario through his role as Director of Projects and Development with Indwell, with another 1,200 homes in construction and planning phases with various organizations. Flourish's approach to affordable housing focuses on creating vibrant, livable communities where people can thrive. Graham is also a Canadian leader in Passive House multi-residential design strategies, having overseen numerous certified projects since 2016. Graham is actively helping communities to realize that high-value, cost-effective and sustainable affordable housing with supports is possible when people work together for shared long-term benefits.

  • 3:00pm - 4:00pm
    Session 12: The Importance of early stage decision making and collaboration
    Petra Matar
    DPAI Architecture Inc.
    Kyle Hoestery
    Stubbe’s Precast

    Description

    The team working on Centurion Dundas a MURB targeting Passive House certification will share their lessons learned during the project. The panel will include the Architect, Passive House Consultant and Construction manager who will highlight their different perspectives. The discussion will highlight key decisions that should be made very early in the design of a PH project and will highlight the importance of collaboration between consultants and the construction manager during the design phases to deliver success. The session will also highlight the value for the owner to pursue Passive House Certification.

    Speakers

    Petra Matar
    DPAI Architecture Inc.
    Read Bio

    Petra Matar
    DPAI Architecture Inc.

    Petra Matar is an Architect, Certified Passive House Designer, and Principal at DPAI, a values-driven architecture, interiors, and urban design studio based in the heart of downtown Hamilton. Petra’s experience encompasses projects of different types and scale including housing projects with a focus on multi-residential projects and sustainable design. Petra is also an Adjunct Instructor at Mohawk College teaching Materials and Methods. Petra has participated in several panel discussions on architecture, technology, and art such as the Pivot Tech Conference (2022), urbanXchange (2019), and The Big Picture Arts Forum (2017). As a Certified Passive Designer, Petra brings this knowledge into projects she works on with the aim of designing a good product for the client, community, and the environment.

    Kyle Hoestery
    Stubbe’s Precast
    Read Bio

    Kyle Hoestery
    Stubbe’s Precast

    Kyle Hoesterey has over nine years of experience with precast concrete. After graduating from Architectural Technology he joined the drafting department at Stubbe’s Precast and transitioned into a Project Manager role for the past five years with the company. Kyle specializes in providing total precast solutions to existing and future clients from the initial design and continues to work with the consultants to develop cost effective and innovative approaches to their buildings. His ability to maintain the architectural intent while providing the most economical precast solution makes him a valuable asset to project development at the early stages.

  • 5:00pm - 7:00pm
    Networking Event

  • 8:00am - 9:00am
    Sponsored Breakfast Session: Innovation in Tower Renewal
    Jerry Rynda
    Buttcon Deep Energy Retrofit Solutions
    Jacques Gauthier
    Upbrella
    Jennifer Hogan
    Pretium Engineering
    Justin Kim
    QEA Tech
    Collette Hart
    UnitiWall

    Description

    Proactive Deep Energy retrofit solutions can effectively meet net zero, passive-house, and WELL standards with a holistic building analysis and a construction process that dramatically reduces energy consumption and increases building value. With a design-build approach, we bring best-in-class partners allowing clients to achieve their energy targets with minimal tenant disruption and schedule certainty.

    Deep energy retrofits require a multi-disciplinary team that can design and build according to the client's energy and financial needs. Technology and data-driven energy modeling led to an effective design that utilizes off-site construction solutions followed by detailed commissioning and verification. Successful deep energy retrofits benefit building owners, operators, and tenants by reducing maintenance costs, increasing rental income, and energy savings, increasing property value, and providing a healthier sustainable environment for tenants.
    Our retrofitting solutions team is founded on technology, data, and energy modeling by providing real-world solutions that are available today.

    Speakers

    Jerry Rynda
    Buttcon Deep Energy Retrofit Solutions
    Read Bio

    Jerry Rynda
    Buttcon Deep Energy Retrofit Solutions

    Jerry Rynda drives business growth, developing relationships and partnerships, and brings over 25 years of development experience in business management, design, and construction. Jerry’s Senior Executive experience helps Clients understand the opportunities of vertically integrated construction solutions and considers the Client’s individual needs for resiliency and sustainable building strategies. He is actively involved in sourcing the best partners nationally and internationally that support Buttcon’s Client needs in off-site construction, mass timber, and Deep energy retrofit building solutions.

    Jacques Gauthier
    Upbrella
    Read Bio

    Jacques Gauthier
    Upbrella

    Jacques Gauthier is a management professional (finance, new product/technology market introduction, and business development) with more than 25 years of international experience. Vice President of Business Development at Upbrella since 2017. He was previously responsible for the global business development of AKVO movable pool floor and industrial lifting solutions for the automotive industry for Paco Spiralift, a Quebec-based designer, and an exporter of patented lifting systems.

    Jennifer Hogan
    Pretium Engineering
    Read Bio

    Jennifer Hogan
    Pretium Engineering

    Jennifer Hogan of Pretium Engineering, Project Principle. Recipient of the IIBEC Emerging Professional Award of Excellence and OBEC’s Rising Star Award, Jennifer Hogan is passionate about building sciences, energy performance, and of course, baseball. She has been a building science consultant for over 16 years and now uses her experience and knowledge to help clients achieve their energy and carbon goals as the leader of the Energy and Carbon Reduction team at Pretium.

    Justin Kim
    QEA Tech
    Read Bio

    Justin Kim
    QEA Tech

    Justin is Vice president of Sales and Marketing at QEA Tech. He has a Proven track record for building and delivering large, complex tech programs and businesses in North America and now helps drive QEA Tech marketing and business strategy.

    Collette Hart
    UnitiWall
    Read Bio

    Collette Hart
    UnitiWall

    Collette Hart is an enthusiast of Thermally Resilient Rainscreen Construction. She brings her 15+ years of industry knowledge to anyone that will listen with passion, humour and honesty. A proud founding member of RAiNA (Rainscreen Association in North America), and Co-Chair for their Education and Training committee where she continues to advocate for the Canadian (and female) audience. Collette has amassed a wide range of knowledge and experiences on various products from her years as a Sales Manager with Manufactures Rep Agencies and working directly for Installers. In those roles she travelled to plants in Europe and the United States and has had boots on the ground at many construction sites across North America where she is a keen observer.

  • 9:30am - 10:30am
    Session 13: Panel: Getting to the Goal Post: High Performance Building in Hamilton
    Trevor Imhoff
    City of Hamilton
    Sean Botham
    CityHousing Hamilton
    Henry Schithuis
    Schilthuis Construction Inc.
    Medora Uppal
    YWCA Hamilton

    Description

    This panel will explore Hamilton’s successes and challenges to date in driving uptake of high-performance buildings to support more sustainable communities. It will feature the ongoing efforts by the city, CityHousing Hamilton and local project teams. Panelists will have the opportunity to discuss their projects, barriers they faced and how they have overcome them, and what’s next.

    Speakers

    Trevor Imhoff
    City of Hamilton
    Read Bio

    Trevor Imhoff
    City of Hamilton

    Trevor is the Senior Project Manager within the City of Hamilton’s Office of Climate Change Initiatives. Trevor has been at the forefront of municipal climate action leading the development of Hamilton’s most ambitious Climate Action Strategy in response to City Council’s Climate Emergency Declaration. Trevor is an environmental professional with over 10 years of diverse experience in environmental sustainability, public health, climate change and planning/building approvals. The past 5 years Trevor has led and coordinated the City’s annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory and climate change reporting. Trevor is humbled by being selected by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Top 10 Innovative Municipal Leaders Cohort across Canada and has been nominated for the University of Waterloo’s Young Alumni Inspiration Award in 2019 and 2022. Trevor is a voting member of National Standing Committee on Energy Efficiency within the Canadian Board for Harmonized Construction Codes. Trevor received his Honours Bachelor Degree in Environment and Resource Studies, with a Minor in Biology and a Diploma in Ecological Restoration and Remediation from the University of Waterloo.

