Marketing Passivhaus

Hans Breaux is an architect and the founder of Project CO+OP, a worker cooperative based out of Portland, Maine. Following Graduate School, Hans set off from his hometown in southern Louisiana to walk the Appalachian Way. He had no idea he would end up staying in Maine and founding his practice.In this episode, we talk about the importance of talking to people, whenever and wherever, when it comes to spreading the word about Passivhaus, and Hans shares his view that Passivhaus is the "easy button" for creating buildings that use the most current best practices based on our sort of collective understanding of how to create shelter.Connect with Hans and Project CO+OP: Hans on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/in/hans-breaux/Project CO+OP on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/company/project-co-op/Project CO+OP website => https://project.coop/A great Passive House Accelerator article featuring Hans => https://passivehouseaccelerator.com/articles/inside-the-first-phius-certified-single-family-home-in-new-hampshire

Alexander Gard-Murray is the Executive Director of Passive House Massachusetts, a nonprofit that educates advocates and supports passive house building in the Commonwealth. With a background in political science and climate policy, Alexander was pulled into building decarbonization via a Twitter thread.In this episode, we talk about how Massachusetts has become a shining example of adopting passive house and passive building standards, why we need to think longer term when calculating the ROI of building efficiency, and how passive house buildings benefit everyone, whether or not they live or work in one.Connect with Alexander and Passive House Massachusetts: Alexander on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/in/gard-murray/Passive House Massachusetts on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/company/phmass/Passive House Massachusetts website => https://phmass.org/

Naomi Beal is the Executive Director and a founding member of passivhausMaine, which opened an ambitious new public-facing workshop, showcase, training, and office space in downtown Freeport in 2025.In this episode, we talk about the decisions behind the new space, the importance of outreach at the local, community, and school level, and an interesting community-based project they hosted to help low-income households lower their energy bills in the wintertime.Connect with Naomi and passivhausMaine: Naomi on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-c-o-beal-52372427/passivhausMaine on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/company/passivhausmaine/passivhausMaine on Bluesky => https://bsky.app/profile/passivhausmaine.bsky.socialpassivhausMaine on Instagram => https://www.instagram.com/passivhausmaine/passivhausMaine's website => https://www.passivhausmaine.org/

Valentine Gomez is the founder of Gomex Engineering and the first certified passive house designer on PEI (Prince Edward Island, Canada's island province). He thinks of Passivhaus as a kind of gateway rabbit hole, which has since led him down further, deeper rabbit holes, focused on healthy building materials, and including his achieving a Living Future accreditation.In this episode, we talk about Valentine's experience as the first to bring Passivhaus to a new area, his tactics for getting people on board, and why he thinks municipalities are missing a trick by not choosing to build publicly owned buildings to the Passivhaus standard.Connect with Valentine and Gomex Engineering: Valentine on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/in/valentine-t-gomez-p-eng-cphd-lfa-4688572a/Gomex Engineering on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/company/gomex-engineering-ltd/Gomex Engineering on Instagram => https://www.instagram.com/passivehousepei/Gomex Engineering website => https://www.gomex-engineering.com/

Lindsey Love came to Passivhaus via bio-based materials, marrying the two and comfortably working with both. With her new venture, Regenerative Building Solutions, Lindsey steps further into the role of teacher, advisor, and consultant, helping people incorporate more natural materials into their own high-performance projects.In this episode, we talk about the gap between builders and architects when it comes to Passivhaus (and what needs to be done to fill it), the power of curriculum-based affordable housing projects, how and when to let your inner building science nerd out, and much more.Connect with Lindsey and Regenerative Building Solutions: Lindsey on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/in/regenbuilding/Regenerative Building Solutions on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/company/regen-building/Regenerative Building Solutions on Instagram => https://www.instagram.com/regen_building_solutions/Regenerative Building Solutions website => https://www.regenbuilding.com/

