NESEA Events

Event Name Date Description
BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Solar Powered State Agency Headquarters Friday, September 13, 2019

This early autumn Pro Tour showcased the new Massachusetts Fish & Wildlife Headquarters, a 45,000 square foot, net-positive LEED Platinum facility.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Yestermorrow Pro Tour in Vermont Friday, August 23, 2013 to Sunday, August 25, 2013

NESEA and Yestermorrow Design/Build School partnered up to host an intensive (and intensely awesome) 2.5 day learning experience and high performance buildings tour in Vermont. Led by Andy Shapiro of Energy Balance, Inc, participants were able to interact with some of the region’s leading high performance building practitioners, delving deeply into the details of outstanding projects, asked questions and got feedback on pressing building questions.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Second Pro Tour of the First Certified Passive House in Wayland, MA Friday, November 6, 2015

Due to the overwhelming enthusiasm for the August Pro Tour of this site, NESEA was thrilled to be able to offer a second Pro Tour of the first Passive House in Wayland! The tour of this 2,500 square foot home was led by hosts Mike Dutra and Nicholas Falkoff from Auburndale Builders, Michael Hindle, CPHC, and Donald Grose, the project designer.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Net-Positive Living in a Multi-family Urban Setting Friday, May 5, 2017

This Pro Tour took attendees to the Highland Street Homes Project, two energy-efficient duplex homes designed to look like a traditional Georgian Colonial and its companion carriage house. The featured homes are part of Boston’s E+ Green Building Program, which is promoting regenerative multi-unit residential buildings and bringing energy and environmentally positive homes to the city.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour ZNE Living in Mid-Coast Maine Friday, November 9, 2018

This NESEA Pro Tour featured a single-family, net-zero energy home designed to meet ambitious performance metrics in a cold, coastal climate. The hosting team from Benjamin & Company shared the building and design strategies that made this project a reality.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour "Pretty Good" Net Zero Home and Barn in New Hampshire Friday, November 17, 2023

Join us for a Pro Tour of this recently completed single-family home in southern New Hampshire, built to provide comfortable, net zero living using low VOC materials and finishes.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour ZNE Modular + Passive New Construction + DER Friday, September 20, 2019

This September event included two projects: a newly constructed net-zero modular small house, designed to address housing needs in the wake of extreme weather events, and a 3 unit multi-family, originally built in 1870, which has recently been expanded and retrofitted to PHIUS standards.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Bensonwood Pro Tour Friday, December 5, 2014

On a crisp, sunny day in December, NESEA took a Pro Tour of two sites, one in Putney, VT and one in Walpole, NH. In Putney we got a tour of a home that feature accelerated site construction of a high performance shell, and in Walpole we toured the Bensonwood shop and discussed the virtual carpentry and fabrication process.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Pro Tour of the First Certified Passive House in Wayland, MA Friday, August 7, 2015

Over 70 people joined NESEA on this Pro Tour of the first Passive House in Wayland!

The tour of this 2,500 square foot home was led by hosts Mike Dutra and Nicholas Falkoff from Auburndale Builders, Michael Hindle, CPHC, and Donald Grose, the project designer. The tour concluded with a reception, and a presentation entitled "Going Foam-Free in Passive Construction."

CEUs: 2.5 AIA LU/HSW, 2.5 GBCI, and certificates of participation were available

Member registration: $25 | Non-member registration: $35

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Virtual Pro Tour: Passive House Retrofit Thursday, June 18, 2020

NESEA's first virtual Pro Tour, featured an award-winning Passive House retrofit of a three family building in the Hudson Valley. During this interactive event, participants learned about the goals of the project and heard directly from the professionals who made it a reality. Just like an in-person Pro Tour, this event mixed presentation with small group conversation, giving participants the chance to meet project team members and one another.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Cape Cod Hemp House Friday, May 20, 2022

May's Pro Tour showcased a recently built hemplime-insulated home on Cape Cod.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Virtual Pro Tour: Campus Built for Living Building Challenge Certification Friday, January 29, 2021

NESEA's first virtual Pro Tour of 2021, hosted by Kaplan Thompson Architects, featured a recently completed non-profit campus built for Living Building Challenge certification. The project team shared the key strategies used in pursuit of the certification, including material selection, mechanical systems, and the design and construction approach.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour LEED Platinum Urban Community Development Friday, December 7, 2018

