Update: Thank you to our Pro Tour attendees and sponsors for making this tour a success. You can see photos from this event here.

Join NESEA as we tour the new Soul Fire Farm Program Center, a nearly all-electric commercial building constructed from straw-insulated panels. The project team, led by New Frameworks, will share the story of this project, including history, design strategies, and materials.

Attendees on this autumn tour will learn about the history of this project and how it meets Soul Fire Farm’s programmatic goals, while also reflecting the project team’s deep commitment to low-carbon building.  

This is a commercial structure with the design detailing and aesthetics of a custom residential project. The building was designed to reduce energy loads and facilitate a campus-wide transition to photovoltaic energy. The building is constructed with straw-insulated panels. Features include: a high performance enclosure; nearly all-electric HVAC; heat pump-driven heating, cooling, and hot water systems; architectural features for natural daylighting and solar shading; root cellar for food storage; LED lighting; energy recovery ventilation; and a wood stove as a resilience measure to reduce reliance on fossil-based emergency backup heat. Additionally, materials used on this project were selected for non-toxic and low embodied carbon criteria.

The building reflects a major and critical infrastructure improvement to an agricultural campus that has been years in development from very humble roots. It reflects years of development for a BIPOC-owned nonprofit organization, and showcases the process and product of integrating social and ecological mandates at a fundamental level for a modestly-funded organization.

After an opening presentation from our hosts, we’ll tour the building, taking a deep dive into specific aspects of the project, and then close the day with a reception and a chance for a Q&A.

Schedule

If you have questions about this event, you can contact us via protours@nesea.org.