Climate Resilient Design for Passive House

Elsa Mullin
Proposal Status
Ready for Committee Review
Username
Elsa Mullin
Proposer First Name
Elsa
Proposer Email
emullin@thorntontomasetti.com
Proposer Last Name
Mullin
Proposer Phone
(207) 272-5753
Proposer Job Title
Project Director
Proposed Session Description
With climate change resulting in increased heat and precipitation, coastal flooding, sea-level rise, and other hazardous events, the built environment is experiencing increased vulnerability, damage, and disruption. The goal of resilient design is not only to protect critical project components from current climate hazards but also to reduce downtime following a hazardous event and to prepare for and adapt to future challenges. This session will review three Passive House case studies, evaluating design solutions that incorporate the results from both passive survivability and climate resilience assessments. Each case study identifies unique, site-specific climate-related shocks and stresses which pose challenges and provides a framework for identifying opportunities for risk-informed, future-focused resilient, and sustainable design solutions. The session will identify performance-based design parameters for individual project components including, but not limited to, building envelope, structural systems, MEP systems, and site design, considering both passive survivability and resilient solutions, while also maximizing opportunities for co-benefits and future climate adaptation.
Why is this session important?
Current building codes consider only past events, but our passive survivability and climate resilience assessment approaches also consider projected changes to establish both current and future site-specific hazard levels based on the project’s useful lifespan. This session provides an overview of a performance-based design approach that goes above current building code requirements rather than a prescriptive code-based approach. By taking into account future climate change projections, the projects are set up for success both on day one as well as into the future.

Comments

Tristan Grant Mon, 04/05/2021 - 5:29 pm

MAYBE Sounds interesting, three case studies exploring proactive resiliency based design w/ Passive House projects. be interested in what the case studies are, 3 multi family? single family? any mixed use? Interested in what forms of analysis of future climate risks & hazards are used. Compare against "Best Practices, Comparing Two Adjacent Multi-family Passive Houses" to see which may be a better passive house case study

Susan Farber Mon, 04/12/2021 - 5:13 pm

ROUND 1 DISCUSSION: Case studies - needs more details (MF, mixed-use, what?). Passive House, resilience, passive survivability has already been explored. Is there anything new here? Climate resilience is important. Relevant now: Mitigating mold. How is collaboration involved? Include policy? // Similar to "Best Practices" proposal - don't need 2 sessions on passive house case studies. NYC building codes surpass PH. We're looking at the other proposal at Beach: Passive House. (Note: "Best Practices" Beach Green Dunes content has been rejected, so duplication concerns are moot.) Bring in Climate Resiliency Design Guidelines. Beach Green: Steven Winter, architect Mark; they have data. // Want to have resiliency session focused on OPERATIONS. Would be interested in knowing what case studies.

Tristan Grant Wed, 05/19/2021 - 7:39 am

The two speakers are Elsa and Julie, both with Thorton Tomasettie in the Sustainability and Resilience areas. They will be discussing three case studies, one in Brooklyn, San Fran, and Maine. The case studies will explore site specific shocks that were explored in the design process, and explore how these shocks were planned for within a Passive House context (like high thermal mass floors that double as flood load resistant flooring, high performance glazing that is flood resistant at ground floors. etc.). Focus on three different building assett types, in different climates, with different risk assessments. Flatbush school, an affordable housing Multifamily in SF, and a Coastal Studies center in Harpswell maine with bridge access. Discussed ways to ground & connect the Maine case study in applicability to NYC and urban built environments. Discussed bringing in related local laws in NYC and how planning for resilience will become standard process for teams performing rehabs & new construction.  I think this is a great presentation w/ 3 unique case studies and an interesting and relatively novel lens the speakers are bringing. 

Susan Farber Mon, 05/24/2021 - 12:05 pm

ROUND 2 DISCUSSION: 3 case studies, 3 different asset groups. Focus on overlap of practices. Talked about ways rural case study can be applicable to NYC. Found ways to connet rural back to urban (NYC island, maine isolated) Regulatory aspects also discussed with eye on resilence. Little bit of variety with case studies and had a lot to bring about how they assess risks. Julie will not be available day of presentation. Maybe a panel? Caution about not presenting too many case studies and going shallow. Question about themes of collaboration and equity. Collaboration is featured in analysis, but not explicit and both speakers from same firm. Maybe bring someone else in from another firm or company. Maybe have this session virtual since Julie can't travel to NYC. But she could be possibly present for Q&A.

Diversity and Inclusiveness
Passive survivability and sustainability approaches aim to slow the impact of energy and resource consumption and put the world back into balance, while resilience looks for ways to manage and thrive in an unbalanced world. Using these approaches is critical to achieving social equity as many of the most vulnerable neighborhoods and geographical regions to climate change are also those which are low-income and under-resourced.
Learning Objectives
Understand the approach for assessing both current and future site-specific climate hazards to develop resilient design solutions.
Identify the ways in which resilient design can reduce the impact of hazardous events and support solutions for passive survivability.
Specify performance-based design parameters for individual project components including, but not limited to, building envelope, structural systems, MEP systems, and site design.
Describe how project-specific design interventions can facilitate much larger goals including, slowing the impact of energy and resource consumption, thriving in an unbalanced world, and increasing the equity of housing across different demographic and geographic landscapes.
Has this session been presented before?
No

NYC 2021 Areas of Focus

Target Audiences Level of Expertise
Level 2 - Some prior knowledge helpful.
Session Format
Interview or structured conversation among panelists
Debate between opposing viewpoints
Recommended Length
60-minute session

Strongest Content Connection - NYC 2021

Comments about your speaker roster
Elsa is a project director in sustainability and is an expert in Passive House consulting. Julie is a VP in the Resilience practice.
Reviewer 1
Ziv, Dorit
Reviewer 2
Grant, Tristan
Curator
Grant, Tristan
Proposal #
129
Session #
203
Committee Decision
Accepted

Presenters