Ian Johnson
Username
Ian Johnson
Proposer First Name
Ian
Proposer Email
ian@croft.haus
Proposer Last Name
Johnson
Proposer Company/Organization
Croft
Proposer Phone
(201) 788-7963
Proposer Job Title
Principal
Boston 2023 Areas of Focus
Proposed Session Description
With the immediate need to capture and store carbon, we are studying our buildings and the materials we use to build them with greater intensity and discernment than ever before. Many products being used in high performance and Passive House buildings today fall short - as they have extensive amounts of embodied carbon, are laden with harmful chemicals, and aren’t easily recycled or disposed of. In addition to avoiding and/or storing greater amounts of carbon, we’re also aiming to build with more focus on energy efficiency, health & safety of occupants, and overall longevity of the building. So, we must ask ourselves, how do we build high performance homes that address ALL of these issues?
Learning Objectives
- Participants will become familiar with the broad code and policy issues that can support progress toward carbon capturing buildings.
- Participants will be able to outline options for making building enclosures of more natural materials.
- Participants will be able to describe common challenges regarding material selection and assembly.
- Participants will be able to formulate a variety of more safe and natural high-performance strategies that are appropriate to a variety of climate zones.
Has this session been presented before?
No
Session Format
Presentation followed by facilitated discussion or breakout groups
Recommended Length
60-minute session
90-minute session
Strongest Content Connection - Boston 2023
Anything else you'd like to tell us about your session proposal?
Embodied Carbon focus on materials...
Reviewer 1
Chase, Tom
Proposal #
123
Committee Decision
Rejected
Presenters
Full Description
This presentation will cover basic building science of high performance enclosures using a natural insulation material: straw. Straw is a carbon-storing material that can revolutionize the way we build, not only through its own high performance characteristics, but also through what it teaches us about testing and validating new biomaterials for use in the construction industry. Utilizing this amazing material, we can integrate high performance materials to support healthy material selections, airtightness, moisture management, and durability. The presentation will demonstrate that the highest levels of performance, carbon storage, resilience, and building health can be reached using straw and a few key high performance materials. We will also show how to deploy this miraculous material with practical examples, details, and assemblies that make sense. Specific focus on straw durability as it relates to potential fire and moisture issues will be addressed.