Opening Plenary: Getting Good Projects Done
The earliest Passive House and net-zero projects were almost exclusively single-family homes. As the buildings get bigger and the uses more varied, the challenges and hurdles increase exponentially. Our opening plenary will showcase path-breaking large-scale projects across Massachusetts. Jana Silsby from Perkins Eastman will present the MLK School in Cambridge as a case study, and Ellen Watts from Architerra will present on a range of projects, from the Field Headquarters of the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife in Westborough to Clark University’s LEEP Center. Finally, Seth Federspiel from the City of Cambridge will present a vision of what can happen when a whole municipality – not just an individual building – aims to be high-performance. The plenary will close with a discussion among the presenters and a Q&A with the audience. 

Optimizing HVAC for Passive House and High Performance Buildings
Design for large Passive House buildings requires HVAC system efficiency, and must also deal with many challenges controlling humidity, airflow, central vs distributed systems and costs. Marc Rosenbaum will moderate this discussion with Dan Nall and David Madigan on what is working, what is exciting for the future, and what it takes to keep projects on target for success.

Training the Trades for Passive House Success
In-depth discussion on windows, air sealing, thermal barriers and more keys to passive construction. Featuring Patrick Muzilao from European Architectural Supply, Kennith Kiefer from SIGA, and Jim Materkowsky from The Green Cocoon. Moderated by John Rodenhizer.

Transforming the Practice of Architecture
The Passive House training and certification process imparts a heightend appreciation for the way our buildings perform from an energy, thermal comfort, and durability standpoint. It can also be an introduction to an arsenal of new tools, as well as an influence on firm culture. In this session, two passive house veternes, Steven Baczek and Jesse Thompson will discuss the ways that Passive House has transformed thier architectural practices. 

Practitioners Leading the Community: The New York Experience
Chris Benedict’s Knickerbocker Commons project in Brooklyn was just the second affordable housing structure in the country built to the Passive House standard. In this session, Chris will discuss how she and a small group of fellow New York practitioners have changed the way New York City thinks about quality buildings and how committed, visionary practitioners can get good projects done. 

Community Leading the Practitioners: The Cambridge Experience
High-performance buildings are good for communites: the put fewer demands on existing infrastructure, they attract forward-looking businesses and workers, and they are essential to meeting GHG emission reduction goals. How can a municipality not only support, but encourage and inspire prospective developers to aim higher? How can competing priorities and benefits be reconciled in high performance building design? Seth Federspiel's job places hom right in the middle of this conversation on a daily basis, and in this session he'll be leading a lively discussion on the topic. 

A Deep-Dive into Details: Opening Plenary Follow-Up
This break out session will provide symposium attendees an opportunity to dive into the details with Ellen Watts and Jana Silsby regarding thier projects - to ask questins and dig deeper than we were able to during the opening plenry. 

Plus networking opportunities and vendor showcases.