We were pleased to see the Forum article by architect Brandon Nicholson on energy efficiency and his salutatory comments on Passive House (June 10, “Build Better Buildings in Pittsburgh”). 

We at ACTION-Housing have long been interested in these concepts, leading to the development of the first four Passive House buildings in this market, three of which offer affordable housing for low-income households. It is significant to note that affordable housing introduced and advanced the technology in this market. 

ACTION-Housing’s Uptown Lofts building, a low-income housing tax credit project for youth who have aged out of foster care that opened in 2015, grew out of our work with the Housing Partnership Network’s International Housing Partnership and efforts to understand and transform technology from Germany. 

In all of our work, the invaluable support of the Passive House Institute of the United States and, in particular its executive director, Katrin Klingenberg, has been instrumental in building our knowledge and that of our peers elsewhere in the country. Collectively we have built multiple Passive House buildings, fully acknowledging the reduction of energy costs as an important step in keeping housing affordable. 

A Passive House approach is an excellent long-term, modest-cost solution to building energy-efficient and sustainable housing.

LAWRENCE SWANSON
Executive Director
LINDA METROPULOS
Director of Housing and Neighborhood Development
ACTION-Housing Inc.
Downtown

First Published: June 17, 2018, 4:00 a.m.