Shifting Gears: World’s First Passivehouse Auto Dealership

Course Overview

Building a wood frame Car Dealership is a unique proposition to begin with. Making it a Certified Passivehouse building in cold windy Red Deer is an added level of complexity. Scottsville Autogroup, along with Cover Architectural Collaborative and Peel Passivehouse was up for the challenge. Now nearing completion, the project will set a new bar for energy efficient and sustainable construction in the industrial sector. The project shows that manufactured wood products are not only capable but preferable when designing sustainable buildings. The use of wood not only significantly reduces the embodied energy of the structure, but allows for thermal bridge free construction – a critical consideration when building a super-efficient envelope.

Learning Objectives

  1. How to achieve tall, long span structures using dimensional and engineered wood products.
  2. How to design thermal bridge free envelopes.
  3. How to achieve Passivehouse certification in a cold climate with significant storefront glazing.
  4. How to account for process loads in PHPP calculations.

Course Video

Speaker Bio

Lukas Armstrong
Architect and Principal
Cover Architectural Collborative

Lukas Armstrong, as an Architect and Principal at Cover Architectural Collborative in Nelson BC, has been responsible for some of Canada’s first Certified Passivehouse projects, including his own home in a multifamily residential building. Lukas has presented at the New York and Vancouver Passivehouse conferences and provides an engaging and informative window into wood frame Passivehouse design and construction.

Course Curriculum

Lessons