The climate benefits of using timber are becoming better understood by owners committed to sustainability goals, but the procurement and implementation process still present challenges. Hear from practitioners from three newly constructed Mass Timber projects: the Dept. of Unemployment Assistance building in Brockton, MA; a 7-story Passive House multifamily building at 11 E. Lenox, Boston; and the Bristol County Agricultural High School.

This session will share insights from three research projects focused on greenhouse gas impacts of efficiency-related measures. How does the choice of insulation materials in new construction affect the building’s carbon footprint? What do five years of weatherization data tell us about GHG impacts of insulating existing buildings? What is the lifecycle carbon impact of using heat pumps to offset fossil fuel boiler heat when considering the electric grid, embodied carbon of new heat pumps, and heat pump fugitive emissions from refrigerant leaks? 

What factors contribute to optimizing human health both indoors and outdoors within the built environment? Creating equitable and healthy communities is a product of multi-level interventions in policy, places, and people. This panel discussion will feature Steven Winter’s Sustainability Director & LEED/WELL/EGC expert highlighting public health research implementation into project designs throughout the building sector.  With “boots on the ground” experience, she will present key strategies for protecting and promoting health in a socially equitable and cost-effective manner.

This session details the design and construction challenges inherent in a net zero energy remodel and addition to a modest single family residence in Arlington, Massachusetts, completed in winter 2021. The project team sought practical, low cost, and reproducible solutions to meet project goals of net zero energy, minimizing embodied carbon, and electrification. We aspire to broaden the toolset of owners, designers, and builders by sharing our approaches to permit approval, structural design, building envelope, window specification and installation, and HVAC.