Dr. Wolfgang Feist is a professor and mathematical physicist who began his career in quantum mechanics and astronomy before becoming interested in energy efficiency in buildings and moving into engineering, which led him to the late Bo Adamson, a Swedish building scientist and professor at Lund University. Together, they co-originated and developed the Passivhaus standard in the late 1980s, with Dr. Feist going on to found the Passivhaus-Institut (PHI) in 1996, in Darmstadt, Germany.In this episode, we talk about Dr. Feist's experience living in the world's first (and therefore longest-existing) certified Passivhaus, the changes in attitude and relevance he's seen over the years, the misconceptions that block people from embracing Passivhaus, what Passivhaus really is, and the best way he sees for the movement to continue to spread.Connect with Dr. Feist and the Passive House Institute: Dr. Feist on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/in/wolfgang-feist-5287951b/Passive House Institute on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/company/passive-house-institute/Passive House Institute on Bluesky => https://bsky.app/profile/ipha.bsky.socialPassive House Institute website => https://passivehouse.com/en/home/Passipedia website =>https://passipedia.org/ 

Tessa Bradley is the principal architect and CEO of the Artisans Group Architecture and Planning Company, a woman-owned, woman-led firm based in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Tessa was in the second round of PHIUS training, and Artisans Group completed the second certified Passive House in Washington State, so they've been in this space for almost as long as anyone in the US.In this episode, we discuss the difficulties of talking about passivhaus and high-performance building in a way that's not so terribly unsexy, the value of having a place to show clients—whether it's a past client's home, an office or an apartment they can spend time in—and the importance of knowing when going for certification will be beneficial for all involved.Connect with Tessa and Artisans Group: Tessa on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/in/tessa-bradley-96b49112/Artisans Group on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-artisans-group-inc./Artisans Group on Instagram => https://www.instagram.com/artisansgroup/Artisans Group website => https://artisansgroup.com/portfolio

Trey Farmer is a Principal and Partner, as well as the Chief Sustainability Officer, at Forge Craft Architecture and Design, based in Austin, Texas. His Passive House journey began in Grad School, where he got his CPHC as part of the program. He is one of the team of friends who bring the Humid Climate Conference to life, looking forward to the sixth installment this coming Spring (2026).In this episode, we talk about the nuances of applying the Passivhaus standard to hot, humid climates, cooling vs. dehumidification, the many motivations of the clients he's worked with on passive house projects, and the real sense of camaraderie and friendship that exists within the passive house community.Connect with Trey and Forge Craft Architecture + Design:Trey on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/in/trey-farmer/Forge Craft on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/company/forge-craft-architecture-design/Forge Craft on Instagram => https://www.instagram.com/forgexcraft/Forge Craft Healthy Homies on Instagram => https://www.instagram.com/forgecrafthealthyhomies/Forge Craft website => https://forgexcraft.com/Humid Climate Conference website => https://humidclimateconference.org/Reimagine Buildings Collective (where Trey and I met) => https://collective.reimaginebuildings.com/

Michael Quast is the CEO of Passive House Canada. With a career that spans marketing, PR, executive management, and communications, including being executive producer for the successful HGTV renovation show, Holmes on Homes, and then later CEO for The Holmes Group, Michael feels that his role at Passive House Canada is something of a unicorn job, perfectly blending his personal passion with his professional abilities.In this episode, we talk about Michael's experience building the first straw bale house in his town (Oakville, ON), 20 years ago, the importance of supporting and including anyone interested in getting into the field of better-performing homes, not letting dogmatic viewpoints exclude people, and his optimism for the future of the Passive House industry.Connect with Michael and Passive House Canada:Michael on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeloquast/Passive House Canada on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/company/passive-house-canada/Passive House Canada on Bluesky => https://bsky.app/profile/passivehousecan.bsky.socialPassive House Canada website => https://www.passivehousecanada.com/

Jeremy Clarke is the founder and CEO of Simple Life Homes and Simple Life Building Systems, based out of Bowmanville, Ontario. They combine the principles of passive house design with off-site (prefabricated) and carbon-conscious construction to produce sustainable, healthy home packages. In this episode, we talk about Passive Houses, Pretty Good Houses, the challenges of being a "building enclosure technical integrator," the importance of gathering your team together in the pre-construction phase (especially if you want to leverage pre-fab), and which CCDC contract is ideal for making sure that gathering happens.Connect with Jeremy and Simple Life Homes:Jeremy on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-clarke-0ab21113/Simple Life Building Systems on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/company/simple-life-homes/Simple Life Homes on Instagram => https://www.instagram.com/simple.life.homes/Simple Life Homes website => https://simplelifehomes.ca/

