No performance anxiety

One year ago the Olympic party was almost over and Austria House ready to become Whistler´s property. Since then the house has been through some transformation and taken on new responsibilities. Now you can rent your cross country skiing equipment and snow shoes and buy a coffee there.

Below I am copying a story from the "Pique" newsmagazine Whistler from this week.
Austria Passive House is doing well and performing beautifully. Heating costs for last year $280! $280 for one full year for a 2700 sf house!

Please make sure to check out the live link for Lost Lake PassivHaus energy consumption at the very bottom of the text below.


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A dashboard like no other

By Kevin Damaskie
RMOW Sustainability Coordinator



"Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night, I can see paradise by the dashboard light." These Meatloaf lyrics are etched in my mind, a crucial line from the first ever record I bought with my own money. I think it was 1976...

Flash-forward to 2011 where the paradise we can see in Whistler's future is a kinder, more energy efficient place lit by the light of webpage dashboard... not Meatloaf's Cadillac. And the dashboard is not connected to a V8 motor; it's connected to the Lost Lake PassivHaus.

An innovative partnership between the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW), Pulse Energy and BC Hydro has produced an Energy Management Information System (EMIS) for the Lost Lake PassivHaus and anyone, around the world, can watch how the PassivHaus is performing, in real time, online.

The just-launched energy monitoring software collects building energy data for both the building as a whole as well as the small heat pump that resides in the building's ventilation system. It has both an internal interface that allows staff to access detailed reporting, monitoring, and analysis tools - and therefore make more informed decisions about the buildings energy performance - as well as public "dashboard" to transparently share the raw performance data to anyone else that is interested in passive house technology and performance

The PassivHaus is located at the main entrance to Lost Lake Park, between the upper and lower villages and a short walk from the Village Stroll. A year ago, the building was home to the Austrian Olympic Committee and Austria Public Broadcasting, which broadcast live Games coverage to European audiences during the 2010 Winter Games. Post Games, the building was gifted to the RMOW, and was converted to a Nordic skiing and mountain biking day lodge, office and meeting space for WORCA and Whistler Nordics, complete with a public concession and rental shop.

The construction of a Passive House requires airtight seams and above average insulating values, as well as a design strategy that substantially reduces thermal bridging in the building envelope. To maintain passive house certification, the building must use less than 15kWh/m2/year for heat, and no more than 120 kWh/m2/year for total primary energy consumption. As such, passive houses use up to 90 percent less energy than a traditionally built home and approximately 50 percent less than a LEED Platinum house.

"From an energy performance perspective, the Lost Lake PassivHaus is an incredible building," says RMOW Community Energy Manager, Ted Battiston. "Current performance suggests that it will cost less than $300/year to heat this 2,700 square foot building while typical construction would yield a value closer to $3000/year. Sharing on-the-ground performance with anyone who is considering this approach to building will hopefully accelerate the uptake of Passive House principles across BC."

The Lost Lake PassivHaus aligns well with the priorities outlined in Whistler2020, Whistler's comprehensive sustainability plan and vision. It's a highly efficient building that will use virtually no energy for its heating, cooling and ventilation needs. With extremely low operation costs and the long-term community benefit it provides Whistler residents, the Lost Lake PassivHaus provides a lasting benefit to all users.

To check out the performance of the Lost Lake PassivHaus, visit: http://my.pulseenergy.com/WhistlerPassivhaus/dashboard/, or www.whistler.ca and follow the links.

Want to know more about Whistler2020? Check out www.whistler2020.ca.

This is no April Fools !!!

On March 22nd, the opening day of the first Passive House Forum in Whistler, Austria House was officially handed over to the RMOW. Date of possession ...April 1st.

Austrian Minister of the Environment Nikolaus Berlakovich



From left: Minister of State for Climate Action John Yap, Austrian Minister of the Environment Nikolaus Berlakovich, Deputy Mayor of Whistler Chris Quinlan, Austrian Trade Commissioner (Toronto) Robert Luck


This project has now come full circle. It started with a meeting with mayor Ken Melamed, when we were inquiring about what plans the municipality had in regards with national houses.

Then the idea of Austria House was pitched, and now here it is, standing as a proud testimonial to the dedication of all those involved and committed to the project, from its inception to the hand over.

Enjoy it, keep visiting it, and follow its inspiration. In the House you will find a permanent computer terminal dedicated to Passive House building techniques and developments.


Thomas Sohm (right) and Erich Reiner check out the computer terminal.

