How Can Alexandria’s Green Building Policy Help Us Meet Our Climate Goals? – 6/26/2024
Alexandria, Virginia is updating its green building policy regarding energy use in new residential and commercial buildings. Theresa Backhus and Marshall Duer-Balkind from the Institute for Market Transformation discuss how communities in our region and elsewhere are doing the essential work of reducing energy use in new buildings to meet greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals.
Net-Zero Energy Schools: Lessons for Alexandria? – 2/29/2024
Alexandria, Virginia is making major new investments in updating and expanding its schools in the midst of what City Council has acknowledged is a climate emergency. John Chadwick, AIA, formerly Assistant Superintendent of Facilities and Operations with Arlington Public Schools, and Wyck Knox, AIA, a Principal with VMDO Architects, discuss their involvement and experiences in building three Net-Zero Energy schools in Arlington, Virginia.
Tall Buildings, Small Energy Bills: Passive House at Scale – 11/4/2022
Large buildings can be extremely energy-efficient, and this webinar will review examples of four such buildings meeting Passive House standards–including the award-winning 425 Grand Concourse building in New York which just had its ribbon-cutting ceremony. The architects and developers involved in making these buildings happen will discuss their design, construction, costs, and benefits.
Affordable Housing: The Case for Passive House Design and Net Zero Energy – 3/2/2022
Alexandria, Virginia needs both an increased supply of affordable housing, and dramatic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from its built environment. Timothy McDonald, President and CEO of the Philadelphia design/build firm Onion Flats, LLC, shares how Passive House design can achieve both objectives without increasing costs, and what he has learned since his firm began creating certified Passive House affordable housing projects in 2012.
Ithaca, NY’s Building Decarbonization Plan – 1/6/2022
Ithaca, NY is launching a program to electrify and decarbonize all of its buildings by 2030, the first such effort of its kind in the U.S. This webinar features a presentation on how the city plans to accomplish this by Luis Aguirre-Torres, the Ithaca’s Director of Sustainability, and by Tommy Freeman with the private energy infrastructure development and financing firm Alturus, which is partnering with the city on the initiative.
Build Our Future letter to Alexandria City Council regarding FY2023 budget – 12/30/2021
Build Our Future letter to Alexandria City Council candidates – 10/22/2021
Build Our Future analysis of potential zero-energy district approach to Landmark Mall development – 5/17/2021
High Performing Buildings and Districts – 5/5/2021
Shanti Pless from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory discusses the importance of energy master planning to help develop high-performing buildings and neighborhoods, and Jonathan Arnold, President of the Arnold Development Group, describes his firm’s successful development of the Second + Delaware apartment building in Kansas City, Missouri, considered to be the world’s largest building meeting Passive House standards.
Climate Change, Health, and Healthcare Facilities – 4/22/2021
Features presentations by Jerome Paulson, MD, Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics at George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences, and a consultant to the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, and by Tim Wilson, Manager of Engineering and Energy for Gundersen Health System in Wisconsin, which is gaining widespread recognition for its achievements in reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions from its hospitals, offices, and medical facilities.
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