The final Pro Tour of 2018 featured the first stage of a planned 331-unit project in East Boston, designed for LEED Platinum certification.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour 12 Building PHIUS Village in the Finger Lakes Friday, October 25, 2019

This Pro Tour featured an ambitious new development: a first-of-it's-kind, PHIUS certified affordable housing project featuring 96 units across 12 buildings.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Noble Home Pro Tour Friday, February 6, 2015

Over thirty people braved a chilly yet sunny afternoon to attend the Noble Home Pro Tour. We visited two sites constructed by Noble Home - maker of high-quality, custom-built passive solar kit homes - in Colrain and Shelburne, MA. In Colrain we toured a demonstration kit home that promotes sustainability through an affordable, super-insulated shell, and in Shelburne we visited a passive solar expansion of a family home designed for hands-on homeowners.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Pro Tour of a Passive House School and Net Zero Home in Falmouth, ME Friday, December 4, 2015

On December 4th, NESEA hosted a BuildingEnergy Pro Tour in Falmouth, ME of a modular, net zero home and the nation's third Passive House-certified school!

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Vermont's First Multifamily Passive House Friday, July 21, 2017

This Pro Tour will feature Elm Place, a recently-constructed, 30-unit building which is poised to become the first multi-family Passive House structure in Vermont.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour ZNE Development on the VT/NH Border Friday, November 8, 2019

NESEA's November 2019 Pro Tour was of an affordable community housing community built for PHIUS certification. This community was built to meet the needs of a non-profit housing developer wanting durable, healthy, and attractive housing on a limited budget.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Pro Tour: Affordable Passive Multifamily in Maine Friday, April 15, 2016

This Pro Tour will featured one of the largest Passive housing projects in the United States, that also manages to meet the aggressive affordable housing cost cap set forward by the Maine State Housing Authority.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Virtual Pro Tour: Southern Vermont Passive House Friday, October 2, 2020

NESEA kicked off the fall 2020 Pro Tour series with this interactive event, hosted by studioWEBSTER. It featured a newly constructed Passive House located in southern Vermont. Participants met the project team who made the house a reality.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Multi-Family Housing: Under Construction Through Final Product Friday, November 15, 2019

This Pro Tour gave attendees the unique opportunity to see similar projects in very different stages of development in the same event.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Martha's Vineyard Pro Tour Friday, April 3, 2015

On a warm (ish) day in April, NESEA organized a Pro Tour of two sites designed and built by South Mountain Company and Island Housing Trust, located on Martha's Vineyard MA. The tour showcased healthy, durable, comfortable homes that offer valuable lessons for building high-performance and affordable structures in the 21st century. The tour will concluded with an educational workshop with Matt Coffey, John Abrams and Marc Rosenbaum of South Mountain Company, and Philippe Jordi of Island Housing Trust.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Pro Tour: 2 Geeks, 2 Houses on Martha's Vineyard Friday, April 1, 2016

On April 1, NESEA kicked off the 2016 Pro Tour Series with an event on Martha's Vineyard. After braving the rain to arrive in Vineyard Haven, attendees spent the afternoon touring two recently completed high-performance houses. The first house was a completely new structure, purpose-built to incorporate high performing energy systems and materials. The second house was a deep energy retrofit, where an existing house was reworked to become a net zero home. Attendees heard about the different approaches to these projects, which required different strategies to achieve the same energy goals... Full Description

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Virtual Pro Tour: North America's Largest Affordable Passive House Friday, November 6, 2020

This virtual Pro Tour offered participants a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most ambitious PHIUS+ projects in New York City: an innovative fifteen-story building providing 154-units of sustainable housing. NESEA worked with hosting firm and Passive House consultant and verifier Bright Power to offer this follow-up event to 2019's sold out tour of this site.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Portland's First PHIUS+ Affordable Multifamily Housing Friday, April 7, 2017

On April 7, 2017 NESEA held a tour of Bayside Anchor, a recently-completed 45 unit apartment building in downtown Portland, ME. The building is a joint venture of the Portland Housing Authority and Avesta Housing, designed by Kaplan Thompson Architects and built by Wright-Ryan Construction. The project originated as the winning entry in “Lowering the Cost of Housing,” a 2013 national competition organized by Deutsche Bank.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Affordable Senior Living in a Mid-Rise Passive House Friday, October 20, 2017

This Pro Tour will feature Corona Senior Residence, an 8-story building which is poised to become the first senior housing development in New York built to Passive House International Standards.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour NZE Living in the Hudson Valley Friday, December 6, 2019

NESEA's tour of a two-family, NZE residential project located within walking distance to the Cold Spring Metro-North stop!