Jacob Deva Racusin is the lead researcher at Builders for Climate Action and the co-founder of New Frameworks. Jacob comfortably bridges the gap between seemingly (though not, in fact) disparate worlds, valuing both the intuitive comfort of building with the natural materials our ancestors have used for millennia and the cutting edge of building and climate science. In this episode, we discuss communication, empathy, straw, carbon emission calculations, and how knowledge sharing between large- and small-scale projects is a two-way street.Connect with Jacob, New Frameworks, and Builders for Climate Action:Jacob on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-deva-racusin-7a41603/New Frameworks website => https://www.newframeworks.com/Builders for Climate Action website => https://www.buildersforclimateaction.org/BEAM Estimator Tool => https://www.buildersforclimateaction.org/beam-estimator.htmlBio-Based Materials Collective => https://biobasedcollective.org/

Beth Eckenrode is the co-founder of AUROS Group, "where building science meets data science." Beth co-founded the AUROS Group with Craig Stevenson in 2017 to provide building owners with more confidence in their sustainable building investments.  Together with academic sustainability expert Robert Sroufe, they co-authored the book, "The Power of Existing Buildings--Save Money, Improve Health and Reduce Environmental Impacts" (Island Press, 2019). In this episode, we discuss the power of Passive House to help you uncover and reach a building's optimum performance potential, and how neglecting to do so can mean leaving significant amounts of money on the table for large building owners who are doing renovations.Connect with Beth and AUROS Group:Beth on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/in/betheckenrode/AUROS Group on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/company/auros-group/Beth's co-written book, The Power of Existing Buildings => https://islandpress.org/books/power-existing-buildingsAUROS Group's website => https://www.aurosgroup.com/

Enrico Bonilauri is an architect, trainer, passive house certifier, and the CEO of Emu Passive. Started as an architectural practice in Italy in 2009, they soon discovered passive house as the building science handrail they needed to guide their design decisions. In 2016, they decided to get into education to promote passive house ideas and methodologies, and help people become better at their profession. Emu Passive's mission is to bring the most advanced building science to mainstream construction, and they've set themselves the challenge of training 5,000 builders by 2030. Connect with Enrico and Emu Passive:Enrico on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/in/enricobonilauri/Emu Passive on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/company/emu-building-science/Emu Passive on Instagram => https://www.instagram.com/emubldgscience/Emu Passive on YouTube => https://www.youtube.com/@emupassiveEmu Passive website => https://emupassive.com/

Shefali Sanghvi is the Director of Sustainability at Dattner Architects, a mission-driven, women-owned design firm based in New York City and focused on civic spaces and the urban experience. One of the things she loves about being a director of sustainability in an architecture firm with multiple studios is the opportunity to leverage what she learns from the passive house and affordable housing sides into other typologies in the office. We talk about the connection between sustainability and affordability, debunk the myth that affordable has to mean low quality, and highlight how the drive for electrification is making Passivhaus an easier sell.Connect with Shefali and Dattner Architects:Shefali on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/in/shefali-sanghvi-aia-leed-ap-bd-c-env-sp-fitwel-amb-7397425/Shefali on Instagram => https://www.instagram.com/shefali_sustainability/425 Grand Concourse (Shefali's intro to PH) => https://www.dattner.com/projects/view/425-grand-concourse/Via Verde (Shefali's intro to Dattner) => https://www.dattner.com/projects/view/via-verde-the-green-way/Vital Brookdale (Shefali's first PH project) => https://www.dattner.com/projects/view/vital-brookdale/Dattner website => https://www.dattner.com/