    Sean Botham
    CityHousing Hamilton
    Read Bio

    Sean Botham
    CityHousing Hamilton

    Sean Botham is the Manager of Development at CityHousing Hamilton, where he leads the revitalization and growth of Hamilton’s municipally-owned housing provider. Sean led the restart of the City of Hamilton’s social housing development program, the first phase of which includes 8 projects yielding 495 affordable rental units. His work also includes providing oversight of redevelopments that are creating mixed income communities that add 114 assisted housing and over 1100 private rental and ownership units. Notably, his team have also advanced affordable housing preservation through tower renewal by completing the largest high-performance MURB EnerPHit in the world.

    Henry Schithuis
    Schilthuis Construction Inc.
    Read Bio

    Henry Schithuis
    Schilthuis Construction Inc.

    Building has always been in my blood. As a boy, being too young to work on a jobsite, I worked in the shop with my father Bert at Harm Schilthuis & Sons Ltd. University came and within 2 years I decided that hands-on with tools is where I wanted to be. In 1978 earned my Carpenters certificate and worked my way up to Superintendent, then Vice President. Fast forward to 2003 when I stepped into the President’s role, formerly held by my cousin Henk. In 2009 Schilthuis Construction was created and soon after four of my sons, Phil, Tim, Aaron and Jeremy joined in. My philosophy has always been that the company be built on trust. I have been married to my wife Daniella for over 40 years, we keep busy with our 7 children and their spouses and 14 grandchildren.

    Medora Uppal
    YWCA Hamilton
    Read Bio

    Medora Uppal
    YWCA Hamilton

    Medora Uppal (she/her) has 20 years of experience in the non-profit sector supporting women and families through a feminist, intersectional, human rights-based framework. Her history of work focuses on building quality programs, strengthening organizational capacity, creating meaningful community engagement, and addressing social justice issues. Medora has a history of advancing housing solutions for women, children and families by providing leadership in the development, implementation and oversight of new and innovative service models. Medora has been a leader in the community in working to end violence against women and children. She plays an active leadership role at community planning tables across a variety of sectors including housing, violence against women, early years planning and health.

  • 9:30am - 10:00am
    Session 14A: Clayton Community Centre - Post Occupancy Evaluation
    Thomas Bamber
    Introba
    Eric Campbell
    Introba

    Description

    Introba revisited Canada’s one-time largest Passive House building following its first post-pandemic year of occupancy to carry out a general post-occupancy evaluation (POE). In this lecture, we compare the 2022 ‘Actual’ energy usage against the PHPP design calculations. By mapping the real life performance of key metrics such as thermal energy demand, lighting and equipment we address key questions about the compatibility of passive house principles and large, non-domestic buildings. Lessons learned from the POE will include a deeper dive on the potential of natural ventilation and how to successfully implement as part of a mixed mode system.

    Speakers

    Thomas Bamber
    Introba
    Read Bio

    Thomas Bamber
    Introba

    As a mechanical engineer specializing in passive design, naturally ventilated, mixed-mode and daylit projects in North America and the UK, Thomas focuses on climate resilience and nimble, flexible systems to achieve longevity and sustainability. His focus on improved health in high-quality architectural schemes has transformed user experience in across multiple building types.

    Eric Campbell
    Introba
    Read Bio

    Eric Campbell
    Introba

    Eric is a designer passionate about passive, net positive building design and most of all is interested in changing how buildings are designed. He believes that a truly sustainable building goes beyond Zero Carbon; that it must be resilient and seek to improve the environment and this starts with passive systems design that reduces or eliminates the need for mechanical equipment rather than using mechanical equipment to remedy upstream design choices. He embraces the challenge of minimizing whole-life carbon emissions and leads a team-based approach that seeks to harmonize design efforts to achieve this goal by balancing building systems performance and embodied carbon.

  • 10:00am - 10:30am
    Session 14B: Fire Hall 17 - Post Occupancy Evaluation
    Craig Edwards
    City of Vancouver
    Scott Ghomeshi
    Introba

    Description

    Vancouver Fire Hall 17 built to Passivhaus Standard has been occupied since May 2022. The building incorporates an 80kw PV array, geo-exchange heat pumps, electrochromic glass, and drain water heat recovery. Join us to hear the story of this building and the technology employed to meet the Passivhaus standard and stories from the construction and first year of operation.

    Speakers

    Craig Edwards
    City of Vancouver

    Read Bio

    Craig Edwards
    City of Vancouver

    Craig Edwards is the Energy Manager in the Real Estate and Facilities Management department at the City of Vancouver, where since 2013 he has been responsible for developing strategies and implementing projects to show leadership in achieving the goals of the City’s Renewable City Strategy and Climate Emergency Response Plan, within city owned facilities. Craig is a Professional Engineer with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters Degree in Architecture, specializing in green building design. He has worked previously in similar roles for both BC housing and the Rocky Mountain School district, where he achieved significant success in reducing GHG emissions from each of their building portfolios, and prior to that he spent 10 years as a building science and sustainable community planning consultant.

    Scott Ghomeshi
    Introba
    Read Bio

    Scott Ghomeshi
    Introba

    Scott’s passion and enthusiasm for sustainable built environments is evident as he strives to incorporate resilient and regenerative design strategies in all his projects. As Introba’s Government and Cultural Sector Leader, Scott has been involved in numerous non-residential and complex Passive House projects including Fire Hall 17. As a Certified Passive House Designer with experience across multiple project types, Scott is one of the part-time instructors at the British Columbia Institute of Technology’s Passive House Trades-person course where he endeavours to pass down practical knowledge on how to apply Passive House principles.

  • 9:30am - 10:30am
    Session 15: Is the Greenest House the One That’s Already Built? Two Real-Life Case Studies Help to Answer this Question
    Graeme Verhulst
    Waymark Architecture
    Dallas Hordichuk
    Energy Code Solutions

    Description

    The oft-heard phrase, “the greenest home is the one already built,” emphasizes the importance of embodied over operational carbon. To adequately combat climate change, we must consider both operational carbon emissions together with embodied carbon in buildings. Two of our recent projects offered a unique opportunity to analyze the data. The question Waymark Architecture and Energy Code Solutions focused on is whether, using overall embodied carbon (embodied plus operational) as a measurement, we should keep the existing homes as they are, renovate them, or deconstruct them and replace them with high-performance homes, enabling us to make data-driven decisions for a low-carbon future.

    Speakers

    Graeme Verhulst
    Waymark Architecture
    Read Bio

    Graeme Verhulst
    Waymark Architecture

    Graeme is a founding principal of Waymark Architecture and a keen advocate for advanced building science. He is one of the first architects in BC trained to design to the stringent International Passive House Standard, the world’s leading approach to energy in buildings. Graeme is also past chair of the Vancouver Island Chapter of the AIBC and sits on the Township of Esquimalt's Design Review Committee. Graeme spends his time with his young family and his garden.

