Passive House Construction Tour: PUSH West Side Homes, Buffalo
Tuesday, February 20, 2024, Noon-1pm
625 West Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14213
The first Passive House building in Buffalo is nearing completion! Come tour PUSH Buffalo’s West Side Homes multi-family housing building and NYSERDA Buildings of Excellence Competition winner.
The tour will be led by Jo-Anne Charron, Project Manager at LaBella, and Rylee Noonan, Project Manager at Sustainable Comfort. This is a tour of a construction site. Appropriate flat soled, closed toe shoes are required. Hard hats and safety glasses will be provided. Nearby street parking is available. It is recommended to eat lunch before or after the event off site, as there is limited space and time for eating on site.
Phius CEU is approved. AIA CEU is pending. Phius CEUs can be self-reported HERE.
Registration
Registration is limited and is required. Register on Eventbrite (HERE) by Friday, February 16. Attendees should complete waivers to bring with them to the tour. Waivers can be found HERE.
Sponsored by
Buildings of Excellence
The Buildings of Excellence Competition, launched in March 2019, is a $58 million initiative that has awarded 56 exemplary multifamily new construction demonstration projects to date. It is the only competition of its kind, with the awarded projects becoming part of a comprehensive data collection effort that will help determine how to cost-effectively deliver superior performing buildings that will serve as an essential building block of a carbon-neutral future and advance the design and construction of multifamily buildings. Within the initiative, $2 million in Early Design Support funding has been awarded to architecture and design firms to enhance capabilities to design toward carbon neutral standards. The Competition is administered by NYSERDA with the support of an advisory council comprising a cross-section of experts from the design, real estate and sustainability sectors with partners including American Institute of Architects New York State, ASHRAE and The Real Estate Board of New York. For a complete list of the winning projects statewide, please visit NYSERDA’s Buildings of Excellence website at www.nyserda.ny.gov/boe.
Climate Act
- The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act), which was signed into law in July 2019, is New York State’s nation-leading climate and clean energy agenda that places the State on a path to carbon neutrality across all sectors of the economy including transportation, buildings ,industry, electricity, and land use.
- The Climate Act includes a goal to reduce green house gas emissions 85 percent by 2050.
2 Million Climate Friendly Homes Goal
- Governor Hochul’s 2022 State of the State announcements included the establishment of a new goal to achieve two million climate friendly homes by2030, targeting a minimum of one million electrified homes and up to one million electrification-ready homes by 2030–with a sub-target to ensure that more than 800,000 of these homes will be Low-to-Moderate Income (LMI).
Importance of All New Construction Shifting to Carbon Neutral
- Buildings are the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in New York State, responsible for one third of annual emissions statewide.
- Increases availability of healthier homes and businesses for home buyers and communities.
- Carbon neutral homes and buildings are healthier, more comfortable, and more resilient than traditional construction.
- Compliance-Proposed policies and legislative agenda call for more stringent codes including zero emissions new construction buildings and the phase out of fossil fuel use in space heating and hot water equipment in existing buildings.
About Our Chapter
Phius Alliance New York is the New York State chapter of Phius Alliance. Advocates for passive housing models work to make ultra-low energy buildings a mainstream market force and an accepted best practice in the building industry. Phius Alliance NY is your local resource for information about the passive house model and professionals who specialize in energy efficient design. Learn more at www.phiusny.org.