This year over 40 Canadians attended the iPHA conference in Vienna, on April 27-30! The record crowd of Canucks included teams from large Passive House projects in Ontario and BC, manufacturers, suppliers, designers and builders. As usual, the conference program was packed with information, the latest research and product exhibits. The very fact the conference guide filled a 725-page book gives you an idea of the depth of the program!
Workshops, training sessions and project tours took place before and after the conference. For the second year in a row, two Canadians took the building certifier training offered by the Passive House Institute. Passive House Canada representatives attended the affiliates meeting, the PHPP resellers meeting and the course providers meeting to keep abreast of the latest developments and planned changes.
Passive House Austria supported the conference and selected outstanding venues for evening receptions and cultural excursions, enabling those with energy in the evening to experience the history and culture that Vienna offers.
Our CEO, Rob Bernhardt, travelled to UN headquarters in Geneva in advance of the conference, discussing a potential conference in Vancouver in the fall of 2018. During the conference in Vienna, many of those involved in developing the UNECE building framework met to discuss the development of an educational program supported by international agencies. Passive House Canada continues to work on this initiative to ensure we provide the best possible curriculum in Canada.
If you have not attended an international conference in the past, please consider doing so in the future. The opportunity to see and hear what the rest of the world is doing is invaluable. Your Board of Directors are planning to offer regular conferences in Canada in the coming years, but the international conference is always a highlight.