The 21st Annual International Passive House Conference, hosted by the Passive House Institute, is coming to Vienna April 28 and 29, 2017, at the Messe Wien conference center. The passive house design concept is a rigorous energy-efficiency standard that reduces the ecological footprint by using less energy to heat and cool the building. The first passive house was built in 1991, and since then the practice has become more widely used and accessible. The theme for next year’s conference is “Passive House for Everyone.”
As the host of the conference, Austria has fully embraced the energy-efficient building model. It was home to the first residential passive house community of 800 apartments and the tallest passive house office tower of the time (it opened in 2013), and the province of Lower Austria requires every new public building being built to meet the Passive House Standard.
“The Passive House concept is a sustainable and cost-optimal solution for the Nearly Zero Energy Building,” said Wolfgang Feist, director of the Passive House Institute. “Because it functions everywhere, it is an opportunity to implement climate protection objectives with a high level of living comfort at the same time. The associated added value is attractive especially for small and medium-sized businesses.”
During the conference, there will be exhibitions and presentations by passive house experts, as well as visits to passive house buildings in Vienna. Presentation proposals are being accepted through October 1.
