AIBD California Society 2014 Annual Conference, April 2nd – 4th

Enough for today about past events — this one is still on the horizon. Next week, in fact!

In San Bruno, about 2 miles from where I sit as the crow flies, Skyline College’s Solar and Building Science department will be hosting the California Society of the American Institute of Building Designers‘ annual conference, April 2-4. This year’s theme is “Building Design + Building Science.” Joining keynoters Rick Chitwood, Gavin Healy, and Dan Perunko, I am honored to be playing a major role in this gathering of designers and builders from throughout the state. I’ll be teaching all day Thursday, April 3, concluding with a keynote address entitled, “The Persistent Pursuit of Practical Passion.” (I confess, I have a silly streak a mile wide … though I promise the content will be completely serious.)

All are welcome, not just AIBD members — come one, come all architects, general contractors, subcontractors, engineeers, HERS raters, BPI analysts, interior designers — this is for you if you’re noticing that the topic of building science seems to be gaining in importance along with energy performance!

California state agencies are mobilizing to get all of the State’s new homes to be zero net energy (ZNE) by the year 2020, and all new non-residential buildings to be ZNE by 2030. In order to accomplish this ambitious goal, all of us in the building industry are going to have to become much more savvy about building science. This event will be a great opportunity to get a jump on your competition — or hear the latest developments, if you’re already working at the intersection of good building design and superior building performance.

View the full conference schedule here. Register here.

The post AIBD California Society 2014 Annual Conference Focuses on Building Science appeared first on House Talk US.

Campers, this has been an extremely busy week or so for Northern California greenies, and it’s got me on a “squared” jag (see last post on BW2) …

Yesterday I had the pleasure of participating in Passive House California’s “Building Carbon Zero California” at the delightful Cocoanut Grove Ballroom in rockin’ Santa Cruz.

This is another event not to be missed next year (or sooner?!). Headliners were Alex Wilson of Building Green Inc. and the Resilient Design Institute (RDI), and Nick Grant of the UK Passivehaus Trust. Other speakers included a great selection of impressive Passive House designers, builders, and analysts — and I finally got to visit Midori House during the sundowner tour. It’s every bit as gorgeous and inspiring as I expected!

Midori House energy use before & after

Passive House CA founder, consultant and consummate mover-shaker Bronwyn Barry — a driving force behind this phenomenal event — invited me to close the day by offering my opinion (always a favorite request!) on a range of building certification regimes: Passive House (naturally), LEED, Living Building Challenge, Net Zero, and GreenPoint Rated. Curious to know what I think? I’ll be happy to share my slide deck! (Click here for slides: PHCA-SantaCruz-25Mar2014)

Ann Edminster at Building Carbon Zero Monterey Bay

120 green building leaders and innovators in the built environment gathered last weekend at BuildWell 2014 in Sausalito, CA. Kudos to Ecological Building Network‘s Bruce King, co-producer Sarah King, and their dedicated band of volunteers for producing a brilliant event. The speaker line-up included keynotes from Architecture 2030‘s Ed Mazria, science wiz John Warner from the Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry, and ecological footprint creator Mathis Wackernagel of the Global Footprint Network — visionaries all.

Highlights — besides the keynotes — included talks by at least two dozen inspiring individuals. Organizations represented included the USGBC, International Living Future Institute, Healthy Building Network, Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, the US EPA, University of San Francisco, University of Santa Clara, BuildingGreen Inc., Gensler, Arup, Webcor Builders, Pankow Blue, and a host of other leading AEC firms.

Hosted at the gorgeous Cavallo Point resort (a star in its own right), this intimate meeting of the minds was the antithesis of the Greenbuild crush, where you’re lucky to spend 90 seconds with your favorite gurus. With most of the participants staying on premises, there were countless impromptu meetings and gabfests on porches, in hallways, and by the firepits.

Invite yourself to BW16 — sign up for the mailing list at http://www.ecobuildnetwork.org/contact.

Better yet, join the organizing team or become a sponsor for this exclusive event!

BuildWell 2014 Attendees at Cavallo Point, March 22, 2014

World SB14 Barcelona, October 28-30, 2014

World SB14 Barcelona

The World SB[Sustainable Building]14 Barcelona Conference has announced the opening of the call for papers; SB Challenge 2014; and the Universities Competition, “Powering Transformation.” Please visit http://www.wsb14barcelona.org/ for full details. HouseTalk’s Ann Edminster will be serving on the conference’s Scientific Committee.

The post World SB14 Barcelona Conference, Oct. 28-30, 2014 appeared first on House Talk US.

Gas & Electric will be hosting our 4-part class series on retrofitting existing homes to achieve deep energy reductions while targeting zero net energy. Here’s the schedule:

• May 9: Overview – yours truly (Ann Edminster)
• May 23: Mechanical Systems – Rick Chitwood
• May 30: Enclosure – Rick Chitwood + Gavin Healy
• June 6: People & Plug Loads – Chris Calwell + Chris Hunt

Register here.

Come Join us at Habitat X

Tuesday, July 30, through Friday, August 2, 2013