Passivhaus Perspectives: collaboration is the key to resilience against Climate Challenges
In advance of November's UK Passivhaus Conference 2026, gold sponsor & PHT Patron Aluprof share system manufacture insights and why this an important moment for the industry.
As the construction industry gathers for the 2026 UK Passivhaus Conference, we find ourselves at a pivotal intersection. The dual imperatives of the climate emergency and fluctuating living costs have shifted high-performance building from a specialised niche to the top of the national agenda. As Managing Director of Aluprof UK, I am proud that we are sponsoring the conference for the fourth consecutive year. We recognise that achieving the UK’s ambitious net-zero targets requires more than just well-meaning policy, it demands rigorous, proven methodologies delivered at scale across both new builds and complex refurbishment projects.
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"Passivhaus matters now more than ever, not just for reducing heating demand, but for delivering holistic, evidence-based building performance across all levels." Wojciech Brozyna, MD, Aluprof UK |
This is a watershed moment for our industry. It is time to translate decades of specialised knowledge into mainstream practice to deliver resilient, future-proof buildings nationwide. The conference theme 'Scaling Affordable Comfort and Resilience' aligns perfectly with our mission as a systems manufacturer.
Why Passivhaus still matters
When I first began working with high-performance façade and fenestration systems, Passivhaus was often viewed purely through the lens of extreme winter energy conservation - a standard reserved for bespoke, one-off residential builds. Today, my thinking, and the broader market’s perspective, has profoundly evolved. Passivhaus matters now more than ever, not just for reducing heating demand, but for delivering holistic, evidence-based building performance across all levels.
As extreme weather intensifies, designing buildings to prevent summer overheating has become just as vital as winter insulation. The Passivhaus standard bridges the "performance gap" between design ambition and real-world efficiency - delivering optimal indoor air quality, acoustic control, and thermal stability. This approach was proven at scale with Purdown View at UWE Bristol, the largest Passivhaus student housing scheme in the UK. By deploying ultra-efficient Aluprof window and facade solutions, the project achieved rigorous Passivhaus performance metrics, creating a cool, comfortable, and climate-resilient environment for over 900 students.
UWE - Purdown View Student Accommodation by Stride Treglown. Image Adrian Toon.
As a system house, I see that clients are no longer satisfied with theoretical energy models; they demand verifiable results. When we engineer and test systems like our MB-104 Passive (achieving Uw values as low as 0.53 W/(m²K)) or our versatile MB-79N system (which also reaches Passivhaus standards with triple glazing), we aren't just chasing a certificate. We’re delivering real-world thermal performance. We are engineering resilience. It remains the gold standard for long-term quality, ensuring that the buildings we construct today will not become the expensive, carbon-heavy retrofits of tomorrow.
The industry's biggest challenge
Over the past five years, the landscape of high-performance building has shifted dramatically. The most significant change I’ve witnessed since the early 2020s is the transition of Passivhaus from a grassroots architectural movement to a core requirement driven by institutional investors, local authorities, and stringent Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria. We are no longer just convincing clients of the rationale; we are collaboratively solving the execution.
Greenhaus, Residential development for Salix Homes by Buttress Architects. Image Adrian Toon
We are undeniably reaching a tipping point. However, this rapid scaling presents our biggest challenge: capacity. The industry is grappling with a skills shortage across the entire supply chain - from specialised design and energy modelling to on-site execution. Furthermore, navigating the constraints of adaptive reuse can often feel like a straitjacket. Yet, retrofitting existing structures is crucial for reducing embodied carbon. Take the Grade II-listed Rugby Radio Station, recently transformed into Houlton School. The project required a careful dialogue between the needs of the present and the needs of the past. Overcoming industry risk-aversion through collaborative design is essential for progress in these complex scenarios.
Client trends are also shifting heavily toward whole-life carbon. True environmental stewardship means looking beyond operational energy to address embodied carbon and stock renewal. To support this, system houses must innovate at the material level. Aluprof achieves this by manufacturing high-performance profiles using low and ultra-low carbon aluminium powered by recycled scrap, supported by our active membership in the Council for Aluminium in Building (CAB) Closed-Loop Recycling Scheme.
To scale up successfully and meet these demands, we must industrialise the delivery of high-performance buildings, moving toward standardised, rigorously tested systems that de-risk the construction process for main contractors without compromising architectural freedom.
Moving from niche to mainstream
Accelerating this transition from a commendable niche to the industry norm requires radical collaboration and transparent knowledge sharing.
