The Building Science Podcast

In this episode, Kristof sits down with sustainability expert Josh Jacobs to demystify the ins and outs of Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), Product Category Rules (PCRs) and ISO Standards that are causing a decarbonization to happen around the world. Translating the complex data of an LCA into a standardized format, EPDs function as 'nutrition labels' for b...

An interview with Robert Bean and Lance MacNevin In this episode we unpack the rapidly transforming world of hydronic heating and cooling. We are joined by two seasoned veterans of the industry, Robert Bean and Lance MacNevin. With many decades of real-world experience and hard-earned perspective between them, they offer a thoughtful and engaging look into why hydronics is at the forefront of mode...

An interview with Dr. Eva King Our homes are indoor environments of our own making. These environments exist to make our lives better but often unintentionally expose us to contaminants—chemical and microbial—that harm our health and wellbeing. For genetically susceptible individuals, these routine exposures can trigger a breakdown in the body's natural tolerance, leading to chronic inflammatory a...

The Humid Climate Conference (HCC) is officially back in Austin this May 4th & 5th, and we have a fantastic line up of speakers and topics for our 10th anniversary. It’s time to step away from the Zoom screen and have some live 3D human interaction!  Today’s episode is a public service announcement to join us in Austin to recharge our collective motivation and determination. We often talk...

An interview with Dr. Sarah Haines The Indoor Microbiome is the complex, invisible world of trillions of microorganisms living within indoor environments. Its residents include bacteria, archaea, fungi and viruses. We live immersed in this ecological niche, for good or ill. A typical home can host between 500 and 1000 different species of bacteria in household dust alone, and thousands of species...

An interview with Benjamin Jewell. This is Part 2 of our latest series to familiarize our industry with the world of hydronics systems and air-to-water heat pumps. In Part 2 we’re rejoining the conversation to look at controls - the "central nervous systems" of these hydronics. We’re moving beyond old-school mechanical switches to a new class of microprocessor based systems that prioritize "outcom...

An interview with Helena van Vliet. “First we shape our buildings, thereafter they shape us.”  - Winston Churchill (attributed) The natural world is humanity's original habitat. This habitat supports our physiological energy efficiency and is an important health intervention for the AEC industry. These are core perspectives that Helena van Vliet shares in this joint PHA-Building Science Podca...

An interview with Benjamin Jewell. In this episode we are once again diving into the world of hydronics systems and air-to-water heat pumps. These systems are poised to transform how we heat and cool homes and buildings in the US. In this Part 1 of a two part series, we’ll be tracing the historical "divergence" that pushed the US toward forced-air ducting while Europe stayed with the efficiency of...

An interview with Andrew Dryden. Windows are pivotal to the lived experience of a home. They impact the basic aesthetic and provide natural light, views, ventilation, and safety. However, they are also nearly always the largest single source of heat loss and gain - it's hard to overstate the importance of getting windows right, as they play a huge role in a building's energy use. Today, we're goin...

An interview with John Mead. This is a crossover episode with the Spring Street Passive House education and advocacy series. Welcome to a pivotal conversation on the future of our built world. The concrete industry, indispensable for modern infrastructure, is facing an urgent mandate: reconcile its foundational role (pun) with its role as a source of environmental pollution. The scale of the emiss...

This may be the ultimate systems thinking interview. Beyond building science at the site scale, this is systems thinking to save the world.  Gail Vittori and Pliny Fisk III have their fingerprints all over the structural ideologies for ways of thinking that underlie what we now think of as the fields of sustainability, greenbuilding, indoor health and well-being and more.  Enjoy this tho...

This is a crossover episode with the Spring Street Passive House education and advocacy series. How do Passive House enclosure decisions actually happen? There’s a stubborn storyline that passive house designs go “too far” and result in a wholly different, and painful, design and construction process. The reality is that designing and building a Passive House is not all the different from building...

Why do we design indoor spaces the way we do? What are the unseen socio-cultural impacts involved and how do they impact other aspects of the indoor environment that we can not see? Today, we're unpacking the idea that our indoor environments are not just passive shelters - they are complex, multifaceted situations with competing goals and perspectives. As our guest, Dr. Liz McCormick shares, our...