    Dallas Hordichuk
    Energy Code Solutions
    Read Bio

    Dallas Hordichuk
    Energy Code Solutions

    Dallas is the Chief Operating Officer of Energy Code Solutions, a Certified Energy Advisor and a Project Manager at Interactive Construction. He is a long-time advocate for data-driven research in building science and has been active in the building industry for over a decade. Dallas was the lead carpenter and project manager for The Green Point Project, the first Passive House Plus, Living Building Challenge and Green Shores for Homes certified building in the world.

  • 10:30am - 11:00am
    Networking Break & Exhibits

  • 11:00am - 12:00pm
    Session 16: Panel: Global Standards for Buildings and Outcomes They Demand
    Dario Liguti
    High Performance Building Initiative, UNECE
    Jerome Bilodeau
    Office of Energy Efficiency, Natural Resources Canada
    Bronwyn Barry
    Passive House Network

    Description

    This panel will explore the global perspective of what’s required to achieve the outcomes needed to address emissions in buildings and achieve our climate targets. It will feature the state of Canada’s building sector and look at global progress towards achieving the UN sustainable development goals for buildings. Panelists will have the opportunity to discuss their view of national and global climate targets and what’s next.

    Speakers

    Dario Liguti
    High Performance Building Initiative, UNECE
    Read Bio

    Dario Liguti
    High Performance Building Initiative, UNECE

    Dario Liguti is the Director of the Sustainable Energy Division at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). He has 30 years of experience in sustainable energy, finance, insurance, and sustainable lending at the global level. He has held numerous executive positions incorporating organizational strategy, business development, along with the facilitation of significant mergers and acquisitions. He also has extensive experience working as an advisor to the European Commission and several governments at the national level.

    Jerome Bilodeau
    Office of Energy Efficiency, Natural Resources Canada
    Read Bio

    Jerome Bilodeau
    Office of Energy Efficiency, Natural Resources Canada

    Jérôme Bilodeau is the Director of the Buildings Division at NRCan’s Office of Energy Efficiency, where he oversees the delivery of programs and policies aiming to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He also teaches Energy Efficiency Policy at Carleton University, and sits on the Steering Committee of the UN’s Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction. Prior to this role, he was Senior Consultant at Dunsky in Montréal, and manager at Environment and Climate Change Canada. A licensed professional engineer, Jérôme holds a B.A.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Ottawa, and an MBA from HEC Montréal.

    Bronwyn Barry
    Passive House Network
    Read Bio

    Bronwyn Barry
    Passive House Network

    Bronwyn Barry is a registered architect based in San Francisco, CA, and a principal of her firm Passive House BB. Bronwyn organized and directed California’s first all-women construction crew for Habitat for Humanity before co-founding both Passive House California (PHCA) and the North American Passive House Network. Bronwyn’s advocacy work extends internationally. She was an active contributor to the UNECE’s Coalition on Buildings, working to develop a global standard for high-performance buildings. Locally, she has focused on direct implementation by designing and building Passive House buildings since 2008. Bronwyn has contributed as a subject matter expert on a number of research projects in collaboration with researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Labs (LBNL). Most recently she worked with California’s Codes and Standards team on exploring a Multifamily Passive House Reach Code for California. She directed NAPHN’s policy support programming and edited the NAPHN Policy Resource Guide published in 2019 at NAPHN19. Bronwyn was educated in South Africa, the UK, and the USA and holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Natal-KwaZulu.

  • 11:00am - 12:00pm
    Session 17: OCH's Gladstone Village: Addressing the needs of Community and Climate through a Collaborative Process
    Arne Suraga
    Diamond Schmitt Architects
    Eva Russell
    Ottawa Community Housing

    Description

    As Canada faces a housing crisis, a climate crisis, as well as economic challenges following the pandemic, Ottawa Community Housing is stepping up to the challenge by looking to affect change in all three areas through their new portfolio of buildings. One of these projects is Phase 1 of Gladstone Village, the first part of a transit-oriented, affordable housing neighbourhood. The OCH and Diamond Schmitt teams will speak to the opportunities, challenges and aspirations of the project, aiming for Passive House levels of performance through energy-efficient building systems, renewables, and a high-performance envelope.

    Speakers

    Arne Suraga
    Diamond Schmitt Architects
    Read Bio

    Arne Suraga
    Diamond Schmitt Architects

    Arne joined Diamond Schmitt Architects in 2013, and became an Associate in 2019. Developing designs hand-in-hand with sustainable objectives is a key element of his design ethos, and this belief in implementing real-world solutions drew him to become involved in the PH community, culminating in becoming a Certified Passive House Designer in 2017. Arne has presented previously at the Passive House Conference, has been featured in the Globe and Mail for his project work, and regularly speaks on the topics of Passive House and sustainability.

    Eva Russell
    Ottawa Community Housing
    Read Bio

    Eva Russell
    Ottawa Community Housing

    Eva Russell is an Architect and Certified Passive House Designer with over 15 years of experience in the field of sustainable architecture and energy efficient design. Currently working as a Project Manager with the New Construction Team at Ottawa Community Housing (OCH), Eva has a passion for affordable housing and dedication to meet OCH’s goal of delivering 1000 new homes a year. Eva has been instrumental in incorporating Passive House principals into OCH’s new affordable housing projects and seeks to collaborate with the trades to improve construction sequences and details with the ultimate goal to deliver the best and most energy efficient buildings possible. Eva is currently the project manager for the Mikinak development in Ottawa, which will contribute an additional 271 affordable homes to the City of Ottawa. The project is designed using Passive House and Net Zero design elements with a 49% reduction in energy consumption and 38% reduction in GHG emissions while creating comfortable and healthy living spaces.

  • 11:00am - 12:00pm
    Session 18: FortWhyte Alive Buffalo Crossing: A tale of maximizing passive strategies in an extreme cold climate Passive House
    Ian Barnett
    FortWhyte Alive
    Michael Banman
    Stantec Architecture
    Steph Fehr
    Stantec Architecture

    Description

    Buffalo Crossing [BX], Fort WhyteAlive’s new low carbon, mass timber Visitor Centre is planned to be Manitoba’s first commercial Passive House. The presentation will give an overview of the design considerations that challenged the design team to meet the project’s ambitious goals; leading to a compact triangular shape orientated to facilitate considerable transparency for a building achieving this level of performance, efficiently capturing and controlling solar radiation within the extreme Manitoba environment; ranging from -40° C and low RH to +40° C and high RH. BX demonstrates innovation in design through its building enclosure, operable screens, materials, and systems selection.

    Speakers

    Ian Barnett
    FortWhyte Alive
    Read Bio

    Ian Barnett
    FortWhyte Alive

    Ian has worked at FortWhyte Alive since 1999 and has overseen the growth of many program initiatives including the development and implementation of the award-winning FortWhyte Farms social enterprise program. He has over 25 years experience of management and governance in the non-profit sector. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Recreation Studies, and a Master of Business Administration in Social Enterprise Leadership. He is passionate about sustainability in building construction and has assisted in the planning and oversight of a deep-energy retrofit of FortWhyte’s main public interpretive Centre in 2020, and the planning and construction of a Woodworking Studio that was built using passive house principles in 2021. He has been involved with the Buffalo Crossing project since inception and was a strong advocate for the building to be designed to achieve Passive House certification.

    Michael Banman
    Stantec Architecture
    Read Bio

    Michael Banman
    Stantec Architecture

    An award-winning architect, Michael has over 15 years of experience working on a range of building types and scales. He has led the design of several important and influential projects, urban renewal developments in Downtown Winnipeg such as Centrepoint, cultural projects such as The Manitoba Museum’s Alloway Hall Expansion and Renewal, academic projects such as the University of Manitoba’s Stanley Pauley Engineering Building, and currently FortWhyte Alive’s future Buffalo Crossing. A skilled designer, Michael brings a disciplined approach to understanding, visioning, building science, construction, and cost management. A proficient communicator, he is adept at evaluating and incorporating client’s needs, while delivering designs that are not only well considered and practical, but innovative and compelling. His thoughtful approach to the changing social landscape, culture, sustainability, and the craft of construction enable him to meet client demands with architectural clarity and technical excellence.

