International passive house conference kicks off

The winners of the Passive House Award 2021 will be announced this Friday 10 September. The jury of the international architecture competition has already selected 20 finalists. Within the framework of the 25th International Passive House Conference, the Passive House Institute will present a total of 14 awards to the architects of the highly efficient and impressive buildings. The awards ceremony will take place at the historic city hall in the German city of Wuppertal. It can be followed live online together with the opening plenary and the jubilee celebrations of the conference. Tickets to the conference are still available at www.passivehouseconference.org. 

A total of 87 certified Passive House and Enerphit projects from around the world were submitted for the Passive House Award 2021. An international jury has selected 20 finalists from eleven countries, with a focus on cost-effectiveness, innovation and renewable energy supply in addition to their architectural quality. The awards will be presented as part of the 25th International Passive House Conference. On account of the pandemic and current incidence levels, the conference will take place largely as an online event for the participants.

The Passive House Institute will lead the awards ceremony at the venue Historische Stadthalle in Wuppertal jointly with the energy agency of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the co-organiser of the 25th International Passive House Conference. A total of 14 awards will be presented. The awards ceremony will be held on Friday, 10 September 2021 from 6.45 pm (CEST) onwards and will be broadcast live on the conference website for all those interested.

High architectural quality

"The Passive House Award shows that in addition to being a leading sustainable building standard, the passive house standard is being implemented with a high architectural quality and in many different ways. Extremely energy efficient construction and retrofitting is indispensable with regard to effective action against climate change", explains Sabine Stillfried of the Passive House Institute and organiser of the Passive House Award 2021. Following the past editions in 2010 and 2014, the architectural award is being issued for the third time. The details of the finalists will later be published in a book. Extensive information on the 20 international finalists can be found already now on the website of the Passive House Award.

Top-class speakers

The inauguration of the 25th International Passive House Conference on Friday morning and the jubilee celebration in the evening will also be broadcast live online. Andreas Pinkwart, minister of economic Affairs of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, and lord mayor of Wuppertal Uwe Schneidewind will inaugurate the conference. This will be followed by speeches from Dirk Mobers of the Energy Agency of North Rhine-Westphalia and Ernst Uhlig, who is the president of the Chamber of Architects North Rhine-Westphalia. Among other things, climate researcher Diana Ürge-Vorsatz will present findings of the latest report of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). During the opening plenary, the Passive House Institute will show ways towards a climate-neutral building stock and will present a feasible scenario for the transition to a sustainable energy supply of buildings.

Jubilee celebration

Following the Passive House Award ceremony, festivities will take place for the triple jubilee: the world's first passive house in Darmstadt, Germany, is now 30 years old, the Passive House Institute is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and the International Passive House Conference is taking place for the 25th time. The Passive House Exhibition, which features components for energy efficient construction and retrofitting in an online exhibition hall, is already open to the public and free of charge. It includes virtual guided tours and direct contact with the manufacturers.

16 sessions and an excursion

During four days, the 25th International Passive House Conference will present a total of 16 sessions with the focal theme, 'passive house — the key to sustainable buildings', including various topics such as new builds and retrofits to the passive house standard around the world, ecological building materials, ventilation concepts, and summer comfort. The conference languages are English and German. The programme also includes an online excursion to interesting passive house projects in Wuppertal and its surroundings. Tickets to the conference and the latest information can be found at www.passivehouseconference.org and on social media under the hashtag #25intPHC.