Commissioning Matter - Establishing a Culture of Collaboration Who on the AEC team can deliver strategic guidance, direction, and leadership for the functional aspects of homes and buildings? This is the role of a Commissioning Agent (CxA) and it’s a role that matters now more than ever. The term "commissioning" itself means to "entrust into the safekeeping of someone" , with its origins dating ba...

How do we expand the positive impacts of our buildings? Now is the time.  The building sector is looking at a once-in-a-generation opportunity to flip from being a major contributor to both chronic disease and climate disruption to becoming one of the primary solutions. The key is provide training and perspective to the professionals involved. Why is it that so few architects base design deci...

“It’s time to rethink the idea that architecture does not sully itself with social or ecological ills.” Jonathan Feldman (in conversation w/ KI) The practice of architecture is a place where ethics and aesthetics converge. We make decisions and lead our lives based on ethics . As such ethics is concerned with what is good for individuals and society. Aesthetics is a set of principles that are invo...

Risk is real in the AEC. True risk management isn't about avoidance, but about informed engagement. Homes and buildings today measure success in many ways, each of these represent a potential failure mode. Managing risk means recognizing and embracing it, this is a core message from our guest today. Joe Basham is a seasoned construction industry attorney with decades of experience, a keen mind, cl...

In this special episode of the Building Science Podcast Kristof is joined by Ilka Cassidy of Passive House at NESEA's BuildingEnergy Boston '25. Ilka and Kristof are joined by the following inspiring speakers and organizers of NESEA 25: Jacob Deva Racusin, New Frameworks Natural Design/Build Andrew Himes, Carbon Leadership Forum Laura Bailey, Vermont Council On Rural Development Heather Ferrell, P...

Understanding climate action through the words we use Keep an ear out for an easter egg after the outro on this one. The words we use matter. Terms like "sustainability”, “net zero” and “resilience” signify our industry's evolving priorities and concerns. These “buzzwords” reflect current cultural circumstances within the AEC industry and larger society while also actively shaping how we approach...

“The world is not made of atoms, the world is made of stories” Muriel Rukeyser “Where do buildings come from?” is a question that comes with a story. Less often asked, “Where do buildings go?” .  The evolving story human society tells itself in answer to those questions is worth unpacking thoughtfully. That’s what happens in this episode. Join Kristof as he shares a conversation with Greg Esp...

The tension between aesthetics and performance in architecture is a critical and complex issue in contemporary design. Architects are increasingly and appropriately being tasked with designing buildings that are not only beautiful but also functional in terms of impacts on owners, occupants, resources, and planetary ecosystems. The contrasting view, one where architecture is principally form-makin...

Join Kristof and Corey Squire in this third and final installment of their interview series discussing Corey’s book People Planet Design . In Part 1 , they opened the discussion at the logical starting place of the important Why questions. Why design matters to society and Why architecture is the place to address so many important issues we face today. Part 2 addressed How to make good design happ...

What is the future of dehumidification? Turns out this simple question opens up an exciting view of the future of IAQ generally. The goal of a low energy method for removing water molecules from a flowing airstream boils down to some way of identifying, grabbing and holding onto them. Essentially we are talking about a designer desiccant or molecular filter that lets the air pass through while it...

Passive house has become synonymous with the rapidly arriving new normal for our homes and buildings and offers layers of positive outcomes. Thermal comfort, IAQ/IEQ, durability, and low energy use are typically the incentives for owners, architects, builders and trades. As it turns out, there may be broader societal benefits tied to thoughtfully managing heat flows in and out of a building as wel...

Empowering the practice of architecture to achieve consistent, predictable, positive impacts on human well-being and planetary health is perhaps one of the most pressing topics in the AEC today. Starting with a review of the history of the search for Bioclimatic Law , this conversation with Dr Bill Braham, FAIA is an invitation to architects to reclaim their power.  Bioclimatic Law is the rel...