    Steph Fehr
    Stantec Architecture
    Read Bio

    Steph Fehr
    Stantec Architecture

    Steph Fehr is an Architect and Associate at Stantec Architecture in Winnipeg. She is passionate about designing spaces that inspire the occupants, with a focus on creating environments that inspire health and wellness. From her personal to professional life, she places emphasis on living and designing authentically, with a focus on sustainability, connection to nature, and holistic wellness. She thrives on projects that require creative, critical design solutions and is extremely detail oriented. As a Project Architect, she places strong emphasis on early interdisciplinary collaboration and understands the importance of holistic design from a project’s onset to create a successful and resilient project. She has professional experiences within a multitude of project typologies and scales, including post-secondary, education, workplace, residential and healthcare.

  • 12:00pm - 1:30pm
    Lunch & Special Keynote Panel: The Building Performance Assurance Council
    Matthew Bowers
    Rochester Passive House Consulting LLC
    Chris Ballard
    Passive House Canada
    Lois Arena
    Passive House Network, Steven Winter Associates, Inc.
    Craig Stevenson
    Passive House Network, AUROS Group
    Evelyne Bouchard
    Passive House Canada, Tandem Architecture

    Description

    Passive House Canada and Passive House Network are proud to announce an exciting new joint initiative aimed at exponentially accelerating the adoption rate of Passive House standard and equivalent buildings across North America. Hear more about this unique project and what it will do to support the North American building industry in developing a high performance assurance pipeline.

    Speakers

    Matthew Bowers
    Rochester Passive House Consulting LLC
    Read Bio

    Matthew Bowers
    Rochester Passive House Consulting LLC

    Matthew Bowers spent 6 years in the Navy as a nuclear engineer and became interested in Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics. Once his tour was over, he attended RIT's Mechanical Engineering Technology Program where he wanted to become a HVAC designer. While at RIT he learned of “homes so efficient they don’t need furnaces”. He then focused his career path on Passive House. He graduated with the highest honors in 2010. Since 2013 Bowers has worked as a Certified Passive House Consultant and Tradesman and HERS Rater. In 2017 Matt started his own Company - Rochester Passive House Consulting - specializing in high performance buildings. His company is currently consulting on all building use types; multifamily, schools, retail, commercial, municipal, mixed use, high rise, and single-family homes throughout North America. He helps developers and design teams achieve the necessary performance requirements to meet a projects climate action goal. He utilizes the Passive House Standard to lower a buildings carbon footprint through energy savings, reduced operational carbon and initial embodied carbon. He has been featured in the Journal of Light Construction’s Energy Column under multiple topics including Blower Door Testing for extremely tight homes, Infrared Scanning, Blower Door Testing and Retrofitting airtightness and trouble spots for airtightness in new homes. He was the designer of Rochester’s 1st Certified Passive House in 2016 – his personal home. Matt started certifying Passive House buildings in 2019 and is a Passive House Trainer for the Passive House Network and is experienced in a multitude of Passive House analysis tools, including thermal bridge analysis, embodied carbon, and creating long term building retrofit plans.

    Chris Ballard
    Passive House Canada
    Read Bio

    Chris Ballard
    Passive House Canada

    A passionate advocate for better buildings, Passive House Canada CEO Chris Ballard led high-profile elected positions within the Ontario government, including Ontario’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, where he implemented the government’s plan for a clean environment and a sustainable economy. He was also Ontario’s Minister of Housing and Minister Responsible for the province’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. His leadership across journalism, communications and public affairs includes terms as President and Board member of the Public Affairs Association of Canada, and Board member of the Consumers Council of Canada. He also served as a municipal councillor in Aurora, Ontario.

    Lois Arena
    Passive House Network, Steven Winter Associates, Inc.
    Read Bio

    Lois Arena
    Passive House Network, Steven Winter Associates, Inc.

    Lois Arena, Director of Passive House Services at Steven Winter Associates, Inc., possesses over 25 years experience in the building science field. She holds both US and international Passive House consultant certifications and is currently consulting on some of the largest and most difficult Passive House projects in the world. She has co-authored and presented training programs about energy efficient building practices to professionals in all sectors of the building industry and is regularly invited to present at conferences and private firms around the world to discuss the benefits of and road blocks to PH adoption.

    Craig Stevenson
    Passive House Network, AUROS Group
    Read Bio

    Craig Stevenson
    Passive House Network, AUROS Group

    Craig Stevenson is President of AUROS Group, which is a technology company based in Pittsburgh, PA. Craig is widely known for his role in establishing Pittsburgh as a leader in “Evidence-based Performance” for the built environment. Evidence-based Performance uses technology to bridge the gap between “hoping” a building is performing as designed to “knowing” a building is meeting its performance goals. With 25 years of construction experience, Craig is an expert estimator and is credentialed in virtually all known building performance standards. Using these skills, Craig ensures building owners have the data required to build and operate the highest-performing buildings at the lowest possible costs. Craig is co-author of the book, The Power of Existing Buildings—Save Money, Improve Health and Reduce Environmental Impacts, and the much referenced ASTM article, “Project Case Studies and the Lessons they Teach about Whole Building Envelope Air Leakage Testing.” Craig is a founding member and Vice President of the Passive House Pennsylvania chapter and a member of CEOs for Sustainability. Craig sits on the City of Pittsburgh Clean Tech Roundtable and P4 Performance Measures Committee. Craig is also a committee member with the AIA+2030 Committee on the Environment. Craig holds a Masters of Science in Management of Information Systems and an MBA degree from the Graduate School of Business at Duquesne University.

    Evelyne Bouchard
    Passive House Canada, Tandem Architecture

    Read Bio

    Evelyne Bouchard
    Passive House Canada, Tandem Architecture

    Evelyne Bouchard is a course instructor and board director at Passive House Canada. She is also a practicing architect (OAA & OAQ) and principal at Tandem Architecture Écologique, a small firm dedicated to creating high-performance sustainable projects at all scales through collaboration with like-minded professionals. Evelyne is passionate about the overlap between thoughtful design and technical rigour. She strives to embed Passive House design principles and measurable performance into the creative process to design projects that are durable, sustainable, functional and beautiful.

  • 1:30pm - 2:30pm
    Session 19: UBC Evolve: Get Comfortable
    Iain MacFadyen
    ZGF Architects
    Mike Kasuya
    AME Group

    Description

    Evolve is a faculty and staff housing project on UBC’s Vancouver campus, designed with climate resiliency in mind. The project considers occupant thermal comfort in a world where climate conditions are rapidly changing and must be accounted for early in the design process. The presenters will introduce the project, highlight overheating as a design challenge, and run through the analyses conducted to select a design response. They will present on the design solutions including the data-informed active and passive shading strategy and the high-efficiency mechanical system which includes semi centralized HRVs and a post secondary coil providing heating and cooling.

