The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design’s Post

Can "Earthships" Take Off? " The buildings and construction sector is the largest emitter of green house gases, contributing 37% of global emissions." First conceptualized by Michael Reynolds, "Earthships" are off grid, energy efficient homes built using upcycled materials and run on renewable energy. A great primer on this topic. While not a panacea, it's a demonstration of viable ideas to decarbonize buildings and construction. N.B. could some automation/mechanization in construction could help make Earthships more scalable? PBS News Megan Thompson Earthship Biotecture Michael Reynolds Deborah Binder Kim Shanahan UN Environment Programme #biotecture #earthship #architecture #offgrid #decarbonization #sustainablehousing #construction #greenconstruction #futurist #trendforecasting

Chris Van Dongen, Associate - Building Envelope Specialist, recently contributed an article on redeveloping sustainability through Deep Energy Retrofits (DERs) in Environmental Journal. Specifically, Chris discusses Entuitive's work on Ken Soble Tower and how the building proves that DERs are a viable option to avoid demolition in service of making significant upgrades. DERs are a whole-building analysis and construction process with the goal of achieving building decarbonization, aimed at on-site energy use minimization (usually more than 50 per cent reduction compared to a building’s previous baseline). Read the full feature here: https://lnkd.in/gqhHdT6z #WeAreEntuitive #UncompromisingPerformance #SustainablePerformance #BuildingEnvelope #DeepEnergyRetrofits

For a firsthand look at the tremendous opportunity for energy efficiency in achieving climate action goals, I highly recommend checking out the Reframed Initiative, a new landmark study by the Pembina Institute.   It demonstrates the critical importance of deep energy retrofits in transforming British Columbia’s energy future. And by incorporating the diverse perspectives and expertise of many dedicated people and organizations working in this field, the study also demonstrates the tremendous progress we can make towards net zero by working together.   From study to action, we’re incorporating the recommendations in our real-world pilot projects underway at four multi-unit residential buildings. https://lnkd.in/gXwKZySb

"The modeling found that the higher the coverage of green roof systems, the more significant the decreases in temperatures and energy demand. When 90% of the buildings were covered with green roofs, the city's air temperature and surface temperature decreased by up to 0.54°C and 2.17°C, respectively. Meanwhile, building energy use dropped by approximately 7.7% (0.64 kWh/m2). "Green roofs help cool temperatures by facilitating evaporation through plant transpiration, which cools the surrounding air and reduces the need for mechanical cooling systems (air conditioning), lowering the overall energy demand," Prof. Santamouris says. "Additionally, the layer of soil and vegetation on green roofs provides insulation, reducing heat transfer into buildings and further lowering energy costs."" https://lnkd.in/eubcaqcz

If only!! and at last... Growing up in the seventies, we lived in a number of passive solar houses, designed and built by my father, the architect Cedric Green. He was undoubtedly ahead of his time. Now, as an architectural visualiser I get incredibly frustrated at the number of developments I work on with built with minimal energy efficiency, or concern for low carbon standards. Maybe it does cost more, but it's got to be a case of rethinking how things are done to find a way of creating efficiencies. And what price the future? #lowcarbonhomes #passivehaus #energyefficiency https://lnkd.in/ewjPASpb

Now Complete - Loyola #Residence Tower at Saint Mary's University in #Halifax earned a unique title earlier this year, upon completion of year-long #renovations. It is now the #tallest #solar-#integrated #building in #NorthAmerica. That doesn't just mean it has a lot of #solar panels; in fact, the #south-facing #wall is the #solarpanel. It's all thanks to #building-integrated #photovoltaics (#BIPVs), which is the #solarenergy #tech built into the tower's new wall. With BIPVs, any #surface that the sun touches can #generate #electricity with BIPVs, from windows to guard rails. #Construction on this $8.5 million project began in February 2023, and the wall began to #produce power in January 2024. A #year-long #wait isn't so bad, since the wall is generating enough power for the #entire building, according to Margaret Murphy, the university's vice president of external affairs. She said it even has #leftover #electricity to #redirect it to #adjoining buildings. The senior director of #facilities management at Saint Mary's, Dennis Gillis, told #CTV he hopes Loyola tower doesn't hold its new #record very long. He wants to #inspire others to integrate solar technology on their buildings. thanks for covering Gabrielle Huston #climatemitigation #adaptable #fast #circular #supplychain #placebased #integrated #colocation #space #placemaking #intergenerational #intercultural #renewableenergy #sdgs #investment #safe #NbD #housing #naturefirst #onehealth #wellbeing #regenerative #inclusive #planning #design #AQ #accessible #affordable #culturalheritage #healthybuilding #desrisk #safe #nontoxic #clean #publichealth #healthcare #education #infrastructure #airshed #watershed #leadership #cool #fairtransition #futureskills #heat #harvest #model #affordable #qli #student #staff #resilientcommunities #RQ https://lnkd.in/gvvNQZ83

