During NAPHN's 2020 global conference, the organizers created the first-ever Owner's/Developers Roundtable where building owners and developers shared the reasons they chose to pursue Passive House. Local Pittsburgh celebrity, Grant Ervin, Chief Resilience Officer, City of Pittsburgh, joined global peers Emma Osmundsen, Managing Director, Exeter City Living Ltd, Exeter, UK; Garrett Scott, Scott Subaru, Red Deer, Alberta Canada; Alex Bernstein, Bernstein Real Estate, New York, NY and Ed Kolic, President, Eighth Avenue Development Group, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in a discussion about their individual decision processes to pursue Passive House. This panel shared how they get the most out of a Passive House approach whether they choose to certify or not.
Alex Bernstein shared how important it was to build a team with Passive House experience, "I've spoken to two or three other New York City developers that had started passive house projects and stopped them because they used their traditional architects and their general contractors (GCs) had no experience."
Many of the developers talked about how they market Passive House buildings differently today and focus on indoor air quality, thermal comfort and quietness. Ed Kolic, Eighth Avenue Development Group, estimated that "...maybe 20% now want to come and look because it's Passive House" and continued with "despite the pandemic, we're still selling presale units, million-dollar townhomes...it's a key differentiator."
For additional nuggets of wisdom from our esteemed panel, download the attached NAPHN e-book, titled "Owner's Roundtable #2: How Owners Do It: Making Passive House Good Business."
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