PassiveHouse Canada: Built in Canada: Lessons Learned from PH Projects (BC)

The PassiveHouse Built in Canada webinar series will focus on Canadian Projects all across the Country. The first stop of 2022 will be in Vancouver. Join us January 28, 2022 as present on 825 Pacific Artist Hub: the tallest Certified Passive House Commercial Building in Canada.
More information and registration here.

Session Overview: Built in Canada: Lessons Learned from PH Projects (BC)

This multi-purpose arts and culture hub, owned by the City of Vancouver, will provide affordable artist work and gallery space that is operated by a not-for-profit arts organization. The project was required to pursue Passive House Classic Certification—and use no fossil fuels—to meet the City’s commitment to build all new City-owned buildings in compliance with the City of Vancouver’s Zero Emissions Building Plan. This plan is closely coordinated with the BC Energy Step Code, creating a new level of consistency and predictability across local governments. This provides the construction industry with clear timelines for the implementation of future building codes which helps designers, contractors, and manufacturers develop innovative products and practices, while also preparing the individuals in these crucial roles to update their skills to meet new building performance requirements.

825 Pacific Artist Hub is a seven-storey plus basement, non-combustible construction that came with new challenges due to high-rise requirements for mechanical and building enclosure design. This webinar will dive deep into the site-built opaque building exterior wall system and punched window installation alignment, reviewing design choices that impact enclosure constructability balanced with good thermal performance.

Another unique aspect of the project was the exploration of how to develop a modular wall system that could meet Passive House performance requirements suitable for high-rise buildings. This exploration was, in part, the impetus for development of a high-performance modular wall system that is now ready for market.

Learning Objectives:

• Passive House Classic building performance metrics and certification.
• Lessons learned for high-rise building enclosure and mechanical systems.
• Window installation design – finding a balance for constructability and performance.
• How to reduce building enclosure condensation risk to meet occupant expectations. Use of 3D Analysis to determine effective thermal resistance, evaluate condensation risk, and produce more accurate psi and chi values of critical thermal bridge locations.
• Site-built opaque building exterior wall system suitable for high-rise buildings.
• Introduction to high-performance modular wall systems.

This session will be presented by Cody Akira Belton , Cameron Laidlaw, Padraig McMorrow (IBI Group and Solomon Fung (Integral Group) .