Building electrification charges forward! 🏘 ⚡ 📈 Despite recent news out of Berkeley, today's market incentives and a variety of state and local policy pathways are accelerating the construction industry's move towards all-electric homes and apartments that aren't reliant on polluting fossil fuels. Check out Architectural Digest's article below which includes insights from RMI's Denise Grab. https://lnkd.in/gPggfWNQ #HeatPumps #Electrification #CleanEnergy #EnergyEfficiency

This Net Zero #Retrofit Pilot will upgrade 50 homes to improve resident wellbeing and minimise carbon dioxide emissions.   Cambridge City Council have been running an extensive retrofit programme over the last few years, which has seen 100s of homes upgraded with external wall insulation, triple glazed windows and new doors. These upgrades deliver huge benefits to residents and significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions, but more work is needed to achieve the Councils #NetZero target.   So, looking ahead, Cambridge City Council commissioned ECD Architects to the Net Zero Retrofit Pilot to explore the technical and financial feasibility of achieving Net Zero Operational Energy in council homes through the delivery of a wider range of upgrades. These include higher levels of insulation, airtightness measures, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, air source heat pumps and photovoltaic panels.   The design process followed the principles of EnerPHit, an international retrofit standard that is recognised to deliver on targets at the design and construction stages. The result is a deep ‘whole house’ retrofit that will facilitate the changeover from gas to electric heating without increasing energy bills. The roof mounted photovoltaic panels will generate electricity to offset the use of grid electricity, to meet – or in some cases get very close to - the Net Zero Operational Energy target.    Monitoring and evaluation of these pilot homes will provide valuable evidence to inform the development of future decarbonisation works to council homes in Cambridge. #NetZero #architects #environment #decarbonisation #socialhousing ECD Architects Ltd

Keegans is proud to support Cambridge City Council’s Net Zero Retrofit Pilot! 🏡🦺 For this pilot project for Cambridge City Council, following the PAS 2035 process was key to making sure the pilot tested out all aspects that will be needed for future roll-out of deep retrofit projects across the council’s housing stock. Retrofit Assessors from Keegans visited every household in the project scope, to carry out a condition survey, occupancy assessment and EPR. Using this information, the Retrofit Coordinator from Keegan carried out Full SAP energy modelling and used this information to create and improvement option evaluation (IOE) from each dwelling and Medium Term Improvement Plan (MTIP), recommending combinations of measures to meet the client’s retrofit goal of net zero operational energy. Working alongside the Retrofit Designer from ECD Architects Ltd, the Retrofit Coordinator carried out detailed energy modelling of the proposed measures, to provide a predicted SAP rating for each home.  In this case, all homes are predicted to reach a high EPC band A and a number have a SAP rating of 100+ which indicates that the home is generating more electricity annually than the grid electricity required for heating, hot water and ventilation. Ashley Simms, Bryan Simpson, justyn tiptaft #NetZero #Retrofit #Sustainability #EnergyEfficiency #GreenBuilding #PAS2035 #HousingInnovation #SAPModelling #SustainableHousing #EPC #RenewableEnergy #RetrofitCoordinator #HousingRetrofit #Keegans

Passive House is a green building energy standard that is the most reliably effective approach to designing healthy, resilient, and comfortable buildings. Starting with an optimized enclosure, it focuses on insulating a building to reduce heating and cooling loads and ultimately reduce energy usage and carbon emissions by up to 80% compared to a standard code-compliant building. It is performance based, and not prescriptive, which allows flexibility in design. This house, designed before we were a Certified Passive House Designer, implements many of the same principles: a super insulated buidling envelope, air sealing, and renewable energy sources, in this case, geothermal heating and cooling. The view's not bad, either! #KdCArchitecture #EastCreek #ModernHomes #eastcreekproject #passivehouse #northfork #eastend #merylkramerarchitect #mkarchitect