Living Future 2015

We will present collective views of future buildings and the potential for groundbreaking technologies and trends that could revolutionize the built environment. The target audience is forward thinkers in the building industry and related fields. During this session, we will explore a future where buildings are self-aware and continuously anticipate and react to changes in weather, time of day, and occupant needs to optimize energy and water use and contribute to a cleaner environment. Vision inspires greatness. A future building vision will help us develop innovative strategies and solutions towards a future where buildings become truly assets.

Efficiency is the thread that connects Living Building Challenge with Zero Energy and Passive House building. The predictable reductions in energy demand that Passive House delivers make it a powerful way to reach net zero energy and achieve LBC’s energy petal. In urban contexts with limited space for solar panels, this “conservation first” approach can be mission critical. Session participants will learn about the building assemblies and modeling tools that practitioners use to build resilient über-efficient buildings. As case study, presenters will examine UniverCity, the sustainable urban village near Vancouver BC that combines LBC, Zero Energy, and Passive House approaches.

Creating a (successful) community is not a certainty; the ultimate success of it depends on the people who choose to live there. How do you create this place where people WANT to live? How the design of the net zero energy Grow Community on Bainbridge Island, Washington, creates the basis for a shared sense of purpose, bring residents together toward common lifestyle goals and creating a strong sense of place and connection within a neighborhood.

Our standing session on the latest NZE certified projects is always packed to the gills, a bit raucous, and tons o' fun.  We will do a deep dive on the Sacred Heart Schools Stevens Library, located in the heart of Silicon Valley, as well as Matt Grocoff's Mission Zero House, the retrofit of a 1901 farmhouse in wintry Ann Arbor, Michigan.  We will also hear from additional NZE certified projects announced at the Big Bang Dinner the night before.  Brad Liljequist will ask edgy and thought provoking questions about this new crop - their hopes, glories, trials and tribulations, in depth technical details, and how they achieved the Net Zero Energy.  

Point Energy and Landbank recently evaluated options for achieving “net zero” at a proposed 777,000 SF development, which would be the largest yet. Alexis Karolides, Principal, Point Energy and Scott Jacobs, CEO, Landbank Investments, LLC will present real challenges faced by “even the greenest” developers. We’ll present each option’s pros, cons, costs, “greenness,” and newness relative to current buildings. In this Level 200 session, participants will assess & select best options & discuss how to address market barriers, and how society, our laws, and the marketplace, can signal us to make the right choices.

If you’re reading this, you’re already “in.” The problem is you’re in a very tiny minority. Most Americans, though concerned about sustainability, are simply not doing much about it. They largely want corporations, and to some degree government, to solve the problem for them so they can continue behaving and buying as usual. This session will dig into the barriers for action and how to overcome them, as well as how to translate sustainability into the language of quantified business value to engage individuals, organizations and senior decision makers.