Passive House Podcast

In this episode of the Passive House Podcast Jay Fox interviews Vermont filmmaker Allie Rood about her documentary Prickly Mountain and My Design Build Life, which traces the design-build architecture movement that began in Warren, Vermont around 1963 and influenced design-build programs nationwide. Rood explains her personal connection through her father’s work in the community, the movement’s roots among Yale architects ...

In this episode of The Passive House Podcast, Mary James chats with Nidhi Shah, a certified Passive House designer and member of the Reimagine Buildings Collective. Shah traces her path from early sustainability interests in India to Passive House training in the UK. They dive into her retrofit-focused work with Retrofit Action for Tomorrow (RAFT), emphasizing whole-building approaches over piecemeal measures like external...

In this episode of The Passive House Podcast, Matthew Cutler-Welsh speaks with Andreas Goetz about building the Wunderbar Passive House in Orewa, about 40 minutes north of Auckland. Originally from Germany and motivated by comfort and health, Goetz pursued Passive House despite local challenges, choosing a simple rectangular ICF design with imported European triple-glazed windows and integrated exterior shutters to manage ...

In this episode of The Passive House Podcast, Ilka Cassidy and Jacob Racusin are at the BuildingEnergy Boston 2026 Conference (Sponsored by New Energy Works).

Ilka and Jacob recap day 2 of the conference including a keynote by Melissa O’Mara and Kevin Stack, “Unstoppable Inner Resilience and Generational Leadership,” which guided attendees through a meditation connecting to ancestors and future generations, highlighting acc...

In this episode of The Passive House Podcast, Ilka Cassidy and Jacob Racusin are at the BuildingEnergy Boston 2026 Conference (Sponsored by New Energy Works).

Ilka and Jacob speak with:

• Gregory Smith, Architect at Moody Nolan
• Clay Tilton, Existing Buildings Program ManagerBuilt Environment Plus (BE+)
• Arlen Li, Fitwel Ambassador, Planning PrincipalHGA
• Anthony Michetti, Director of Sustainability, Cell Signaling Technology
• Jul...

Building science is at the core of high-performance construction, but it takes more than an understanding of psi-values and hygrothermal dynamics to actually get these buildings built. As we see in this episode, having a real-world understanding of materials science, finance, and how people actually work together is yet another component to this line of work. Granted, there’s still a lot of building science involved, as em...

In this episode of The Passive House Podcast, Zack Semke chats with Nick Nigro of Leggat McCall about the Bunker Hill Housing Redevelopment in Charlestown, Boston, a phased replacement of 42 aging WWII-era public housing buildings into 2,699 mixed-income units. Nick explains how the team committed to Passive House from day one and is using a repeatable “kit of parts”—precast lateral-load-bearing cores, prefabricated load-b...

In this episode of The Passive House Podcast, Mary James chats with Kia Weatherspoon, founder of Determined by Design. Weatherspoon describes how experiences visiting her brother in prison and creating privacy during Air Force deployments shaped her belief that spaces must be felt, not just seen. She explains her mission-driven focus on affordable housing and a design process rooted in ancestry, legacy, and identity, trans...

In this episode of The Passive House Podcast, host Matthew Cutler interviews New Zealand building scientist and sustainability specialist Tavis Creswell-Wells of Ecolution about overheating risk, building performance, and lessons from working in the UK. Tavis describes his path from architecture to building science, early research with BRANZ on the Building Energy End Use Study, and later experience in London with large en...

In this episode of The Passive House Podcast, Jay Fox speaks with Tony Daniels and Caitlin Matusewicz of Cycle Architecture + Planning about their backgrounds in high-performance design and the firm’s focus on scalable multifamily deep energy retrofits, resilience, and Passive House. The conversation covers why retrofits are harder than new construction and how Cycle aims to scale by starting with repeatable retrofit solut...

In this episode of The Passive House Podcast Jay Fox interviews Edie Dillman (co-founder and CEO of B.Public Prefab) and Karen Ramsey (founder and sustainability strategist at Building Wellness) about Fort Collins, Colorado’s Design to 2030 pilot program. They describe B.Public’s panelized, Passive House–standard prefab shell system launched in 2019 and Ramsey’s consulting work supporting Passive House projects, including ...

In this episode of The Passive House Podcast, co-host Jay Fox interviews Heather McKinstry and Shefali Sanghvi of Dattner Architects about their work focusing on Passive House projects, primarily affordable housing in New York City. The discussion delves into Dattner Architects' commitment to civic work, including multifamily housing, transportation, and healthcare projects. They emphasize the benefits of Passive House sta...

In this episode of The Passive House Podcast, host Zack Semke discusses bio-based materials and high-performance buildings with Lindsey Love from Regenerative Building Solutions. They highlight the importance of early phase energy and embodied carbon modeling, integrating natural materials in construction, and the benefits of such materials for building resilience and occupant health. They also discuss the AIA 2030 Commitm...

There’s a lot of building science that goes into making passive buildings extremely durable, efficient, comfortable, and healthy. However, one of the things that often gets overlooked when trying to explain the benefits of Passive House is the experience of actually being in one. There is a certain ineffability associated with the experience that defies easy translation into facts and figures, and this can be especially tr...

In this episode of The Passive House Podcast, Ilka Cassidy and Kristof Irwin discuss with Helena van Vliet the concept of biophilic design and its impact on human wellbeing. Helena explains how designing environments that reconnect humans with nature can optimize physiological energy and reduce stress and inflammation. The conversation delves into practical applications of biophilic design in urban environments, exploring ...

In this episode of The Passive House Podcast Mary James and Jay Fox chat with Carmel Pratt, the new executive director of New York Passive House. They explore Carmel's background in architecture and sustainability, her role at New York Passive House, and her approach to sustainability consulting. Carmel shares the rich history and milestones of New York Passive House, including notable policies, educational initiatives, an...

In this episode of The Passive House Podcast, co-host Mary James discuss Passive House practices with James Petersen, founder of Petersen Engineering. The episode focuses on domestic hot water systems and their electrification, particularly in the context of Passive House standards. Petersen explains the challenges with current technologies, options for heat recovery, and the impact of location-specific energy costs. The c...

In this episode of The Passive House Podcast, Jay Fox interviews Maggie Ullman, a Councilwoman from Asheville, North Carolina. Maggie shares her multifaceted background as a climate advocate, former sustainability director, and leader of a nonprofit network focused on sustainability in the Southeast. She delves into her experience running for office, the impact of Hurricane Helene on Asheville, and the city's recovery effo...

In this episode of the Passive House Podcast, co-hosts Jay Fox and Ilka Cassidy interview Ben Bogie, a third-generation high-performance builder and Director of Outreach and Education at BPC Green Builders. Ben discusses the foundational lessons learned from his family's history in building super-insulated, airtight, thermally broken structures since the 1970s. He shares insights into the evolution of high-performance buil...