Centering Sustainability & Gender Equality in Residential Practice
Setting the stage for broad social impact
Sponsored by Vectorworks, Inc. | Presented by Karen Cairney and Lorrie Rand
Webinar On-Demand
Habit Studio is an award-winning, women-led architectural and residential design practice based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, specializing in Passive House and sustainable deep retrofits. Passive House, a concept originating with the Passive House Institute (PHI) of Germany, is a high-performance building standard established to deliver buildings that optimize occupant health, energy efficiency, and long-term cost of ownership. It is undoubtedly the world’s leading building standard.
This presentation will use examples from real projects to demonstrate how Passive House principles and other green strategies inform thoughtful design and set the stage for broad social impact.
Photo courtesy of Habit Studio
 |
Karen Cairney is the Director of Business Development at Habit Studio, Karen is responsible for the strategic positioning and growth of the firm, as well as oversight of business administration ensuring that the team has the support needed to deliver beautiful, sustainable buildings. Karen and the Habit Studio team are focused on designing beautiful buildings that are regenerative and cause no unnecessary harm. By designing high-performance homes and sustainably renovating our existing building stock, Habit Studio is contributing to a low-carbon future and creating healthy, safe environments for current occupants and generations to come. Karen has over two decades of experience in communications, marketing, and operations. She holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce, is a certified adult educator and public participation practitioner. Her career has spanned industries from tech start-up and travel/tourism to post-secondary education and leadership coaching. |
 |
Lorrie Rand is the Co-Founder and Director of Sustainability of Habit Studio, an award-winning architectural design practice, specializing in sustainable renovations and custom Passive Houses. She is also the Co-Founder and Design Director of the Recover Initiative, a non-profit Deep Retrofit Accelerator focused on developing and scaling deep retrofit solutions in Atlantic Canada. Lorrie is a building science specialist and is passionate about integrating Passive House performance and Biophilic Design principles into her work. She is a champion and advocate for high performance buildings across the country, working as an instructor with Passive House Canada, training new Passive House Designers and Tradespeople, and volunteering on the boards of Retrofit Canada and Passive Buildings Canada. Lorrie has a Bachelor of Environmental Design Studies from Dalhousie University and is a Certified Passive House Designer and Tradesperson. |
Vectorworks, Inc. is an award-winning design and BIM software provider serving the architecture, landscape architecture and entertainment industries in 85 countries. Creating intuitive software since 1985, we’ve become the preeminent software built to manage the entire design process. Globally more than 685,000 users are creating, connecting and influencing the next generation of design with Vectorworks on Mac and Windows. Headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, with offices in Newbury and London, England and Vancouver, Canada, Vectorworks is a part of the Nemetschek Group. Learn how we empower designers to create experiences that transform the world at vectorworks.net or follow @Vectorworks.
Originally published in Architectural Record
Originally published in July 2024
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Discover how sustainability objectives can be integrated into a design workflow.
- Examine how Passive House energy modelling informs an iterative design process.
- Discuss how a “Total Cost of Building Ownership” financial model informs sustainable design decisions.
- Explore the benefits of championing social impact through sustainable design.
