Treehugger Debate: Is Prefab a Greener Way to Build?

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The debate continues - from May 26, 2011

Comments can be found at the treehugger site here.

Passive House in the New York Times

Great National Coverage



The full NYT article is here. An interactive site with construction details is here.

For full information from the Passive House organization in Germany check here.

Minergie and Swiss high-performance building

The Swiss embassy in Washington DC will be hosting another green building event on September 8th focused on high-performance building and the Swiss Minergie performance standard. A quick video of last year's event is available here. Switzerland is increasingly recognized for the leadership demonstrated by making high-performance building almost standard practice. A great report from MIT can be found here comparing high-performance building in the U.S., Switzerland, and Germany. Information on ongoing research is available here. Switzerland recently become the most expensive country for construction. A new linkedin group for Minergie and high-performance building just formed - do join us!

Swiss High-performance building - 15,000 proofs-of-concept

From a 2009 conference in Washington DC. 12 page PDF introduction to the Swiss Minergie standard with comparisons to the USGBC's LEED program.

IDEAbuilder in Sustainable Industries magazine

The March issue of Sustainable Industries featured an article on European green building by Justin Moresco. Both Stefan and I were extensively interviewed for the article and much of the information we shared with Justin was included. You can read the article here.

Economist magazine on international housing markets

Here is a great chart from the current issue of my favorite news magazine, the Economist. Take a look at the Irish, UK, and Spanish markets. The states isn't so bad in comparison.

Switzerland is not only one of the few appreciating markets, it stands out for its lack of volatility and stability over decades and centuries. This is both a blessing and a curse for the architects and builders in that market. It is also hyper-competitive with over 400 very advanced computer-aided manufacturers in a country of only 7.7 million people. My Swiss friends continually tell me about it. We have a lot to learn from Switzerland. They also have about 10,000 buildings certified to their Minergie standard (somewhat similar to the Passiv Haus standards).

Take a look at one of the best builders in Switzerland, Hector Egger (in German). Be sure to look at the live webcam feed - remember the time difference.