Passive House Podcast

Guest Cohosts Mary James and Ilka Cassidy interview Sophie Tremblay of LGA Architectural Partners in Toronto, where her projects include a new housing co-op for Innstead and several Toronto Community Housing tower renewal projects. Mary and cohost Zack Semke discuss upcoming Passive House events at the end of the episode. Links to those can be found here: https://passivehouseaccelerator.com/articl...

In this special Passive House Component episode, Chris Benedict of Chris Benedict R.A. and Zak Veres of Sto Corp. join Passive House Podcast co-host Zack Semke to discuss Passive House practice in New York City, the Casa Pasiva building retrofit designed by Chris that incorporates Sto's EIFS system, and the future of innovation in Passive House and high performance building.  Visit Sto Corp.: http...

Passive House Podcast cohost Zack Semke interviews AJ Patton, Managing Partner & CEO of 548 Capital and 2019 recipient of the Energy News 40 Under 40 Award for his impact on America’s transition to a clean economy. They discuss AJ's mission at 548 Capital, his work on two of Chicago's most significant Passive House developments (3831 W Chicago Avenue and Galleria 89), and his green building de...

In this special episode recorded at the Passive House Canada conference in Victoria, BC, Passive House Podcast guest co-hosts Mary James and Shaun St-Amour interview Chris Ballard (Passive House Canada), Maddy Kennedy-Parrott (RJC Engineers), Andrew Peel (Peel Passive House), Graeme Verhulst (Waymark Architecture), Ruffy Ruan (Impact Engineering), and Rick Gregory (Brivia Group). Don't miss this s...

In this special Passive House Component Episode, Passive House Podcast cohost Zack Semke interviews Adrian Dymarczyk, founder of Ikon Windows + Doors , a Champion Sponsor of Passive House Accelerator and supplier of high-performance European fenestration with a home base in the tri-state region of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.  Adrian, who comes from a window family with European roots, t...

Passive House Podcast cohost Matthew Cutler-Welsh interviews Dr. Priscila Besen, lecturer at the Huri Te Ao School of Future Environments at Aukland University of Technology. The two dive into the findings and insights from Besen's research into the technical feasibility and best approaches to deep energy retrofits of historically significant buildings, viewed with an EnerPHit lens.  A special "th...

Passive House Podcast cohost Matthew Cutler-Welsh interviews Jamie Harte, architect and Certified Passive House Designer at PUBLIC in Vancouver, BC about his Passive House journey, his work on the UBC Skeena Student Residence, and his current project, Vienna House.  View Jamie's Passive House Accelerator LIVE! a presentation about the Skeena Student Residence here: https://passivehouseaccelerator....

In this special Passive House Component Episode, Passive House Podcast cohost Zack Semke interviews Paul Grahovac and Pat Downey of PROSOCO , provider of the R-Guard system of fluid-applied air and water barriers since the early days of the North American Passive House movement.  Paul and Pat share how the R-Guard system was originally an outgrowth of building rescue work, how PROSOCO worked with...

Mary James and Ilka Cassidy talk with Caitlin Martusewicz, principal at Cycle Architecture and Planning, about how her early community development experience in rural Ghana led to her wanting to join the firm and the Passive House projects that she has contributed to. They also discuss Cycle’s involvement in NYSERDA’s Building of Excellence and RetrofitNY programs, as well as the exciting prospect...

Passive House Podcast cohost Zack Semke interviews Ryan Cassidy, Director of Sustainability & Construction for RiseBoro Community Partnership . Ryan discusses supervising the construction of the first multi-family affordable Passive House buildings in NYC, his current work renovating existing buildings to the Passive House standard, and his insights around mainstreaming Passive House as standa...

In this special Passive House Component Episode, Passive House Podcast cohost Zack Semke interviews Evan Anderson, general manager of Zola Windows , a longtime supporter of North America's Passive House movement and the first Founding Sponsor of Passive House Accelerator.  Evan shares his path to Passive House and the world of high performance windows, talks about how Zola Windows are being applie...

Passive House Podcast cohost Zack Semke interviews Marine Sanchez, Senior Passive House Consultant at RDH Building Science. A chartered, bilingual building science engineer, Passive House designer, and certifier, Marine leads RDH's Passive House services on the east coast of the US and Canada. Marine and Zack discuss the state of Passive House in Toronto and Ontario, the impact of the Toronto Gree...