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Pro Tour: Two Living Building Challenge Centers Friday, August 5, 2016

With construction on these two buildings recently completed, the August 2016 ProTour was a chance for participants to see the finished products, after occupation and with systems up and running. The tour included a walk-through of both sites, as well an overview of the LBC certification process, and a Q & A with members of the team that made these projects a reality. Because there are currently only eight certified LBC projects in the world, this tour provided a rare opportunity to hear from people working to the meet the LBC criteria.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour LEED Platinum, Resilient Elementary School in Central New York Friday, August 4, 2017

NESEA returns to central New York for a Pro Tour of the LEED Platinum (pending) MacArthur Elementary School. This new construction, high performance school is the result of a collaborative, stake-holder driven design process led by Ashley McGraw Architects. Pro Tour attendees will learn about the history of the building and the efficiency and resiliency strategies that were integrated into the project.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Environmental Education Center Built for LBC Zero Energy Certification Friday, September 14, 2018

This Pro Tour featured the Massachusetts Audubon Society’s new net zero environmental learning center. During this event, attendees learned how the team at Maclay Architects approached balancing the energy and conservation goals of this project while designing a space that best supports the needs of the occupants.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour 2019 Pro Tour Launch Party Thursday, March 21, 2019

NESEA officially unveiled the schedule for the 2019 Pro Tour series at our second annual Pro Tour Launch Party. Guests joined us for an evening of networking, appetizers, and drinks as we showed off our great lineup for 2019.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Placetailor Pro Tour Friday, March 20, 2015

Join NESEA for a Boston-area Pro Tour hosted by Placetailor. This Pro Tour will showcase two different projects, including the Hawthorne Youth Community Center and the Lamartine Lofts, located on the cusp of Jamaica Plain and Roxbury, MA. Placetailor tour guides will talk about high performance structures, community engagement and education, and the realities of working in tight urban spaces.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Pro Tour: ZNE Home in Central NY Friday, June 17, 2016

Our June 17 Pro Tour in Pulaski, NY featured one of the first net zero homes in Central/Western NY. This isn’t your typical net zero design – traditional stick building elements were combined with the age-old craft of timber framing to form the bones of the project. Natural lighting, on-site PV array, and a design allowing winter passive solar heat gain and summer shade are just the tip of the iceberg.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Virtual Pro Tour: 1890s Farmhouse to Super Insulated Commercial Space Friday, November 13, 2020

NESEA's interactive Pro-Tour, hosted by Garland Mill, featured a deep dive into the conversion of a 1890s farmhouse that has been transformed into a super insulated building providing space for arts and education nonprofits in Littleton, NH. Just like an in-person Pro Tour, this event mixed presentation with small group conversation, giving participants the chance to meet project team members and one another.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour DER Grist Mill & Net Zero Home Friday, November 3, 2017

Attendees of this event were able to tour two very different projects: a newly construction net-zero house and a former grist mill, built in 1850, that has been converted into a residence and offices through a phased deep-energy retrofit process.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Passive House Certified, Affordable Multifamily in the Bronx Friday, December 15, 2023

Join NESEA for this September Pro Tour of a Phius-certified passive midrise bringing 53 units of affordable housing to the Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx. During this tour, led by our hosts from Curtis + Ginsberg Architects, our attendees will learn about the design strategies and innovative energy-efficiency and sustainability measures that made this project possible.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Brooklyn Brownstone DER Friday, December 13, 2019

Join NESEA for our final Pro Tour of the 2019 season, featuring a deep energy retrofit of a brownstone in Sunset Park – a retrofit that was performed with occupants in place!