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"No single architect, contractor, or manufacturer can scale Passivhaus in isolation. We must foster an ecosystem where technical insights, cost-saving efficiencies, and even project failures are shared openly." Wojciech Brozyna, MD, Aluprof UK |
A pivotal example of this collaborative approach is the increasing adoption of Passivhaus in large-scale commercial and multi-residential projects. But high performance must also adapt to unique project constraints. Consider the breadth of contemporary challenges, from the massive scale of the Purdown View Passivhaus student accommodation, to the sensitive refurbishment of old mill buildings in the Manchester area into modern residential and office spaces, and the complex heritage transformation of the derelict Bodmin Jail. These diverse briefs call for everything from scaling extreme thermal efficiency across hundreds of rooms, to deeply decarbonising our industrial heritage, and preserving the aesthetic qualities of a historic ruin. Meeting these demands requires extensive collaboration with system manufacturers to seamlessly integrate high-performance, airtight glazing into cutting-edge modern façades, adaptive reuse projects, and challenging historic masonry.
Whether achieving Passivhaus certification with our highly insulated MB-SR50N HI+ curtain wall system or engineering bespoke security solutions, engaging system manufacturers early in the RIBA stages is paramount. It allows design teams to optimise daylighting, integrate automated natural ventilation, and evaluate embodied carbon impacts long before site works begin. This early technical consultation prevents the costly redesigns that occur when high-performance requirements are treated as an afterthought.
Policy plays a crucial role in cementing this shift. Clear, long-term legislative trajectories, such as the evolution of the Future Homes Standard,empower manufacturers to invest in R&D and scale up production lines with absolute confidence. By aligning our technical innovations with the conference’s theme of Scaling Affordable Comfort and Resilience, we can demonstrate that Passivhaus is not a premium luxury reserved for bespoke builds, but a baseline necessity for a resilient, equitable built environment.
Research Acceleration and Demonstration Building (RAD), University of Nottingham: Lewis & Hickey Architects. Image Adrian Toon.
Why we've gone for gold
Ultimately, Aluprof is sponsoring the 2026 UK Passivhaus Conference because we want to be an active participant in this vital conversation. We are here to listen to the real challenges faced by practitioners on the ground and to share our material science expertise to help solve them. We hope delegates leave with actionable technical knowledge, new collaborative partnerships, and a renewed sense of collective purpose.
What gives me immense optimism about the future of building performance is the passion and ingenuity of the upcoming generation of construction professionals. They view high performance, circularity, and low embodied carbon not as stretch goals, but as non-negotiable baselines. Over the next five to ten years, true success for our industry would look like Passivhaus principles becoming practically invisibly embedded so deeply into standard building regulations, supply chains, and procurement processes that they simply form the foundation of all UK architecture.
Passifest Focus: Aesthetics, Energy Efficiency, and Carbon
To set the stage for these national conversations, Aluprof UK has partnered with the Passivhaus Trust UK to host a dedicated pre-conference event titled "Aesthetics, Energy Efficiency and Whole-Life Carbon in Façade Design" on Tuesday, 13 October 2026 at Building Centre in London.
This session brings together architects, engineers, and facade specialists to address one of the most pressing questions facing modern building envelope design: How can design teams strike the perfect balance between architectural aesthetics, extreme energy efficiency, and whole-life carbon reduction without compromising on performance or buildability? By exploring real-world facade integration strategies prior to the main conference, this joint event aims to equip delegates with actionable insights into optimising both embodied and operational carbon in high-performance enclosures.
UK Passivhaus Conference
The UK’s foremost gathering for Passivhaus design, delivery and policy is back – and after almost a decade, this year it’s coming back to London.
On 18 November, the Queen Elizabeth II Centre will host the most ambitious UK Passivhaus Conference yet: a full day of technical depth, live debate and genuine community – bringing together designers, contractors, developers, policymakers and advocates at the sharp end of high-performance building.
Expect keynotes that challenge, sessions that go deep, and a programme built around the questions the industry is actually asking.
Further information
UK Passivhaus Trust Conference 2026
UK Passivhaus Conference sponsors
A smart investment
For housing providers and local authorities, adopting Passivhaus or “Passivhaus-informed” principles isn’t just a compliance exercise — it’s a proactive investment in resident wellbeing, building longevity and operational resilience.
By embedding these principles from the design stage, social landlords can prevent the very hazards Awaab’s Law seeks to eliminate, while also meeting the health, comfort and energy ambitions of the Healthy Homes Standard. The result? Fewer complaints, happier residents, and homes that perform as brilliantly as they look.
Building better, for good
The Healthy Homes Standard and Awaab’s Law signal a powerful shift: a national commitment to homes that nurture rather than harm. Passivhaus has been delivering exactly that for over 30 years — evidence-based, people-centred, and future-proof. passivhaustrust.org.uk+1
As the UK raises the bar for housing quality, Passivhaus provides the blueprint to achieve it — a tried, tested and trusted route to healthy, safe and resilient homes for everyone. Read about the key principles of what makes a Passivhaus a robust solution. Discover more in the Passivhaus Overlay to the RIBA Plan of work on how and when to apply the principles during key project milestones.26th August 2026
Get involved with the UK Passivhaus community
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