CleanBC NZER Design Challenge: Workshop Series

Innovative Zero Emissions Wood Buildings Workshop – Vancouver
November 21, 2019
ZEBx Decarb Lunch Series
January 13, 2020
Innovative Zero Emissions Wood Buildings Workshop – Vancouver
November 21, 2019
ZEBx Decarb Lunch Series
January 13, 2020

Overview

The CleanBC Net-Zero Energy-Ready Challenge: Workshop Series consists of six unique workshops that will run throughout 2020 and early 2021 with the objective to more rapidly advance solutions for zero emission buildings. Through the lens of BC’s most recently celebrated projects that are achieving the highest levels of the BC Energy Step Code and beyond (including Passive House, Canada Green Building Council’s (CaGBC) Zero Carbon Building Standard, LEED, and City of Vancouver Rezoning), participants will work with leading experts across industry silos to identify and advance emerging solutions as well as identify key barriers for scaling adoption.


Taking place online, this workshop series is accessible to participants across BC. Each session leverages the knowledge from the CleanBC Net Zero Energy Ready (NZER) Challenge winners’ designs and experiences to raise awareness and provide applicable and timely education and training on current industry trends and barriers. Workshops are expected to be about two hours long, professionally facilitated, and include participation from industry experts, NZER Challenge participants and other industry stakeholders.


Who Should Attend?

This workshop aims to bring together industry’s different silos, harnessing expertise from professionals that would typically work in isolation of each other. The below professions are encouraged to attend:

  • Architects
  • City Officials
  • Client Groups
  • Code Consultants
  • Contractors
  • Cost Consultants
  • Electrical Engineers
  • Energy Modellers
  • Envelope Specialists
  • Mechanical Engineers
  • Structural Engineers
  • Technology Providers
  • Utility Providers

Workshop Topics

Workshop 1: Ventilation Strategies for Multiple Unit Residential Buildings (MURBs)

Date: March 13, 2020

Registration: https://nzer-ventilation.eventbrite.ca

  • The ventilation system is increasingly becoming the backbone of the building, providing not only great indoor air quality, but also contributing to cost-effective heating and cooling delivery in low-energy, resilient MURBs. A project’s ventilation strategy must also be integrated with the architectural design to achieve marketable and affordable buildings. This workshop will highlight emerging best practices on MURB ventilation and work to develop a set of optimized designs towards cost-effective, zero emission buildings.

Workshop 2: Designing for Low Embodied Carbon

Date: April 16, 2020

Registration: https://nzer-embodiedcarbon.eventbrite.ca

  • Embodied carbon within the building construction sector is emerging as a critical issue as we look to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings in the near term. This workshop will seek to integrate key metrics and processes on embodied carbon into the design process, as well as to document the latest solutions, challenges and future work to advance this topic.

Workshop 3: Low Carbon Energy Heating Systems

Date: June 18, 2020

Registration: https://nzer-june.eventbrite.ca

  • Low carbon heating and hot water systems are becoming increasingly mainstream in the design and construction of high performance buildings in BC. This response is due to both greenhouse gas (GHG) emission regulations in select areas and owners seeking to meet organizational GHG reduction targets. This workshop will showcase best practices and case study solutions from NZER projects and beyond.

Workshop 4: Modular, Prefabrication and Panelized Construction

Date: October 20, 2020

Registration: https://nzer-prefab.eventbrite.ca

  • The rising cost of construction, labour shortages and increased project schedules have given rise to a renewed focus on off-site construction solutions. This workshop will daylight the state of affairs on off-site construction activity in BC and their varied applications, including where and when to consider different forms of off-site construction and how those integrate into the project delivery process.

Workshop 5: Navigating to Net-Zero Energy-Ready

Date: November 19, 2020

Registration: https://nzer-november.eventbrite.ca

  • From early schematic design to the construction, high-performance targets can come under question as designers strive to meet multiple design goals. Financial, campus planning, municipal permitting, and scheduling constraints are just a few of the challenges designers encounter. Join the discussion on these and other hurdles faced by developers and design professionals on their road to net-zero energy-ready buildings, and learn what municipalities are doing to alleviate them.

Workshop 6: Lessons from the Leading Edge

Date: February 11, 2021

Registration: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/cleanbc-nzer-workshop-series-lessons-from-the-leading-edge-tickets-137307493409

  • Join ZEBx for our last webinar in the Net-Zero Energy-Ready (NZER) Challenge Series. We’ll be hearing lessons learned from two winners of the NZER Challenge, as well as two exciting out-of-province projects that went above and beyond NZER to meet ambitious climate and energy targets. This discussion will touch on many aspects of what has made these projects successful, including their development, design and construction. Bring your questions to find out how NZER buildings have been achieved across different climate zones!

Have a topic idea for this series? Want to be a speaker? Email info@zebx.org.


ZEBx is a hub of knowledge exchange for amplifying and bringing together the remarkable work being done by BC’s industry leaders. We are excited to facilitate the dissemination of knowledge resulting from these leading projects and their pursuit of the highest levels of building performance, including: BC Energy Step Code, Passive House, LEED, CaGBC’s Zero Carbon Building Standard, and City of Vancouver’s Rezoning Policy.


The Province of BC through their CleanBC programs, provides incentives and resources to help buildings reduce energy and greenhouse gas emissions. For more information, please visit betterbuildingsbc.ca.


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