It is and will always be THE first Passive House built in Canada, now to be part of the municipality's community buildings.

First Passive House Forum March 22/23, 2010

Please find presentations and company contact information from the First Passive House Forum March 22/23 in Whistler:

http://www.advantageaustria.org/ca/events/Kanada---Aussichtsreicher-Zukunftsmarkt-fuer-Umweltte.en.jsp?filtertyp=

Austrian paralympians in the House

A month has already gone by since my last post, time to finish the Olympics and modify the House to welcome the Austrian paralympians.

Matheo Durfeld, general contractor for Austria House has been busy building an access ramps that curls around the House so that people with disabilities can get to the second floor. He has also removed a riser on the first floor and added a small ramp to another. The temporary wall that isolated the ORF studio (Austrian national TV) from the rest of the floor is also gone, so that the original architectural open design of that floor is regained. It really looks great as you can appreciate now the light and the view that the stairwell invites you to take in, as you go up the steps.

The atmosphere is also noticeably warmer and far more welcoming than it was during the Olympics. My last posting gave a bit of insight on this.

Here you see a group of the athletes, enjoying the moment before they start competing.

The dignitaries in this photo are Ken Melamed (Whistler Mayor), Leo Wallner (Member of the IOC), Petra Huber (Chef de Mission Austrian Paralympic Committee), Maria Rauch-Kallat (President Austrian Paralypic Committee), Werner Brandstetter (Austrian Ambassador to Canada) and David Haber (Austrian Honorary Consul).

So Austria House is now the heart and soul of the Austrian Paralympic committee until the end of the games next Sunday, March 21st.

Monday March 22nd, starts the First Passive House forum, when the House will be officially handed over to the RMOW, as planned.

More on this Forum in another blog.

Here we go! The games are on!

Well here we are! The Games are started, the Austrian Olympic committee has taken over the House, and somewhere in that transition the Olympic spirit of friendship and cooperation must have been left outside the House.

Let's just say that for the time being relations between the APG and the ÖOC are a bit tense and uncomfortable, and "Welcome" is not the operative word here. But let's see how we can warm things up a bit!

As you can see in the photos, Austria House looks great outside, as well as inside.

The weather has not been cooperating, to say the least, but that did not prevent Austria from winning its first medal, a bronze in ski jumping by Gregor Schlierenzauer!




Here is Gregor Schlierenzauer in Austria House being welcomed by his fellow Austrians a few minutes after receiving his medal.


Prominent are also the Baumstark wood medals, proudly worn by Maria Fekter, Austrian Interior minister and on her left Gunther Plattner, Governor of Tirol.

The medals are from Josef Schafleitner, Baumstark's sales manager, who has also made many of the photos you see here.



F1 fans will recognize Gerhard Berger (the one wearing the Ferrari red fleece sweater, leaning on a Baumstark high table), as he talks about winter sports.

We're there !

Here is a series of photos of the house, ready to be handed over to the Austrian Olympic Committee, on schedule, with time left for minor interior mods. They will mostly be from the Austrian Public Broadcaster, who will transform part of the upstairs into a radio and TV studio.

We are really proud of the quality of workmanship that went into this project, from all involved from its conception to the final stages of its realization.


I am confident that the Austrian Olympic Committee and the Austrian Public Broadcaster will share our feelings.


This was a unique P3 project, that is a public, private partnership, between the APG, (Austrian passive House group), the RMOW (Resort Municipality of Whistler) the Whistler-Blackcomb Foundation and Sea to Sky consulting.

Of course many observers, if not all, have thought from the beginning that this was a project led and financed by the Austrian governement...not at all!

Congrats and heartfelt thanks to all involved, in Austria as well as in Canada.

If you are in Whistler for the Games, please drop by and say Hi!

Home Stretch!

The outside is done, all done - although Manfred always finds some details that need improvement! It does not look like snow in Whistler will be an issue!



The wine bar is in....this is the green glass structure you see here, photographed from beneath, giving it the appearance of being higher than it actually is. Good libations to flow from here for sure! Austrian wines only need apply.


Check earlier blogs for the draught beer pumps from Stiegl.







If Austrian style coffee (read Viennese) is more your drink of choice, these three Miele espresso machines should keep you happy when you visit Austria house...unless you keep the coffee for after the wine?



Now this is a beautifully inviting corner wooden bench structure from Baumstark.

For the table and bench combination, check an earlier blog and get the complete picture of this amazing made to measure furniture.




Well, you know how it flows...beer, coffee, wine! If you must, you must (albeit for House staff only)