In December 2025, the Hellenic Passive House Institute (HPHI), in collaboration with the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), organised two complementary workshops focusing on high-performance building design, construction detailing, and on-site quality assurance. The base of the two workshops was the subject of the Archbuilder methodology which is developed by HPHI with goal to minimize the performance gap from design to construction in the SIRCULAR project.
The first workshop was held on 4 December 2025 at NTUA and focused on construction detailing and error minimization using the Archbuilder methodology. Twenty-five students from the School of Mechanical Engineering participated in practical exercises addressing Phase 2 of Archbuilder, with emphasis on optimized architectural detailing. The Interbalkan Hospital in Thessaloniki, currently operating as a Passive House and the second Passive House hospital worldwide, was used as case study.
Pictures from the first workshop on 4 December at National Technical University.
The second workshop took place on site on 11 December 2025, titled “Passivistas: The Tavros Project.” This session focused on construction supervision and quality assurance (Archbuilder Phases 4 and 5). Students acted as energy auditors, identifying construction errors and thermal bridges through on-site measurements. Organised into eight teams, participants analysed different building elements and floor plans.
Pictures from the on-site workshop on 11 December at the Tavros project.
Together, the workshops bridged design and construction, offering participants valuable hands-on experience and supporting the objectives of the SIRCULAR project in promoting high-quality, sustainable building practices.
This article was written by Mariza Gkadri, HPHI