PASSIVE HOUSE DIVIDED Passive House-certified buildings may take next to nothing to heat. But conflict between the German creators of the Passive House energy performance standard and their U.S. affiliate continues to generate energy months after it spilled into public view. The Passivhaus Institut (PHI) of Darmstadt, Germany, severed ties with the Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) of Urbana, Illinois, in an open letter released on August 17, 2011. — Published 2012.0111
	BEST OF BUILD BOSTON Build Boston, the largest regional conference and trade show for the design and construction industry in the United States, recently demonstrated again why it has earned such preeminence. More than 14,000 architects, designers, construction and facility managers, and owners attended the 27th Build Boston conference, hosted by the Boston Society of Architects in November 2011. The trade show floor boasted some 300 vendors — up 6% over last year — who plied their products with the usual vigor. — Published 2012.0111
	AIA HOUSING AWARDS: SINGLE-FAMILY In the Towerview neighborhood of Racine, Wisconsin, a strikingly modern two-story home stands apart on a lakefront site. Though its architects credit nearby Victorians as inspiration for the vivid colors highlighting its facade, the playful tone, rectilinear massing, and structurally expressive detailing seem to make more recent references — as well they might. — Published 2011.0406
	MINNESOTA AIA AWARDS The house on Bert Hodus and Donna Brogan's farm takes design cues from a farm icon. With its south facade "warped" by design, the couple's new home evokes the graceful sag of many aging 19th- and 20th-century American barns. The Blair, Wisconsin, house is wrapped in rainscreen siding of locally harvested, rough-sawn white oak, evocative of the clients' own turn-of-the-20th-century red barn nearby. And the window and door openings are few and large. — Published 2011.0202
	POSTCARD FROM PASSIVE HOUSE PORTLAND Dear ArchitectureWeek, There were 345 attendees (including me) at the North American Passive House Conference in Portland, Oregon, held from November 4 to 7, 2010. Twenty-six sessions focused on all aspects of the Passive House building energy-efficiency certification system, ranging from detailed conceptual overviews led by Passivhaus cofounder Dr. Wolfgang Feist to technical sessions about specific aspects of certification in our region. — Published 2011.0119
	BUILD BOSTON 2010 The venerable Build Boston conference often provides an excellent way to take the temperature of the architecture and construction industry. This year was no different, as the conference, now in its 26th year, took on a leaner, less glitzy feel, with a smaller trade show area and fewer celebratory ballroom events. But it was clear that attendees were serious about preparing for the future: the nearly 200 workshops and seminars were extremely well attended by thousands of industry professionals. — Published 2010.1215
	TEACHING DESIGN/BUILD: STUDIO 804 Studio 804, which takes its name from the final design studio within the graduate architecture program at the University of Kansas, compresses every aspect of design/ build practice into an intensive five-month experience. In the ten years since the studio began, we've progressed from small-scale projects to creating affordable housing for the city of Lawrence to the point at which students now design, build, and install prefabricated homes for entry-level buyers in Kansas City. — Published 2010.1020
	POSTCARD FROM FRANKFURT Dear ArchitectureWeek, The Passivhaus standard for energy efficiency isn't just for houses. This we learned in Germany recently, on a fascinating tour of green building and design there, organized by the Ecologic Institute environmental think tank with funding from the German government. — Published 2010.0428
	SOLAR DECATHLON 2009 In mid-October 2009, twenty teams of engineering and architecture students erected houses on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for the biennial Solar Decathlon green building contest. After spending two years designing and building cutting-edge solar houses, the teams — mostly from North America — sought the designation of "most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient" for their structures. — Published 2009.1028

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