Across Canada, provincial and municipal levels of government are also raising performance requirements and establishing roadmaps for reaching Net Zero energy and/or carbon performance goals similar to those mandated by the Passive House standard. Examples include the City of Toronto Zero Emissions Buildings Framework, City of Vancouver Zero Emissions Plan for New Buildings, the BC Step Code, Ontario?s cap and trade program, the National Energy Code for Buildings and Canada?s Build Smart Program. Collectively, these policies are laying the groundwork for the design of Passive House buildings beyond residential to new large-scale institutional, civic, and commercial projects in Canada.
Until now, most completed Passive House projects in Canada have been residential?the majority being single-family homes, and the largest being a six-storey apartment building in Vancouver. But that landscape is about to change, and Passive House is about to scale up dramatically. Perkins+Will is among those firms committed to help bring the country?s first generation of large-scale, complex civic, institutional, and commercial Passive House buildings to life. Now more than ever, the firm sees the importance of designing climate-resilient buildings with low carbon emission profiles for its clients. Buildings must be designed to withstand acute shocks, extreme weather events, power outages, and utility rate escalation, and Passive House offers a solution to address these issues. In anticipation ...