What Does it Take to Build a Good House – Materials Panel Discussion
12:00p.m. – 1:00 p.m. on the Main Stage
A panel of industry experts discuss why materials matter and future trends in performance homebuilding.
Panelists: Aaron Waldt, Ronny Koeppe, Brian Cooke, Rick Zytaruk.
Aaron Waldt: Aaron's experience in construction stems mostly from being on site. During his time working for a custom home builder in Collingwood, ON, he became fascinated with high performance building through spending his evenings taking courses at BCIT on sustainable design and passive house construction. Aaron is a certified passive house consultant and has degrees in biomedical engineering and business management. Keep an eye out for him at your local craft brewery or golf course.
Ronny Koeppe: Ronny is the Service Manager at VETTA Windows, is one of Canada’s top experts in the high performance building industry. He holds a German Master Designation in Carpentry and is a Certified Passive House Tradesperson. Ronny has spent over three decades in the high-performance building trade in Germany, Australia and Canada as a builder/ Carpenter, project manager, window and door installer and building science educator. His tireless commitment to precision, knowledge sharing and client experience is second to none.
Brian Cooke: Brian brings enthusiasm for high performance building including Net-Zero & Passive homes as a trained Energy Advisor & Member of the CHBA Net Zero Council. Brian has been working with builders across the country to grow the trial, adoption, and scaling of Net Zero homes in particular helping builders reach airtightness goals. Brian & team launched the first AeroBarrier dealership in Canada in the GTA in 2018 & now works with Aeroseal Corporate helping dealers of both envelope and duct sealing technologies across NA focus on growing their businesses. Brian is excited to share his practical experience with the technology in Canada over the past 6 years in residential, commercial and retrofit applications & how he believes it can help play a role in advancing the industry.
Rick Zytaruk: Rick is the co-founder and CFO of Tooketree Passive Homes. With extensive experience as a business consultant, Rick partnered with his daughter, Melinda in 2018 to build highly-efficient, ecologically responsible homes and help move the building industry toward true sustainability. Committed to addressing climate change and environmental issues through natural material choices, carbon storage, and long-term thinking,
Rick spent much of his career focused on applying technology and process control to improve efficiency and efficacy in businesses and now stands on the cutting edge of a green building evolution. Passionate about innovation and progress, Rick is committed to building a better future for generations to come. Tooketree is a Tarion/HCRA registered Builder that manufactures CSA certified enclosures for high performance, healthy buildings.
Rick sits on the board of directors for Muskoka Steamships and Discovery Centre and the Lake of Bays Renewable Energy Cooperative and is an active member of Builders for Climate Action.