Passivhaus – pioneering experiment or a market-ready solution to climate change and fuel poverty?

If you are interested in delivering cost efficient Passivhaus and keen to learn more, SE3D’s Tomas Gaertner will be holding a one-day seminar on 17th July with the RiBA in Birmingham.

Passivhaus has become the go-to low energy standard if you believe the professional magazines and press and even Labour’s Manifesto calls for Passivhaus to be supported. However, the actual uptake has been slow and still, 10 years after completion of the first successful UK Passivhaus project, only about 1% of new-build projects are being delivered to Passivhaus standard.

Is Passivhaus only a costly luxury and in times of a housing crisis can/should we afford it? Is the slow uptake due to a shortage of skilled contractors or is it simply too restrictive and compromising when it comes to architectural design, buildability and usability?

SE3D’s Tomas Gaertner will be sharing his learning from having been involved exclusively with Passivhaus in the UK from the beginnings 10 years ago and on all scales – private domestic, education, commercial, leisure and care facilities. We found Passivhaus design is straightforward and everyone can design and construct a Passivhaus – the technologies, materials and training for designers and trades are readily available.

The actual challenge comes down to costs and financial viability. There is a common miss-perception that Passivhaus as a technology is too expensive and that the lack of experienced UK contractors is to blame. The truth is, on-cost for Passivhaus entirely depend on 3 factors: designers experience, the stage the standard is implemented and how a project is tendered – the experience of the contractor in fact is almost irrelevant when it comes to costs or successful delivery.
Following on from last years’ hugely successful RiBA CPD seminar ‘Passivhaus:Pick and Mix’, the speaker will share his experience on how to deliver cost effective Passivhaus.

To book your place and for more info follow this link https://www.architecture.com/whats-on/one-day-passivhaus-course