Christian Cianfrone, P.Eng., has been named the executive director of Vancouver’s Zero Emissions Building Centre of Excellence, a collaborative platform created to strengthen the public, private and civic capacities to deliver zero emissions buildings.

The announcement was made by the Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA), in partnership with the City of Vancouver, Passive House Canada and the Open Green Building Society.

Cianfrone comes to the Centre after nearly a decade with Morrison Hershfield (MH), an employee-owned, multi-disciplinary consulting engineering firm that works across North America. At MH, he led one of the largest building energy modelling practices in Canada and is regarded as a key industry resource on high performance buildings, having represented MH on numerous technical committees, at industry events and academic conferences, and developed and delivered various professional education and training curricula.

“The search for the Centre’s first executive director attracted resumes from across the country,” said Fiona Famulak, president of the VRCA, which is hosting the Centre. “Christian understands the local development, design and construction markets. His technical expertise, together with his extensive network of connections, set him apart from the competition and will be critically important as he helps us to establish the Centre and deliver on its mandate.”

Cianfrone will assume his position at the Centre in mid-June. “I am excited and humbled in my new role as executive director of Canada’s first zero emissions building centre of excellence and look forward to working with the partner organizations and the industry at large to drive forward the ever-important mission of the Centre.”

The Centre is located at the Hive, 128 W. Hastings Street. An official launch is planned for summer 2018.