If you haven’t already done so, be sure to read about the retrofit in Sonoma, California I visited on my West Coast Passive House tour.  I’ve been hired to blog about my tour on the Small Planet Workshop website and this was an incredible project to be able to tour.   You can read all about it here:

I am back from the most wonderful trip. I traveled down the coast and visited quite a few Passive House projects. I have been hired to write about my adventures on a new blog that the Small Planet Workshop has started. The first installment covers a wonderful Sustainable Urban Passive House Farmstead project in Eugene, Oregon. It will be absolutely stunning when complete. I was impressed with the details visible in the framing stages. Jan Fillinger designed a wonderful project and Win Swafford has worked hard to bring it to reality.

Next stop – Sonoma, California and an AMAZING Passive House retrofit by Jarrod Denton, Architect, and Solar-Knights, contractor (with a bonus side trip to a Ghost town!)

Hello from the road!  I am currently on my own unofficial West Coast Passive House tour and have heard of several opportunities for folks to visit an actual Passive House project, but you have to act quickly on the first two tours.  The first is an official tour that the public and West Coast Green participants are invited to attend in California.  I have visited 3 of the projects and recommend the tour for anyone who is interested in seeing what is being done in California.  For more information visit the Passive House California site.

The second opportunity I have heard about is the North Residence PH and Built Green level 5 project in Olympia, WA.  Tessa Smith, designer and fellow CPHC, has a PH project in the framing stage that is part of the Olympia Master Builders tour happening in October.  If you are interested in seeing her project, it is open to the public Oct.2-3 &  Oct. 9-10 from 11:00 am- 5:00 pm.  The address is 1114 Marion Street NE ., Olympia, WA.

The third opportunity is associated with the 5th Annual North American Passive House conference in Portland, OR.  This conference, being held Nov. 5-7 has arranged an optional excursion for conference participants to a few PH homes in the Portland area on the 7th.  For additional information, please visit the Passive House US conference page.

I have seen some fabulous projects on my trip and will be heading towards Salem, Portland, & Olympia to see several more.  I’ll be blogging about my trip on the Small Planet Workshop blog starting in October.  The idea for my trip came from the Small Planet Workshop site owner, Albert Rooks, who had read John Steinbeck’s “Travels With Charlie”.  Steinbeck, knowing he did not have long to live, decided to tour America and write about what he saw.  He took his dog Charlie, loaded up a small camper and set off.  My trip has been similar, without the dying part… or the dog.. or the camper… or 47 of the 50 states… but similar!  😉  Be sure to check out the Small Planet Workshop site and start reading about some of the fabulous Passive House projects that are happening on the West Coast.

The sheetrock is on the walls and soon the painters will roll on a fresh coat of paint.  Dan will be clearing the lot and a skip loader will be coming to layout the landscaping details.  The project is really shaping up.

The first pic shows the tilt and turn windows in tilt mode – good for ventilation but watch out for Fluffy – cats have been known to try to climb out them and end up getting stuck!

These next pics show the GWB in the workshop and the main house.  It is really looking sharp!

Dan wanted me to mention that he and 2 other Passive House consultants will be presenting at the NW Eco Building Guilds 10x10x10 program next week in Seattle.  10 projects will have 10 minutes to show 10 slides showing how their projects are sustainable and eco-friendly.  Dan will be talking about his Seattle Passive House, Joe Giampietro will present on his Mini-B Passive House project, and Jim Burton will present a series of Passive House concept projects that he has designed.   There will be other great projects discussed there too.   Get all the details here!

Any way you do the math  this project makes good sustainable sense.  Not only was this building designed to Passive House standards, it is also incorporating sustainable materials into the project and sustainable practices into the landscaping.  Check out this new project by Eugene, Oregon Architect Jan Fillinger of  STUDIO – E Design on my Passive House Projects blog.  Visit the project page for The Small, Elegant and Sustainable Urban Farmstead.