    Speakers

    Iain MacFadyen
    ZGF Architects

    Read Bio

    Iain MacFadyen
    ZGF Architects

    Iain MacFadyen brings over 18 years of building performance and sustainable consulting experience gained in UK and Canada. He is a certified Project Management Professional, Passive House Consultant, Fitwel Ambassador, and an experienced LEED practitioner. In his 12 years in Canada, Iain has developed numerous teams in the support of developing project sustainability requirements and delivering high performing projects over a range of different project types, including large-scale residential, mixed-use, commercial, civic, institutional, and Canadian P3 projects.

    Mike Kasuya
    AME Group
    Read Bio

    Mike Kasuya
    AME Group

    Mike has over 15 years of experience in the mechanical system design field, with a focus on sustainable strategies and energy management. He is certified as both a LEED BD+C and Certified Passive House Designer. More than just theoretical expertise, Mike has hands-on experience designing mechanical systems for a diverse range of complex engineering projects across multiple sectors.

  • 1:30pm - 2:30pm
    Session 20: Electrification without a service upgrade
    Frank Crawford
    Passive House Alberta

    Description

    Learn about practical techniques and equipment that can be used to fully Electrify a home without
    increasing the existing electrical service connection size, even in cold climates. Watt Diets, Load Share
    Devices, Smart Electrical Panels, and Splitters will all be introduced and their applications explained.
    Lessons learned from a number of real world installations will be shared. Individual and societal reasons to not increase the electrical service size and probable cost saving will also be discussed.

    Speakers

    Frank Crawford
    Passive House Alberta
    Read Bio

    Frank Crawford
    Passive House Alberta

    I am a Professional Civil Engineer and a Certified Passive House Designer and Tradesperson. I designed, built and now live in one of the first Alberta homes built to the International Passive House Standard. Through my work as an Energy Efficiency Consultant, the Education Committee lead of Passive House Alberta and a Passive House Canada instructor, I help others learn how to achieve the benefits of building or renovating to a High Performance Building standard while minimizing the additional upfront costs and embodied and operational carbon.

  • 1:30pm - 2:30pm
    Session 21: Best Practices in Passive House MURB Ventilation Systems
    Josh Lewis
    Nerva Energy Group Inc.

    Description

    The design and construction of the ventilation system in any building are critical for energy performance and maintaining a high level of indoor air quality, which has become even more important since the pandemic. In Passive House buildings, this takes on an extra level of significance due to relying solely on the mechanical systems to perform at their rated capacity due to the lack of any significant infiltration across the building envelope.

    This session will cover the basics of indoor air quality, real-world examples of how these ventilation systems are currently being designed and installed on both new construction and retrofit projects in Part 3 MURBs, including the equipment, ductwork layouts, fire protection, the requirements and methods to minimize ductwork leakage including case studies, and opportunities for improvement on future projects.

    Speakers

    Josh Lewis
    Nerva Energy Group Inc.
    Read Bio

    Josh Lewis
    Nerva Energy Group Inc.

    Josh Lewis, CEM, CMVP, is the VP Energy Engineering at Nerva Energy Group, an award-winning energy advisory firm and specialty contractor providing smart building optimization by leveraging niche expertise with leading IoT tech. Josh is proud to be a subject matter expert on mechanical systems and building automation for the Enbridge Savings by Design program, hosted by Sustainable Buildings Canada. Through these efforts, he has a direct impact on the design of new buildings across Ontario. Josh is an award-winning leader in the energy sector, including being recognized as the AEE International Energy Innovator of the Year in 2019 and leading a 2022 Clean 50 Top Project.

  • 2:30pm - 3:00pm
    Coffee Break

  • 3:00pm - 4:00pm
    Session 22: Streamline Complex PHPP Modelling Workflows Using the New ‘Honeybee-PH’
    Edwin May
    BLDGTYP

    Description

    Honeybee-PH is a new free, open-source software toolkit designed to help Passive House practitioners manage complex building data more efficiently. This toolkit allows PHPP modelers to reduce model time, improve model flexibility, and limit errors significantly when used as part of BIM workflow.

    Speakers

    Edwin May
    BLDGTYP
    Read Bio

    Edwin May
    BLDGTYP

    Ed May is a CPHD, as well as the developer of the Passive House Tools project and the “Honeybee-PH” software. As a partner in the consulting firm BLDGTYP, Ed works on certified Passive House projects of all sizes across North America. Ed teaches with the North American Passive House Network, NY Passive House, and Passive House Canada, and has been an Adjunct Professor at Parsons the NewSchool University in NYC as well an Industry Professor at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ.

  • 3:00pm - 4:00pm
    Session 23: PH Design Process, Performance Analysis, & Lessons Learned: Multi-Family Case Studies
    Lois Arena
    Steven Winter Associates, Inc.
    Thomas Moore
    Steven Winter Associates, Inc.

    Description

    Steven Winter Associates (SWA) has been the primary consultant on the design and completion of dozens of North American Passive House (PH) buildings over the past decade. In this presentation, SWA will provide a detailed analysis of twelve such buildings that have been in operation for at least one year, we will share what we have learned, and discuss how these buildings are actually performing. Specifically, SWA will present a detailed utility analysis for these twelve buildings, and will advise on how these large scale multifamily PH buildings are performing in relation to the PHPP’s predicted energy use, and in relation to comparable building stock. Further, SWA will examine PHPP inputs and modelling protocols that we have identified as underpredicting annual energy use. The intention of this session is to help our industry develop best practices for designing and constructing energy-efficient multifamily buildings.

    Speakers

    Lois Arena
    Steven Winter Associates, Inc.
    Read Bio

    Lois Arena
    Steven Winter Associates, Inc.

    Lois Arena, Director of Passive House Services at Steven Winter Associates, Inc., possesses over 25 years experience in the building science field. She holds both US and international Passive House consultant certifications and is currently consulting on some of the largest and most difficult Passive House projects in the world. She has co-authored and presented training programs about energy efficient building practices to professionals in all sectors of the building industry and is regularly invited to present at conferences and private firms around the world to discuss the benefits of and road blocks to PH adoption.

    Thomas Moore
    Steven Winter Associates, Inc.
    Read Bio

    Thomas Moore
    Steven Winter Associates, Inc.

    Thomas Moore is a Senior Building Systems Consultant with 8 years of experience in the design, evaluation and construction of low-energy Passive House buildings. Thomas has led the design of over 10 multifamily Passive House residential projects, and has unique experience designing 2 university dormitories to the Passive House standard. Thomas brings a keen understanding of building envelope systems, HVAC, DHW, and advanced energy modeling to all projects.

  • 3:00pm - 3:30pm
    Session 24A: Upscaling delivery to large, complex Passive House projects: lessons learned from one of the first large-scale buildings in Ontario
    David Stanton
    RDH Building Science Inc.
    Marine Sanchez
    RDH Building Science Inc.

    Description

    This session will present the challenges and successes of the construction of The University of Toronto Scarborough Campus (UTSC) new student residence so far. The focus will be on the building enclosure and airtightness during the construction phase of the project, including discussion of the mid-construction air leakage tests, window air leakage tests, thermal bridging tracking, energy model updates, submittal processes, and general construction challenges that have been encountered to date. The lessons learned from the project to date will help to ensure a smoother delivery for future large-scale Passive House projects.

    Speakers

    David Stanton
    RDH Building Science Inc.
    Read Bio

    David Stanton
    RDH Building Science Inc.

    David works on a variety of new construction building projects and existing building assessments and investigations. He is involved in projects from design through construction, and conducts site field reviews and performance testing, including water penetration testing of fenestration systems and whole-building air leakage testing. His recent projects have generally targeted low-energy certifications, including Net-Zero Carbon and Passive House. David earned his master’s in Civil Engineering with a focus on airtightness modeling and prediction.