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour 2015 Zero Net Energy Building Award Winner Pro Tour Friday, May 1, 2015

Thirty-five people gathered on a sunny spring afternoon for a Pro Tour of the home that won the 2015 Zero Net Energy Building Award, located in Greenfield, MA. The tour was led by builder and homeowner Spartan Giordano and lead carpenter Adam Heintz, and concluded with a reception, presentation and Q&A session.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Pro Tour: Deep Energy Retrofit of a Historic Mill Friday, May 20, 2016

The Abbot Mill complex consists of 13 former woolen mill buildings dating from the late 1800s, now on the National Register of Historic Places in Westford, MA. This Pro Tour showcased the six years of work that it took to rehabilitate this historic industrial property into a modern, high-performing residential complex.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Award-Winning Passive House & NESEA Annual Meeting Friday, August 18, 2017

This event features a Pro Tour of an international award-winning home built to Passive House standards, designed to serve as a teaching tool for sustainable building while seamlessly blending into the historic neighborhood that surrounds it. Registration for this event includes lunch, the Pro Tour, and NESEA's Annual Meeting.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Virtual Pro Tour: Mid-Rise Passive House & Urban Density Study Friday, March 12, 2021

NESEA's virtual Pro Tour, featured a mid-rise project built to Passive House standards that includes 30 units of affordable housing and an early education center. Curtis + Ginsberg Architects, the hosting firm, were joined by additional members of the team to share design strategies, mechanical systems and energy use, sustainability issues, and the developer perspective behind this award winning project.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Fine Homebuilding Magazine's NZE Teaching Home Friday, March 30, 2018

Thanks to everyone who joined NESEA for the first event of the 2018 BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Series, featuring a net-zero-ready home on the Vermont/New Hampshire border. This production-built home is situated in a small development of net-zero-ready houses, all with a focus on affordability and universal design principles.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Large Scale, State-Owned CLT Building in Massachusetts Friday, December 8, 2023

Join NESEA for our final Pro Tour of 2023, featuring Massachusetts’s first publicly funded, large scale state-owned CLT building.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour All-Electric, Affordable Passive House Development in Boston Friday, April 26, 2024

Join NESEA for the first Pro Tour of 2024, a new construction passive house project that will bring 50 units of affordable senior housing to the community of Roxbury, Massachusetts.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour First Rhode Island Passive House Pro Tour Friday, April 17, 2015

Over 50 builders, students, architects, engineers, contractors and real estate professionals joined NESEA on a Pro Tour of the first Passive House in Rhode Island on Friday, April 17. The tour was hosted by builder Steve DeMetrick, and led by Steve DeMetrick, the architect Steve Baczek, the Passive House rater John Rodenhizer and the Passive House consultant Dan Roy. The event concluded with a reception and workshop led by homeowners and commercial real estate appraisers Brad and Jordan Hevenor on the topic of appraising high performance buildings.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Pro Tour: Melpet Farm Net Zero Affordable Housing Community Friday, May 6, 2016

This Pro Tour will took attendees to the Melpet Farm Residences, a recently completed affordable housing community in Dennis, MA. These homes were built to near Net Zero standards despite the intensely regulated pricing of affordable housing units.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour New England's Largest Passive House Friday, June 9, 2017

Join NESEA for a tour of the Distillery North, the largest Passive House in New England: a cost-competitive 30 unit apartment building located in South Boston. This is the first phase of a three phase project that will eventually span three buildings, 260,000 sq.ft, and an entire city block.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Passive House Coastal Campus Pro Tour Friday, August 5, 2022

This Pro Tour explored the Schiller Coastal Studies Center, a scientific village that is the new home for Bowdoin’s Marine Science program.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour Virtual Pro Tour: Historic NYC Firehouse to Modern Passive House Friday, April 16, 2021

This virtual Pro Tour offered participants a behind-the-scenes look at a unique renovation in Manhattan: the transformation of a historic firehouse into 4 units of PHI-certified passive housing.

BuildingEnergy Pro Tour New NZE Multi-Family Housing Friday, April 20, 2018

Attendees of this Pro Tour learned how this land was transformed from the site of a single-family condemned house to the site of 4 combustion-free, net-zero duplex homes. The team behind this infill project detailed the history and lessons learned, offering this as an example for municipalities looking for ways to infill for community, housing, and tax support without extending infrastructure.

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