First Certified Passivhaus in North America.Although Katrin Klingenberg built the first passive prototype, the Smith House, in Illinois in 2003, the Waldsee Biohaus was the first building in North America to be certified by the European Passivhaus Institute in 2004.
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Nearby in Bemidji, MNThe Biohaus is located at the German language immersion camp, Waldsee, at Concordia Language Villages in the north woods of Minnesota. The fact that the first certified passive house was built in the extreme weather conditions of northern MN, where temps in the winter reach -30F, gives us confidence that the design techniques will work well in Minneapolis.
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Dormitory and Living ClassroomPeter and Katie are intimately familiar with the Biohaus having planted on the Gruendach, or greenroof (Above - Katie third from left), slept in the first floor dormitory as campers and counselors, and taught campers about sustainability topics in the second floor multipurpose classrooms and kitchen.
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