    Marine Sanchez
    RDH Building Science Inc.
    Read Bio

    Marine Sanchez
    RDH Building Science Inc.

    Being part of Canada’s highly experienced PH professionals, Marine leads RDH’s Passive House services. She focuses on the design of large-scale institutional and mixed-use projects, channeling her passion and expertise to drive change to address the climate emergency. Her role includes developing PH designs on leading-edge typologies (such as commercial kitchens), guiding site teams new to PH towards successful delivery and supporting government in implementing carbon reduction policies.

  • 3:30pm - 4:00pm
    Session 24B: Lessons learned: a contractor's perspective on completing one of Canada's largest mixed-use institutional buildings
    Diana Demmers
    EllisDon
    Marine Sanchez
    RDH Building Science Inc.

    Description

    The University of Victoria Passive House Student Housing & Dining complex is currently one of the largest mixed-use projects in North America. Despite experienced design and construction teams having past project experience, Building 1 (occupied since September 2022) still presented a learning curve due to its size and complexity. This co-presentation looks back at the challenges faced during construction, and the lessons learned by the general contractor and Passive House designer, Ellis-Don Kinetic and RDH Building Science, to inform the set up of the next generation of large complex projects for an easier delivery.

    Speakers

    Diana Demmers
    EllisDon
    Read Bio

    Diana Demmers
    EllisDon

    Project Manager, UVic Student Housing & Dining Project

    Marine Sanchez
    RDH Building Science Inc.
    Read Bio

    Marine Sanchez
    RDH Building Science Inc.

    Being part of Canada’s highly experienced PH professionals, Marine leads RDH’s Passive House services. She focuses on the design of large-scale institutional and mixed-use projects, channeling her passion and expertise to drive change to address the climate emergency. Her role includes developing PH designs on leading-edge typologies (such as commercial kitchens), guiding site teams new to PH towards successful delivery and supporting government in implementing carbon reduction policies.

  • 4:30pm - 5:00pm
    Session 25: DesignPH - Workflows & Techniques
    Kelly Fisher
    Peel Passive House Consulting

    Description

    This session will review how to get the most out of your DesignPH model. Participants will learn more about setup of DesignPH to streamline the PHPP modeling process, reducing effort as PH Consultants and standardizing the modeling process. We will review how to best use a BIM from the Architect in the Sketchup model space and how to standardise your modeling to better organise the data created.

    Speakers

    Kelly Fisher
    Peel Passive House Consulting
    Read Bio

    Kelly Fisher
    Peel Passive House Consulting

    Kelly comes from a background in construction and architectural design. With 15 years of experience in the construction industry, the experience has allowed her to gain knowledge in many aspects of construction to understand the realities and processes of the construction industry. As a Certified Passive House Consultant, PHPP Expert, Accredited Passive House Trainer and Accredited Passive House Certifier, Kelly works alongside Architects, Engineers, and Builders on Passive House projects of all sizes. At Peel Passive House, Kelly manages small to large certification and consultancy projects. In her role as Training Manager, she supports our ongoing CPHC courses and on-demand courses offered by Peel Passive House. She applies her experience over several roles including business development, project management, marketing, certification and consulting. Her projects range in scale from single family homes to multi-story affordable housing projects.

  • 4:30pm - 5:00pm
    Session 26: Passive House Case Studies - Performance Analysis with Stick Built, Total Precast, and Hybrid Build Constructions
    Josie Costantini
    Schilthuis Construction Inc.

    Description

    Finding the perfect wall assembly in terms of performance, cost, and constructability for a passive house building can be a challenge, especially for the cold climate in Ontario. We have completed a wide array of passive house MURBS in Ontario from wood framed stick built, to total precast, to a hybrid model. Through a deep analysis of the install details and performance we can see where each of these building types succeeded and where they fell short and how we can improve them. Through this analysis we will discuss the different air and thermal barrier details , how the air test performed, the overall post occupancy performance and more.

    Speakers

    Josie Costantini
    Schilthuis Construction Inc.
    Read Bio

    Josie Costantini
    Schilthuis Construction Inc.

    Josie Costantini is project manager at Schilthuis Construction Inc. A certified Passive House consultant through PHIUS with a BA in Architectural Science and a Master’s in Building Science. Working with Schilthuis Construction for the past 7 years, Josie has been closely involved in the pre-construction and construction phases of over 7 Passive House MURBs in Hamilton, Ontario. Josie has spoken at the Passive House Canada Conference in 2020 as well as a many other conferences such as The Building Show, PHIUS Conference, Boots on the Ground, Building Conversations with Chris Ballard, Passive House Accelerator and many more.

  • 4:30pm - 5:00pm
    Session 27: Airtightness Testing for a Large Student Housing PH Project – A Story Told in 7 Episodes
    Torsten Ely
    RDH Building Science Inc.

    Description

    As part of RDH’s services for this $201 million campus housing project at the University of Victoria (UVic) in Victoria, BC, 7 airtightness tests have been developed and performed throughout construction, from mock-up testing to partial to whole building testing. A key goal of the process was to help the project team understand the actual airtightness performance of all the components as they were installed as well as to analyze the impact on the whole building airtightness. The findings of those tests and subsequent actions, modification, and/or redesigns ensured that the project stayed on track with meeting the airtightness target.

    Speakers

    Torsten Ely
    RDH Building Science Inc.
    Read Bio

    Torsten Ely
    RDH Building Science Inc.

    With over 15 years’ experience in the sustainability and high-performance building sector, Torsten Ely specializes in energy modeling, energy audits, and large building airtightness testing, as well as Passive House design and consulting. Torsten brings an in-depth knowledge of high-performance buildings to the RDH team, including a wealth of experience with the EnerGuide Rating System, the BC Energy Step Code, Passive House design, large building airtightness testing, and building science. Torsten’s primary responsibilities at RDH include a variety of project work including Passive House consulting, Step Code services, airtightness testing, energy audits and energy modeling. A sample of Torsten’s relevant speaking experience include: Step Code presentations for BC Housing in multiple locations throughout BC; "Tighter than Tight" for CHBA VI

  • 8:00am - 9:00am
    Breakfast

  • 9:00am - 9:30am
    Session 28A: The Future of High-Performance Window Installations
    Cody Akira Belton
    Morrison Hershfield / Akira Living

    Description

    PH buildings have a reputation for unnecessarily thick wall assemblies. True, if adding wall insulation to compensate for heat loss at weaker elements (ex. poor window installations). Projects can now leverage thermal simulations of innovative high-performance window installation techniques to reduce wall thickness, reduce embodied carbon emissions, meet PH performance targets, and potentially provide cost-effective solutions for Developers.

    MH will unveil innovative high-performance window installation techniques intended for larger PH buildings suitable for combustible/non-combustible construction. Architects can use window installation techniques to improve thermal energy performance and reduce interior mould/condensation potential to maintain healthy IAQ for new developments or retrofits.

    Speakers

    Cody Akira Belton
    Morrison Hershfield / Akira Living
    Read Bio

    Cody Akira Belton
    Morrison Hershfield / Akira Living

    Cody is a Passive House Specialist with Morrison Hershfield’s Building Specialty Services team. He has served as a Building Enclosure Consultant for over 14 years, with mature engineering knowledge in building science and experience developing building enclosure design packages for various building typologies, ranging from single-family homes to high-rise buildings. Cody has been a strong Passive House advocate since 2010 and eagerly promotes its benefits to anyone who cares to listen. He has trained product manufacturers and architecture firms transitioning into the high-performance sector, along with providing Passive House consultation and design implementation strategies for new building construction and retrofit projects. Cody is an enthusiastic communicator and champion for Passive House, sharing his passion with various networking groups by delivering presentations on the significant advantages of super-insulated building enclosure design.

