The race is on and global energy-efficient construction projects are encouraged to enter the 2014 Passive House Award.
Recognising the increasingly popular combination of energy-efficiency with renewable energy sources, the award aims to promote and demonstrate the high architectural quality and diverse nature of the work being done in the field of energy-efficient construction at the international level.
Competition entries may include single buildings, whereby Passive House certification and the use of renewables is a prerequisite, and compliance with EnerPHit criteria is essential in the case of retrofits.
Entire districts or regions can also participate, even if they are still in the development phase. Achievement of the Passive House or EnerPHit Standard should also be aimed for and at least one building in the scheme must be certified in this category. Applications may be submitted by representatives of both the public and private sector, including municipalities, associations or housing development companies.
The jury, which includes Helmut Bott (Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, Stuttgart University, Germany) and Mark Elton (Sustainable by Design, UK), will evaluate the projects on architectural design and urban planning aspects. Creative solutions that address extreme climates or other challenging conditions resulting from the location, legal frameworks, financing or construction in general will also be examined.
Winners of the 2014 Passive House Award will be presented at the 18th International Passive House Conference, to be held on 25 and 26 April 2014 in Aachen, Germany.
This award has been announced by the Passive House Institute within the framework of the EU project PassREg (Passive House Regions with Renewable Energies) under the patronage of the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Construction and Urban Development. It is intended to command maximum visibility at the EU level, while promoting the dissemination and application of the concepts upon which the projects are based.
For more information or to submit an entry, please visit www.passivehouse-award.org. The deadline for submissions is 30 September 2013.
