UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Housing Research Center (PHRC), housed in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Penn State, will host the sixth biennial Residential Building Design & Construction Conference (RBDCC) March 2-3, 2022, in State College. The research-focused conference will be held at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center as a part of the 2022 PHRC Conference Week with the concurrent, industry-focused 30th Annual PHRC Housing Conference.

Researchers, designers, educators and any interested parties with residential-related content are encouraged to submit a 200-300-word abstract by May 31 online. Extensions to this deadline may be requested by emailing Sarah Klinetob Lowe, PHRC high-performance housing specialist and RBDCC secretariat. 

The RBDCC provides a forum for builders, design professionals, educators, manufacturers and researchers to discuss the latest advancements in the field by sharing their research findings and innovations related to residential buildings. This conference will focus on various types of residential buildings, including single- and multi-family dwellings, mid-rise and high-rise residential buildings, factory-built and modular housing, dormitories and hotels/motels.

The conference will feature two keynote speakers: Wil V. Srubar III, associate professor at the University of Colorado Boulder and founder and managing director of Aureus Earth Inc.; and Rusty Smith, associate director of Rural Studio at the Auburn University School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape Architecture. Srubar will present, “Transforming Buildings into Carbon Sinks,” and Smith will present “Rural Studio: What Does Affordable, High-Performance Housing Truly Afford?”

Conference presentations and posters are based on submitted abstracts and reviewed papers. Reviewed papers become a part of the published proceedings after the conference and are available online. Registration for the conference will open in late 2021.

For more information about the 2022 conference and to submit an abstract, visit the conference website.