  • 9:30am - 10:00am
    Session 28B: PH Tour Preview: 257 King William - Passive House Modular MURB
    Chris Smith
    NRB
    Jacqueline Evans
    NRB

    Description

    CityHousing Hamilton contracted NRB Modular to Design/Build the first Passive House Modular project in Eastern Canada. This 24 unit affordable housing project located at 257 King William is being completed in NRB’s housing plant in Cambridge Ontario. Project is expected to start craning modules May 9th. Tour participants may see the modules being craned into place. The presentation will walk participants through the manufacturing process and explain how modular construction is suitable for PH certification.

    Speakers

    Chris Smith
    NRB
    Read Bio

    Chris Smith
    NRB

    Chris Smith has extensive experience in Modular Construction. A graduate of Brock University’s Business Administration program in 2008. Realizing his passion was in construction Chris was able to combine his experience in sales and passion for construction and was offered a sales role in the modular manufacturing industry. This position took him to Ottawa to open up a new office for the company and enabled him to work on exciting projects including providing temporary modular buildings for the multi-billion-dollar East Block redevelopment project on Parliament hill. Currently Chris is the Director of Sales for NRB Eastern Canada. NRB is the largest modular manufacturer in Canada and is focused on permanent modular construction projects.

    Jacqueline Evans
    NRB
    Read Bio

    Jacqueline Evans
    NRB

    Jackie is one of NRB’s housing representative in Ontario, specializing in Emergency, Social, and Affordable Housing. She has been working in the design and construction industry most of her career. Having graduated from the Metropolitan University ( formerly Ryerson) with a degree in Interior Design. She has held various volunteer positions in the green building industry, having been involved with the CaGBC, ILFI, and iiSBE. She has a keen interest in the modular industry and specifically servicing the non-profit and municipal governments as we all try to increase the number of housing units across the country.

  • 9:00am - 9:30am
    Session 29A: Passive House and the Shifting Energy Code Landscape in Massachusetts
    Andrew Steingiser
    RDH Building Science

    Description

    In December 2022, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) released a new energy code as part of the updated 10th edition of the Massachusetts Building Code. The new Energy Code includes updates to the Stretch Energy Code as well as the addition of a second, more advanced tier of the Stretch Energy Code known as the Specialized Opt-In Stretch Code. Passive House is prominently incorporated into the new Massachusetts Energy Code requirements. Passive House certification is now a requirement for multi-family residential buildings under the new Specialized Opt-in Code, and is a code compliance path option for all buildings.

    Speakers

    Andrew Steingiser
    RDH Building Science
    Read Bio

    Andrew Steingiser
    RDH Building Science

    Andrew Steingiser, Architect, CPHC leads the Passive House for RDH Boston and provides value to clients as an early-phase design partner to incorporate high performance into the project. Andrew is a regular presenter at PHIUSCon, Passive House Massachusetts and other conferences. As a member of the Board of Directors of Passive House Massachusetts, he is a prominent figure and advocate for Passive House design in Massachusetts and beyond.

  • 9:30am - 10:00am
    Session 29B: Policy Pathways to Building Decarbonization
    Kevin Lockhart
    Efficiency Canada

    Description

    In 2021, Canada committed to develop a net-zero emissions building code as well as the alterations to existing buildings (AEB) code by 2025. This sessions is intended to help all those in the buildings sector anticipate and prepare for the significant policy change represented by the introduction of the net-zero emissions building code and the AEB, as well as the policy frameworks that support these codes, and to use the development of each code as a lever to accelerate climate action.

    Speakers

    Kevin Lockhart
    Efficiency Canada
    Read Bio

    Kevin Lockhart
    Efficiency Canada

    Kevin Lockhart is Efficiency Canada’s research manager. He has a master of sustainable energy policy and a bachelor of arts in political science from Carleton University. He also completed and instructed in the Advanced Housing: Construction Carpentry program at Algonquin College. Kevin has contributed several publications to the sector, including Strengthening Canada’s Building Code Process to Achieve Net Zero Emissions and Codes4Climate, Canada’s first online resource connecting building codes as a tool for climate action.

  • 9:00am - 9:30am
    Session 30A: Meeting Passive House Standards with Masonry
    Mark Hagel
    Alberta Masonry Council

    Description

    As Canada moves toward passive house standards to reduce our carbon footprint and meet our national reduction targets, accurate thermal modeling, particularly with thermal bridging has become very important. The presentation discusses updated thermal bridging values for masonry that can be used with both load-bearing concrete masonry and masonry veneers, to meet the evolving requirements of the NECB and passive house standards. The session will discuss methods to account for and mitigate thermal bridging in the components of full-bed masonry veneers including details reducing thermal bridging at masonry veneer ties and shelf angles. Two case studies will be explored: one that achieves net-zero energy using concrete block and brick veneer on single-family home and one on modern wood-frame brick veneer home that meets current NECB 2017 requirements and passive house standards. The session will also include hands-on examples of accounting for the thermal bridging in these two case studies using current thermal bridging calculation techniques and user-friendly spreadsheet/online applications.

    Speakers

    Mark Hagel
    Alberta Masonry Council

    Mark Hagel
    Alberta Masonry Council

  • 9:30am - 10:00am
    Session 30B: Thermally Efficient Airtight Enclosures for Sustainable and Resilient Buildings
    Andre Turrin
    DuRock Alfacing

    Description

    EIFS is an integral part of the building envelope that separates the indoor environment from the outdoor environment. The presentation relates EIFS to the applicable building code requirements regarding protection from precipitation, fire protection, air leakage control, condensation control, and thermal resistance. It furthermore relates those properties to sustainable, resilient, passive design. The presentation also includes highlights of an independent life cycle costing and thermal performance study that compares EIFS to alternative cladding systems.

    Speakers

    Andre Turrin
    DuRock Alfacing
    Read Bio

    Andre Turrin
    DuRock Alfacing

    Andre Turrin joined DuRock Alfacing in 1997 and in 2006 he assumed the role of Technical Director for the company. DuRock is a founding member of the EIFS Council of Canada (ECC) and Andre represents DuRock on the ECC Board of Directors. Andre is a member of the ECC Technical Committee and he is a member of the ULC Task Group on EIFS that developed the three CAN/ULC-S716 EIFS Standards that are referenced in the National Building Code of Canada. Andre was also a member of the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes (CCBFC) Joint Task Group that proposed changes to reference the S716 EIFS Standards in the National Building Code of Canada.

  • 10:00am - 10:30am
    Networking Break & Exhibits

  • 10:30am - 11:30am
    Session 31: Passive House Ventilation: Still not understood after all these years
    Barry Stephens
    Ventacity Systems

    Description

    Passive House ventilation, in the form of PHI certified efficiency HRVs and ERVs, has been making an outsized impact on building energy for a long time. And yet, the "V" in HVAC is still not fully understood. At the same time, there are work-arounds being utilized to include conventional HRVs and ERVs in Passive House projects. With these systems in place for twenty years or more, their impact is far reaching for meeting energy goals, decarbonization, and climate impacts.

    This session will dig deep in to the impact of VHE HVAC (Very High Efficiency HVAC) on a building's system COP, and the resultant EUI of those buildings. With extensive case studies, data, and demonstrations, this session will shed light on this most important element of all Passive House projects. And in the push to meet Healthy Building standards, this has never been more important.

