Green Building Conference to feature Glenn Murdoch and other experts

Glenn Murdoch

A pioneer of the Passive House Standard in New Zealand, Glenn Murdoch's impressive credentials as the chair of the Passive House Institute New Zealand and design director of Vicus Design Group speaks volumes about the calibre of experts confirmed to speak at the Green Building Conference on 24-25 July 2013 at the Sandton Convention Centre.

Thousands of buildings were reduced to rubble in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, and although not traditionally an eco-built city, the devastation provided an ideal opportunity for designers to rebuild the city using green building techniques. Murdoch was at the forefront of the campaign to get Christchurch back to its former glory, by successfully implementing the European Passivhaus concept in New Zealand for the first time. Not only will he share his unique experience at the conference, but he will prove the ease at which many other countries may adapt and use the building model to their success.

Beneficial insights into achieving green standards for buildings

As a result of his experience, Murdoch is now one of New Zealand's most accomplished designers in the area of passive house design. His talk, entitled 'The devil is in the detail', will guide participants through the passive house design process with particular importance paid to the attention to detail during the process. Murdoch will share his experience on making projects energy efficient from brief right through to completion and how energy-saving techniques and materials may benefit an energy deficient country such as South Africa.

Gordon Brown, director of alive2green comments, "As hosts of the Green Building Conference, we are honoured to welcome international experts such as Glenn Murdoch to South Africa. With regulations for energy efficiency in buildings now firmly in place our designers will certainly benefit from insights of designers from elsewhere who have gained advanced experience in achieving similar standards."

"I am delighted that Glenn has accepted to speak at this year's Green Building Conference: as many people know, I am a great fan of the Passivhaus concept and believe it has huge relevance to the South African building sector," says Llewellyn van Wyk, chairperson of the Green Building Conference 2013.

Murdoch is one of more than ten experts speaking at the conference. For more information about the Green Building Conference, go to the Green Building Conference webpage or e-mail moc.neerg2evila@ofni.