Global passive house conference to be held in Hebei

The 23rd International Passive House Conference will kick off in Gaobeidian, North China's Hebei province, next year, the first time for the event to be held in Asia.

Gaobeidian is home to the world's largest passive house project -- specially-designed buildings that can contain heat from the sun, lights, human body and electronic appliances, to realize constant temperature, humidity and oxygen in indoor space.

Such houses don't need to be equipped with air conditioner or heater thus can help in energy conservation and environmental protection, experts said.

China is working on developing green and energy-saving construction to improve ecological environment in urban areas, according to the national housing and urban-rural construction working conference held in December 2017.

"Passive house, with its high energy efficiency, comfort and quality, can contribute to the upgrading of domestic architectural industry," said Song Hailin, vice-president of Longfor Group, major domestic property company, also one developer of the passive house project in Gaobeidian.

Although commonly accepted in Europe and the United States, passive house is just entering the China market.

Further innovation is needed in technological research, products' promotion and construction of evaluation system, due to the country's different climate, architectural feature and people's living habits, industrial insiders said.

Gaobeidian Railway City comprises residential apartments, office buildings, kindergarten and school, the largest of its kind worldwide to be approved by the Passive House Institute, according to the 22nd International Passive House Conference held in Munich last week.

More than 1,000 attendees from about 60 countries attended the event, discussing topics such as new technologies, combination of energy conservation with architectural culture and potential of passive houses in China.

The conference held in 2019 will be co-organized by Longfor Group, energy-saving doors and windows producer Alrunsd Group and the School of Architecture of Tsinghua University.