    Speakers

    Barry Stephens
    Ventacity Systems
    Read Bio

    Barry Stephens
    Ventacity Systems

    Barry Stephens is the Northeast Region Sales Manager for Ventacity Systems, Inc. He joined Ventacity, a startup manufacturer of very high performance, Passive House certifed HRVs and ERVs, as well as advanced control systems, in March 2016. Prior to joining Ventacity he spent 15 years at Zehnder America, Inc as the National Sales & Marketing Manager, and later as Business Development & Technology Director. He led the introduction of Zehnder systems in North America, and has been involved with projects across the continent. These include Solar Decathlon teams, NZE homes, Passive House projects, and other very high performance buildings. He has presented at conferences across North America since 2010.

  • 10:30am - 11:00am
    Session 32A: Embodied Carbon: Beyond Cradle-to-Gate
    Alejandra Nieto
    ROCKWOOL

    Description

    The focus on sustainable building materials, embodied carbon and of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are becoming standard considerations when it comes to product specifications and procurement. While EPDs are a tool to guide informed decisions, understanding the inputs and outputs of the lifecycle assessment are critical. This presentation will review how EPDs are developed and the different types of EPDs available in the market, through the lens of building insulation materials. It will also explore how the different stages of a products lifecycle, beyond cradle-to-gate, can contribute towards creating a circular built environment.

    Speakers

    Alejandra Nieto
    ROCKWOOL
    Read Bio

    Alejandra Nieto
    ROCKWOOL

    Alejandra's role at ROCKWOOL as Sustainability Manager is defining and implementing sustainability strategy and initiatives, ensuring the development of high performance stone wool insulation products with the lowest embodied footprint. Her role includes managing the sustainability profile of ROCKWOOL products through certifications and listings, keeping to date with policy and regulatory work on the topic of life cycle assessment and decarbonization, and working with industry leaders to drive the use of low carbon sustainable products. Her background also includes building science and building materials expertise, focusing on low carbon and energy efficiency design.

  • 11:00am - 11:30am
    Session 32B: Energy efficient façade anchors: an envelope focused building approach
    Sajas Ahmed
    Longboard Architectural Products Inc.

    Description

    This presentation aims to look at utilizing high efficiency façade anchors and prioritizing building envelope improvements, from a design and practical viewpoint.

    By reviewing façade anchor product development, examples of deployment, key challenges and solutions will be explored and real-life examples will be used to deepen the understanding of the envelope first approach to construction. From difficulty in early-stage coordination to mockup and testing challenges, we’ll share key lessons throughout the process to provide a unique insight into the reality of utilizing energy efficient façade anchors which could help with making better decisions by designers and builders.

    Speakers

    Sajas Ahmed
    Longboard Architectural Products Inc.
    Read Bio

    Sajas Ahmed
    Longboard Architectural Products Inc.

    Sajas is a Product Designer and a Certified Passive House Designer with Longboard Architectural Products. He incorporates Dieter Rams’ design principles to develop innovative solutions for architectural spaces that encompass refined aesthetics alongside exceptional structural and thermal performance. His breadth of work involves a divergent design approach, iterative prototyping, physical testing, and a significant amount of collaboration with industry experts to create efficient, sustainable, and resilient product manufacturing. With a passion for building spaces that enhances mental and physical health of occupants and the environment, Sajas believes in sustainability through thoughtful design and execution. He is persistently involved in presenting designs and innovations to builders, vendors, and architects utilizing a variety of tools, resources and visualizations to support clear, actionable solutions of complex concepts.

  • 10:30am - 11:00am
    Session 33A: Thicker IGUs Enable a New Path to Passive House
    Greg Clarahan
    LiteZone Glass Inc.

    Description

    New thicker insulating glass units make possible very high window insulating values. Thicker LiteZone® IGUs can surpass PHI arctic and cold climate requirements with high heat gain IGUs. Alternately PHI cold climate requirements can be achieved using LiteZone® IGUs with UG=0.299 W/m2*k and SHGC as low as 0.151 to minimize energy requirements year-round, without the costs to control overheating in the summer.

    This technical presentation explains why LiteZone® embraces thicker IGUs for ultra high performance and how thicker IGUs can be installed in a wall without traditional frames to reduce costs and thermal transmission while achieving an attractive minimalistic aesthetic.

    Speakers

    Greg Clarahan
    LiteZone Glass Inc.
    Read Bio

    Greg Clarahan
    LiteZone Glass Inc.

    In 1986, Mr. Clarahan co-founded and became the President & CEO of a high-performance insulating glass, window, and curtain wall manufacturing company which he managed for 24 years. Determined to improve window insulating values with a new paradigm for glass unit construction, Mr. Clarahan founded LiteZone Glass Inc. in 2014. His mission was to complete the development of and commercialize LiteZone®, a next generation insulating glass unit that he invented and is now in commercial production.

  • 11:00am - 11:30am
    Session 33B: Tackling Window Pain: Understanding the benefits of high-performance fenestration
    Michael Bousfield
    Cascadia Windows & Doors

    Description

    As jurisdictions across North America introduce more stringent building energy performance standards (BEPS)—such as the BC Step Code and Seattle 2018 update—developers, architects, and contractors are left wondering the best way to meet the new benchmarks while controlling costs. This balance can seem daunting, especially when it comes to incorporating manufactured components, such as windows. Fortunately, a general understanding of the impacts of high-performance fenestration can help keep a project on track.

    Speakers

    Michael Bousfield
    Cascadia Windows & Doors
    Read Bio

    Michael Bousfield
    Cascadia Windows & Doors

    Michael Bousfield, technical director at Cascadia Windows & Doors, is one of North America’s most well-versed technologists in fiberglass window and door technology. Involved in developing the world’s first Passive House certified fiberglass window as well as the world’s first fiberglass window wall, Michael works closely with Cascadia’s commercial and residential clients creating custom solutions for high-performance fenestration systems.

  • 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
    Keynote speech: Scott Foster
    Scott Foster
    Enniscorthy Forum

    Speakers

    Scott Foster

    Scott Foster
    Enniscorthy Forum
    Read Bio

    Scott Foster
    Enniscorthy Forum

    From 2011 to 2022 Scott Foster was Director of UNECE's Sustainable Energy Division. Since 2022 he has worked as a senior advisor to The Enniscorthy Forum and a range of energy corporations, as a senior fellow with Boston University, and as a strategic advisor on global developments in sustainable energy. With more than 35 years' experience in energy, Mr. Foster has worked extensively with governments, industry, and international organizations on energy policy, market design and regulation, and climate change strategies. Mr. Foster's particular focus recently has been assisting energy stakeholders address the critical challenges of sustainability, technology choice, and investment mobilization. Before founding Nomad Energy Consulting in 2004, Mr. Foster was VP of Global Regulatory Affairs with AES Corporation, Senior Director for Global Power with Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA), Managing Director for PIRA’s European offices, Senior Electricity Expert for the IEA, Senior Hydro Engineer for PG&E, and Analyst for Energy and Environmental Analysis. Mr. Foster holds a BA from Dartmouth College, an MS in Civil Engineering from Stanford University, and an MBA from UC Berkeley.

  • 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm
    Hamilton Passive House Project Tour

    Description

    Tour of five Passive House sites in Hamilton, including:

    Ken Soble Tower (EnerPHit)
    Putman Family YWCA Mixed-Use Affordable Housing
    James North Baptist
    Coronation Park Apartments
    King William Modular Affordable Housing

    Additional ticket required. For more information, visit:

    https://conference.passivehousecanada.com/project-tours/