Net Zero Building for the Arctic

$15 for ACAT members/$30 for non-ACAT members *Additional $20/credit for CEUs

This presentation will focus on a proposal by architect Klaus Mayer for a Net Zero Energy multi-generational house intended for Arctic villages. The house incorporates communal design elements such as a shared kitchen and common space that recognizes family members desire to share and interact with each other as well as an outside entry for storage of subsistence foods. For energy savings and waste reduction, urine-diverting dry toilets, a rainwater collection system and low energy appliances are utilized. The home also uniquely incorporates building blocks made from mushrooms (fungal mycelium) as a potential local low cost, eco-friendly solution to traditional building materials. site. The idea of using mycelium (the white vegetative strands that form the root of mushrooms) to replace insulation and other products is being explored across the country. This project relies on work done by University of Alaska Anchorage professor Philippe Amstislavski, who is currently testing a slab of mycelium insulation at the Cold Climate Housing Research Center in Fairbanks. The mycelium can be grown in various shapes and is inert and non-toxic. When removed and exposed to elements, it naturally decomposes.