Brian Pearson is an architect and the co-founder of Studio Pear. Brian created a flyer, which he shared on LinkedIn, titled "Air-Tightness in Buildings: Benefits You can Enjoy Every Day." In that graphic, he lists seven benefits you can enjoy EVERY DAY from the investment in an airtight building: Comfort, Energy Efficiency, Ventilation Efficiency, Pollutant Control, Vapor Control, Acoustic Control, and Building Durability.Connect with Brian and Studio Pear:Brian on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-s-pearson-977012b6/Brian's Passivhaus graphic => https://www.linkedin.com/posts/brian-s-pearson-977012b6_passivehouse-airtight-smoketight-activity-7348837342742274049--HJeStudio Pear website => https://studiopear.us/

Mariana Pickering is the Chief Brand Officer and Community Director at B.PUBLIC Prefab. After graduating with a Master's in Design Science from the University of Sydney, she co-founded EMU Architetti in Italy with Enrico Bonilauri, doing sustainably focused architectural design for ~8 years. In 2017, they moved the company to the US, renaming to EMU Passive and pivoting to become one of the first accredited education providers with PHI, in order to address what they saw as one of the biggest gaps in passive house: training architects and builders. Then, having sold her partnership in EMU Passive, Mariana made her way to B.PUBLIC Prefab, where she continues the mission of marketing through education and community-building.Connect with Mariana and B.PUBLIC Prefab:Mariana on LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianapickering/Mariana on Bluesky => https://bsky.app/profile/passivemariana.bsky.socialB.PUBLIC Prefab website => https://www.bpublicprefab.com/B.PUBLIC Prefab on Instagram => https://www.instagram.com/b.publicprefab/

Renee Relf is a recent graduate of the University of Oregon, where she earned her Master of Architecture with a specialization in Architectural Technology. In the course of finishing her M.Arch, Renee also became a certified Passivhaus consultant (CPHC) and acquired a Living Future Accreditation (LFA). We discuss the differences she noticed between becoming a CPHC and acquiring the LFA, her experiences of viewing the world through new eyes as she completed her degree and certifications, and her upcoming internship, in which she expects her CPHC to be put into practice.Connect with Renee:LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/in/renee-relf-0b84b11b4/

Bronwyn Barry is an architect and principal at Passive House BB, as well as co-founder and recently retired Board Chair of the Passive House Network. It was from Bronwyn that I first came across the catchy phrase Boxy But Beautiful (#BBB) to describe the form factor that is key to optimal Passivhaus performance. She's also the first person I saw pointing out that Passivhaus' airtightness standards mean these buildings are also smoke-tight, which is increasingly important in these times of heightened air pollution from wildfires. In terms of marketing Passivhaus, it doesn't get much better than that! Listen to this episode for yet another catchy, alliterative turn of phrase! (You'll have to wait until almost the very end :-)Connect with Bronwyn and Passive House BB:Passive House BB => https://www.passivehousebb.com/LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/in/bronwynbarryBluesky => https://bsky.app/profile/passivehousebb.bsky.social

Lloyd Alter is an author, reformed architect, adjunct professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, and the writer of the excellent Substack, Carbon Upfront! Having followed his work for the better part of a decade, primarily through his prolific stint as a writer and editor at Treehugger, I have heard Lloyd talk about the virtues of Passivhaus (and the frustrating nature of its name) more than anyone else. In fact, it was Lloyd's article, "Passivhaus or Passive House? Efficiency, low carbon, or Comfort and Security?" that convinced me — mere days before I was about to start building in earnest — to call this podcast Marketing Passivhaus, not Marketing Passive House.Connect with Lloyd and Carbon Upfront!:Substack => https://lloydalter.substack.com/LinkedIn => https://www.linkedin.com/in/lloyd-alter-827ba7/Lloyd's favourite Treehugger article of his => https://www.treehugger.com/how-do-you-sell-idea-passive-house-4856509

Two people, 1.5 months, 50 square meters, passivhaus + carbon neutral...all built with nothing more than tools that can fit in your car. Martín Comas of Arquitectura Regenerativa believes it's possible. His mission is to "pollinate sovereignty and empower communities" through scalable, affordable, accessible, high-performance buildings.Connect with Martín and Arquitectura Regenerativa:YouTube => https://www.youtube.com/@ArquitecturaRegenerativaWebsite => https://arre.bio/Instagram => https://www.instagram.com/arre.bio/LinkedIn (Martín) =>https://www.linkedin.com/in/martincomas/