Staff Top Picks 2022

Jon

The pressing issues of the cost of living crisis and ever-increasing fuel prices must be a wake-up call for housing providers and home-owners alike. This year we hope to share how Passivhaus can help to address these issues and more in the Passivhaus Social Housing events and the Self-build Passivhaus events in partnership with NSBRC. The feedback from tenants at Goldsmith Street made me especially proud, and we weren’t even directly involved in the project!

A significant uplift in Passivhaus interest is also fantastic news, from the increase in planned projects (now almost 7500 in planning) or a near doubling of PHT Membership over the last two years, through to the proposed adoption of a Passivhaus equivalent standard in Scotland and plans to provide low-energy building training to all architecture students in England.

Huge thanks to everyone who has helped make these happen over the last year – it truly has been a group effort! 

Sarah

The agreement for training of architecture students with RIBA and SCOSA has been amazing (and fingers-crossed, a catalyst for other partnerships.) 

The Trust has delivered A LOT of training in 2022 from masterclasses & technical papers to student competitions & on-demand introductory training. I’m looking forward to carrying more plans forward in 2023 – particularly training initiatives with our new education steering group.

Getting stuck into the new and improved version of PHPP10 - I need to make time to revise my book PHPP illustrated!

Yogini

It is all about projects for me; Fascinating to see so many large-scale Passivhaus projects coming to fruition– and the challenges they bring. Everyday is a learning day!

As anticipated, St Sidwell’s Point is making waves. Not only has it won multiple awards already, but it has also opened others eyes to what can be achieved. News of a handful of UK hospitals interrogating Passivhaus feasibility is encouraging.

The iterative progression at Agar Grove phased regeneration is inspiring, and there are so many 100+ social housing projects bubbling away - much to look forward to in 2023.

Kirsten

Reflecting on the 2022 technical panel & Patron member meeting at the beginning of the year we’ve achieved quite a lot! Plans are already underway for the next meeting in 2023 – I shall be sending invites out soon.

Membership continues to grow and is now the largest since the Trust began. It is encouraging to see such an interest from all corners of the construction industry.

I’m looking forward to strengthening networking opportunities online & back in the flesh – and it was great to see so many people in Exeter for the UK Passivhaus Conference.

Laura

Inviting the team to my own EnerPHit inspired barn conversion was a satisfying milestone for me this year.

Retrofit must be a priority for all in the construction industry, and I’m glad so many attended the retrofit masterclass series and are picking up on the challenges of embodied carbon (if you have not read the PHT primers – you must!)

A special shout-out to the well-considered non-domestic retrofit CISL Entopia Building, where this all comes together.

Chayley

Seeing a Scottish equivalent to Passivhaus being adopted by the Scottish Government was an inspiring end to the year and a highlight for us all. It is a hope-giving and potentially game-changing move for building performance. energy bills and climate action in Scotland. A massive well done to Alex Rowley MSP, the Scottish Government, and the entire Passivhaus community for helping to make this happen.  We have already seen positive impacts with the Scottish policy linking funding to building performance of educational buildings.

The cost-of-living crisis has obviously been on everyone’s minds this year and I found the 'How to deliver cost-effective Passivhaus' focus at the UK Passivhaus conference insightful.

Mary

From my first PHT event at the Museum of London to the 2022 UK Passivhaus Conference in Exeter, it’s been a privilege to work with a great team and fantastic meeting so many Passivhaus enthusiasts along the way! Here’s to more events in 2023.

Lynn

Getting the job! I’ve always been interested in all aspects of Passivhaus but now I'm excited to be able to be part of the PHT team.  The introduction to Passivhaus on-demand series was really useful for me to understand the fundamentals of Passivhaus standard and will help me communicate its benefits to a wider audience. Roll on 2023!

Nicci

As someone quite new to Passivhaus – I found the Passivhaus Open Days a great beginner insight and I didn’t realise the variety of projects.