Passive House Podcast cohost Matthew Cutler Welsh interviews Steve Hughes of Build Good Architecture in New Zealand. Steve and his family moved from Ponsonby to Pumpkin Hill on the Coromandel Peninsula in 2021 to live their dream life: to build a beautiful, off-grid, passive home and live off the land by growing a lush permaculture garden. Hear about Steve's pathway to Passive House practice and a...

Laura Blau is a principal of BluPath Design, a Passive House trailblazer, and an expert witness for plaintiffs regarding building defects. Guest Co-Hosts Mary James and Ilka Cassidy interview Laura about her early Passive House days, including her participation in Philadelphia's first builder training where she was the only woman and only architect, her complex Passive House projects, and the prob...

Passive House Podcast co-host Zack Semke interviews Roberto Pecora, Director of ZEBx, the Zero Emissions Building Exchange based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Zack and Roberto discuss the role that Passive House is playing in policymaking and market transformation in the City of Vancouver, the Province of British Columbia, and beyond. Zack and co-host Matthew Cutler-Welsh discuss upcoming Passiv...

Passive House Podcast cohost Matthew Cutler-Welsh interviews Adam Souter, Director of Souter Built in Sydney, Australia about his approach to high performance building design and his remarkable Pepper Tree Passive House project.  View an article of the project here: https://www.realestateview.com.au/news/nsw/unanderra-builder-unveils-region-s-first-passive-house/  At the end of the episode, Matthe...

Passive House Podcast cohost Matthew Cutler-Welsh interviews Ben Caine, an Architect and Passive House Designer based in Perth, Western Australia. As Matthew discovered in this interview, Ben has a passion and knack for making good design look simple. After an early career working in the film industry, Ben decided that he really wanted to do something that would make a difference to people’s lives...

Passive House Podcast cohost Zack Semke interviews Nakita Reed, CPHC, Associate at Quinn Evans Architects, Co-Chair of the Zero Net Carbon Collaboration, and host of the Tangible Remnants podcast that explores the interconnectedness of architecture, sustainability, historic preservation, race, and gender. Nakita is the recipient of the 2018 AIA|DC Emerging Architect Award and the 2022 AIA Young Ar...

Guest cohosts Mary James and Ilka Cassidy interview independent consultant Christina Aßmann, who has her fingers in many pies. Christina is a senior architect and building scientist with 18 years of professional experience who works with Passive to Positive as a Passive House consultant, is an energy code trainer, and a member of the Technical Working Group for NY’s Stretch 2023 Energy Code Develo...

Toby Tilsley is a builder, Certified Passive House Tradesperson, and Homestar® Practitioner and Assessor with 20 years of project management experience and over 15 years of practical knowledge gained in the Auckland building market. He is the founder and director of Craft Homes, a company specializing in healthy, energy-efficient, and sustainable residential building. In this interview, Toby share...

Cohost Matthew Cutler-Welsh interviews Victoria, Australia-based architect Pablo Sepulveda, of the engineering and design firm Aurecon. The two discuss Pablo's affinity for engineering due to the design power it confers, as well as his work on the pioneering Ngā Kāinga Anamata project in Auckland, New Zealand. Ngā Kāinga Anamata is a pilot social housing project whose five buildings (30 units tota...

Cohost Matthew Cutler-Welsh interviews Melbourne-based Alex Slater, architect at Shared Space Architecture, Passive House Designer, and NatHERS Assessor. Alex shares how he's combined building science and art in his professional work modeling and designing high-performance buildings; how his initial interest in the energy modeling engine behind Australia's NatHERS rating system led naturally to an...

Guest cohosts Ilka Cassidy and Mary James interview Clara Ha, an educator and a licensed architect working in New York City. She is an Associate at ChoShields Studio, a Passive House Certified architecture studio, where she oversees small to medium scale projects designed for a sustainable environment. She has taught architecture at the New York Institute of Technology since 2011 before joining Pr...

Sloan Ritchie, owner of builder/developer Cascade Built, is a pioneer in the Passive House movement in Seattle, responsible for several major multifamily Passive House projects in the city. His mission is to demonstrate the scalability and feasibility of using Passive House construction techniques to build cost-competitive high-performance projects, establishing Seattle as a leader in the nation a...

Cohost Matthew Cutler-Welsh interviews Giorgia Tzar, a familiar guest on the Passive House Podcast. Now based in Stuttgart, Germany Giorgia runs the International Passive House Association at the Passive House Institute.   Throughout the last couple of years, we've all had to work a bit differently, but the work has continued. Interest in Passive House is growing strongly around the world, not jus...