Photo courtesy of Oxygen8
We were so lucky to spend a sunny summer day in Vancouver at our Passive House Pulse event. Later that evening, we kept the fun going at the Passive House Northwest networking social.
Our event kicked off at Innotech Windows + Doors. They treated us to a catered lunch and gave us the chance to explore their impressive showroom, featuring windows, doors, and a display from our gold sponsor, SIGA.
After lots of networking time we featured a presentation on Vienna House by Jamie Harte from Public Architecture. We learned many interesting details including a focus on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the building. One highlight was the decision to design a long, narrow central courtyard. It boosts airflow and natural light, while also creating a stronger sense of community. Wide walkways mean residents can personalize the space outside their units with chairs, plants, or seasonal decorations—adding a welcoming, human touch that supports wellbeing.
The audience was really engaged, taking notes and photos. Followed by an enthusiastic question period.
Photo courtesy of Oxygen8
We had a great time networking with everyone, as we always do. It was fun to talk about our upcoming Vancouver Conference with our enthusiastic community.
When it was time, we all drove (and carpooled) over to Vienna House to meet up in our PPE.
We began our tour with Kindred Construction by going over the safety protocols. We then went outside to see the prefab balconies supplied by Sapphire Balconies. They pointed out that using these balconies saved them a ton of time and labour cost, it took 6 mins per balcony to lift it from the truck to being finished installing the piece.
We then moved on to the courtyard where it was nice and cool. The temperature was around 30º outside in the sun, but extremely comfortable in this space. The space was full of equipment at the moment and is currently just a concrete slab. But the plan is to put a membrane down (for drainage) with paving stones on top, and then incorporate planters with trees and plants.
We then went down to the basement to see the mechanical room. In here, Oxygen8 walked us through their biggest ERV system yet — the star of the mechanical room.
Photo courtesy of Oxygen8
After enjoying the coolness of the basement parkade space, we then walked up 6 flights of stairs to the top floor to explore the residential units. We were able to view everything from a studio size, right up to a 4 bedroom. The view from this floor was beautiful and the air flow through the passive house windows did a great job of cooling.
We were all allowed to explore this floor as we liked. Kindred team members gave some additional information inside the units and answered questions. We all had fun testing the windows as the SkyTrain rumbled past — amazed at just how quiet it was inside. Innotech Windows + Doors gave some demonstrations and answered questions about their passive house windows.
We were then given the opportunity to go to the roof. The roof featured a white solar-ready roof, ensuring that the space is ready for solar as a future enhancement. The roof offered stunning views and plenty of photo opportunities. It was the perfect way to wrap up a day of learning, exploring, and connecting.
Photo courtesy of Oxygen8
This was the largest group Kindred had ever brought through, but they did a fantastic job accommodating us and we can’t thank them enough. They pointed out to us that they found this project interesting to work on, since Vienna House is using all the latest technologies; the prefab balconies, the prefab panels from TAG, the mass timber construction and CLT lumber, and of course being built to the passive house standard.
A huge thank you to our sponsors for making this fantastic event possible. Everyone left inspired and full of new ideas!
Our day didn’t end there. The Passive House Canada team and many of the tour attendees headed downtown after this, to the Passive House Northwest networking social.
We enjoyed beer and refreshments at the 4EA Building Science offices.
It was a fun mix of new faces and familiar ones from our community. We got to know Greta from Passive House Northwest better and had a wonderful time overall.
Thank you to everyone who made this day possible: SIGA, Innotech Windows + Doors, Fentro Hardware Systems, Oxygen8, Kindred Construction, Public Architecture, 4EA Building Science, and Passive House Northwest.
The women who organized these events: Jessica from Innotech, Greta from PH Northwest, Jessica from Passive House Canada.
