The AECB annual conference is a real highlight in many a green building professional’s diary. Conference is a bit of a misnomer as it conjures up images of shiny suits and dreary presentations in lacklustre venues or expensive conference centres. Whilst Architects may dominate the delegate list there is a good smattering of builders, heating engineers, plumbers, electricians self builders to help keep it real.

This year we meet in Bradford in a new ‘environmentally friendly’ building which will no doubt be critically examined by delegates sniffing out greenwash. Architect Mark Elton once described the AECB conference as a bullshit free zone which is as good a summary as I can think of.

There will be presentations on most aspects of sustainable building and I will be trying to say something fresh about water and plumbing design with Cath Hassell of ech2o. I will also be doing a double act with Lee Fordham of Architype on the performance of the Passivhaus schools in Wolverhampton including lessons learnt and incorporated in the latest one, Wilkinson.

Alan Clarke and Andrew Farr’s presentation on ventilation should be very good ‘Goldilocks and the art of ventilation – not too much, not too little but just right’.

if that isn’t your thing then speaking at the same time is Architect Gernot Vallentin, one of several international guest speakers.

As part of the Sunday excursion at the 2013 International Passivhaus Conference my tour visited four projects including this very nice passivhaus school complex.

The school was designed by Baufrösche Architekten (Building Frogs Architects) and completed in 2010 at a cost of €17m. The total treated floor area (TFA) by Passivhaus methodology (useful internal area) is 5,540m2.

Continue reading →

Passivhaus Designer course in Plymouth!

Passivhaus is growing rapidly* and is becoming an essential skill for architects and consultants. Fast track your understanding and professional recognition with the CarbonLite Passivhaus Designer course. Two weeks of expert training from the UK’s leading Passivhaus practitioners, followed by an exam to become an internationally recognised Certified Passivhaus Designer.

Why take the CarbonLite course in Plymouth?

• Warm’s expertise on the doorstep, it’s an ideal opportunity share knowledge and contacts with the UK most experienced Passivhaus certifiers
• Visit Warm’s Passivhaus office refurb in action.
• Visit Totnes Passivhaus, one of the first UK Certified Passivhaus refurbishments
• Course based at the exciting and acclaimed National Marine Aquarium conference suite. Highly experienced trainers.

This course is written and taught by leaders in UK Passivhaus development: amongst others, Mark Siddall, Bill Butcher, Alan Clarke and Nick Grant not to mention our WARM staff who have supported over 200 buildings in low energy design, and are Passivhaus certifiers.

Date: 29th April-3rd May, 20th-24th May and exam 14th June.

Cost: £1999 + VAT for AECB members, (£2349 for non-members)

Can’t do the whole course? Why not take individual modules such as Introduction to Passivhaus? See the AECB website for details. Bookings can be made through Sophie Phillips on 01752 542546 or training@peterwarm.co.uk

*Ecohaus Internorm alone tell us they are quoting 450-500 passivhaus units within the next 12 months.

Low energy contemporary wall lights for Ledbury Passivhaus

New design

Ruth borrows our battery drill to fit her plaque.

Colin Chetwood and I have experimented with various options for low energy wall lights over the years including the mirror lights developed for Architype’s Hereford office. We also designed optimised timber pelmet lights for a housing development in Oxfordshire. What we didn’t have was a good economical solution for  basic wall lights using standard CFL or mains voltage LED lamps.

Customisable shade

After a good amount of experimentation we have designed a very simple solution that can be adapted for a wide range of applications. Our first installation uses shades with Japanese paper made from mulberry leaves. This looks very Zen but kid’s art and colourful abstract drawings are equally suitable. The paper or art work is sandwiched between two polycarbonate sheets and simply clipped into the backplate. The fitting is designed to minimise the chance of seeing the tube even when installed on a stairwell. The generous form allows plenty of light onto the wall and ceiling. The shade density can be chosen to adjust the amount of light bleeding through.

Mike Whiffield who built the Ledbury Passivhaus has since ordered wall lights for his own recently completed Passivhaus. These have been supplied with integral pull switches to allow additional control.

The wall light is manufactured in the UK by Colin Chetwood. For contact details see our collaborative website LockLamp.com. There is an A4 and an A3 version and custom models are possible.