UK Passivhaus Awards 2021

Get your Passivhaus projects (and monitoring data) ready! The 2021 UK Passivhaus Awards are open for entries.

Much has changed since the previous UK Passivhaus Awards ceremony in 2018 – notably the declaration of a Climate Emergency and a sharpened awareness of the complexity, scale, and speed at which we need to act. It is estimated that we shall build the equivalent new construction of Paris every week over the next 40 years. We must act now to meet the challenge of building net-zero developments.

Passivhaus buildings provide beautifully comfortable internal environments and help deliver net-zero targets by drastically slashing energy & subsequent carbon emissions from buildings. After celebrating a decade of the Passivhaus Trust in 2020 and following a hiatus due to Covid-19, the UK Passivhaus Awards will return during 2021. A growing number of fantastic Passivhaus projects convinces us to expect a great crop of entries this year.

How to Enter

Check you meet eligibility requirements
Decide which category you are entering. (A project may only be entered in one category.)
Complete the A4 Phase 1 submission slides
Register online
SUBMIT by 20 April 2021.

Criteria

Phase 1 submission requirements

For detailed submission requirements, requested formats, and templates, please download the following Phase I submission guidelines. All submissions will be judged on the following:

Performance, & user feedback
Architectural design, & aesthetics
Innovation, & lessons learned

Phase II Submission Requirements

All finalists are required to deliver a 10-minute project presentation at the online awards ceremony, and produce a 2-minute project video. Templates will be available shortly after finalists are announced in May 2021. A speaker from each project team MUST be avaialble to present the scheme at the online awards ceremony.

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Eligibility requirements

Schemes must be completed and certified to Passivhaus/EnerPHit standard. PHI Low Energy Buildings are not accepted.
Proof of performance: Schemes must be able to outline their summer comfort and ventilation strategy (see slide template for more details). We are ideally seeking performance data for at least 1 winter and 1 summer cycle. Certified projects which have data for a 6-month minimum time period may also be considered.
Previous UK Passivhaus Award winners may NOT enter, but schemes that have been shortlisted for a previous UK Passivhaus Award are invited to enter again.

There's no limit to the number of projects a single applicant may enter.

Benefits of Entering

The UK Passivhaus Awards are the only dedicated awards for Passivhaus in the UK.
All shortlisted projects in the awards will be promoted as exceptional examples of their sector through all the Passivhaus Trust marketing channels and the media.
The shortlisted projects will be featured prominently on the Passivhaus Trust website and will be featured in a special edition of the Passivhaus Trust newsletter
All finalists will be given a platform to present their project to a large audience at the free to attend virtual awards ceremony in late June/ early July.
UK Passivhaus Award winners will feature in an online exhibition at the 2021 UK Passivhaus Conference.

Judging

All submissions undergo a two-stage judging process. The awards jury select the shortlist from the phase I submissions. Finalists announced in May 2021.

Shortlisted finalists that progress to phase II present their projects to a virtual audience at the online UK Passivhaus Awards Ceremony.

1 award winner in each category is chosen by a PHT member vote.
1 award winner across all category finalises is chosen by the public in a People's Choice Award.

Costs

Phase I: The awards are FREE to enter for all certified Passivhaus and EnerPHit projects.

Phase II: A 2-minute video will be required as part of phase II submissions. Shortlisted entries have the opportunity to work with Regen Media to produce videos at a cost of £350. View previous presentations here.

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Timeline

FEB 2021	Call for submissions opens
20 APR 2021	Phase I submission deadline
MAY 2021	Judging*
MAY 2021	Shortlist revealed*
JUN 2021	Phase II submission deadline*
JUN 2021	Online member voting opens*
30 JUN - 07 JUL - 14 JUL 2021	Awards ceremony & announcement of winners