Buildings + Beyond Podcast

Robb Aldrich

Robb focuses on building energy systems: researching new technologies, monitoring performance, and helping practitioners create better, healthier, more efficient buildings.

Maureen Mahle

As Managing Director of the Sustainable Building Services team at Steven Winter Associates, Maureen leads a multi-faceted team dedicated to providing sustainable design and construction consulting for a variety of project types including community developments, residential, commercial, institutional, and mixed-use buildings.

Andrea Foss

As Sustainability Director at Steven Winter Associates and Washington, DC resident, Andrea leads a multi-faceted team dedicated to providing sustainable design and construction consulting for a variety of project types including community developments, residential and mixed-use buildings.

Gayathri Vijayakumar

Gayathri Vijayakumar is a Principal Mechanical Engineer at Steven Winter Associates, Inc, with over 18 years of experience supporting high-performance multifamily buildings. She graduated from the Pennsylvania State University with a BS in Engineering Science and from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a MS in Mechanical Engineering and a Graduate Certificate in Energy Policy and Management. Gayathri currently provides technical support to the EPA’s Indoor airPLUS program and ENERGY STAR Multifamily New Construction programs. She currently is a voting member of the 2024 IECC Residential Consensus Committee and Chair of RESNET’s Standards Development Committee, SDC300.

We talk a lot about sustainability at a large scale; this typically includes large building projects or grid-level issues, like energy affordability and access to renewables. But how about the small-scale? What type of sustainability initiatives are people passionate about in their everyday lives?

To answer this question, Robb assembled a group of sustainability professionals from Steven Winter Associates and asked them to share some best practices for living a more sustainable lifestyle. Each guest responds with one topic they are passionate about and explains how they turned a common challenge into a sustainable solution.

Here’s the breakdown of topics by guest:

Eliminating combustion and going all-electric:

Video – Samantha Bee’s take on cooking with gas (with RMI):

Images – Before and after photos of Maureen’s transition to an all-electric home:

Walkability and proximity to transit:

SWA Blog – Electric Cars: Are They Better for Your Pocket and the Climate Right NOW?

Factsheet – EPA: Fast Facts on Transportation Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Duct sealing:

Article – More info on Aeroseal and how to find a local contractor to get a quote:

“The P3 Higher Education Summit examines campus infrastructure challenges faced by colleges and universities nationwide, and how new approaches to procurement, risk, planning, and asset management are helping campus planners and facility managers deliver critical projects nationwide.

Join over 600 college and university representatives, developers, and design-build professionals for two days of project delivery discussions and networking. Check out P3HigherEducation.com to learn more and to register. Opportunities for sponsorship are still available.

Register with code SWINTER for $100 off your registration!

Send your feedback and questions to [email protected]

Buildings and Beyond is the podcast that explores how we can create a more sustainable built environment by focusing on efficiency, accessibility, and health.

Buildings and Beyond is a production of Steven Winter Associates. We provide energy, green building, and accessibility consulting services to improve the built environment. For more information, visit swinter.com.

Hosts: Robb Aldrich | Kelly Westby

Production Team: Heather Breslin | Alex Mirabile | Dylan Martello

Charlotte Matthews

Charlotte Matthews is the Head of Affordable Electrification at Google. Her career spans building design, construction management, real estate development and tech, always with the goal of finding scalable solutions to reduce the climate impact of buildings.

At Google, Charlotte leads a cross-functional team developing a product to help utilities address the competing pressures of energy affordability and transitioning homes from fossil fuels to clean electricity. Charlotte moved to Google from Sidewalk Labs, an Alphabet startup focused on urban sustainability and affordability. Prior to that, Charlotte was the Vice President of Sustainability for Related Companies, a large owner-developer of mixed-use neighborhoods.

Charlotte taught for several years in Columbia University’s Masters in Real Estate Development program and holds a BSc in Environmental Science from Brown University.

Fun fact: Once upon a time, Charlotte Matthews worked for Steven Winter Associates as a Sustainability Consultant!

It’s not every day we get to interview someone with such a diverse background of project experiences. Whether it was working for an architect, developer, construction manager, or tech startup, our guest for this episode has leveraged her passion and expertise as a sustainability professional to come up with some pretty impressive solutions for buildings.

In this episode, Robb and Kelly chat with Charlotte Matthews, Head of Affordable Electrification at Google. Charlotte reflects on her experience working for different firms as a sustainability professional and shares some of the challenges she faced when attempting to improve the operational efficiency of buildings. Throughout the episode, the group discusses why buildings don’t perform as expected, the importance of benchmarking and normalizing, and the impact of dynamic energy pricing.

This episode marks our first ever video podcast! Check it out on SWA’s YouTube page and let us know what you think.

We hope the video component brings our listeners closer to the conversation and provides a sneak peak into our lives as building science nerds podcasters. Let us know what you think!

Sidewalk Labs

Performance Gap Studies:

“The P3 Higher Education Summit examines campus infrastructure challenges faced by colleges and universities nationwide, and how new approaches to procurement, risk, planning, and asset management are helping campus planners and facility managers deliver critical projects nationwide.

Join over 600 college and university representatives, developers, and design-build professionals for two days of project delivery discussions and networking. Check out P3HigherEducation.com to learn more and to register. Opportunities for sponsorship are still available.

Register with code SWINTER for $100 off your registration!

Send your feedback and questions to [email protected]

Buildings and Beyond is the podcast that explores how we can create a more sustainable built environment by focusing on efficiency, accessibility, and health.

Buildings and Beyond is a production of Steven Winter Associates. We provide energy, green building, and accessibility consulting services to improve the built environment. For more information, visit swinter.com.

Hosts: Robb Aldrich | Kelly Westby

Production Team: Heather Breslin | Alex Mirabile | Dylan Martello | Ian Slakas

Peter Stratton

Peter Stratton is a Senior VP and the Managing Director of Accessibility Services at SWA. Under his leadership, the firm’s Accessibility Consulting Team provides services for a variety of private and public clients nationwide, including the owner of the largest privately owned residential real estate portfolio in New York City, two of the top-ten largest housing authorities in the U.S., and the largest shelter system in the U.S. He is the author of a variety of industry publications, including A Basic Guide to Fair Housing Accessibility – Everything Architects and Builders Need to Know About the Fair Housing Act Accessibility Guidelines, published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

** First released in 2018, ‘All-Access’ is the perfect episode for those interested in learning more about accessibility compliance, especially as it pertains to building design, construction, and ownership. Before we dive into the original episode, we learn about a new term called “Inclusive Design” and how it differs from “Universal Design”. **

There are approximately 57 million Americans living with disabilities in the United States; worldwide, people with disabilities make up 15% of our population. Given this information, we must do our part to ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to opportunities afforded to everyone – starting with equal access to buildings.

This week’s guest is a long-time accessibility expert who serves as the Managing Director of SWA’s Accessibility Services, Peter Stratton. Peter begins the episode with an overview of the existing accessibility requirements in the U.S. and highlights additional measures that should be taken to ensure inclusiveness for all. Join us to learn how we can foster a more accessible built environment through careful design and planning. 

A Basic Guide to Fair Housing Accessibility: Everything Architects and Builders Need to Know About the Fair Housing Act Accessibility Guidelines

Designing for Passive House and Accessibility Requirements

Cost of Accessible Housing

Accessible Housing by Design: Universal Design Principles in Practice

Aging in Place Guide for Building Owners

Accessibility Posts on PartyWalls Blog

Regulations

Fair Housing Accessibility Guidelines 

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

International Building Code (IBC) Chapter 11

Send your feedback and questions to [email protected]

Buildings and Beyond is the podcast that explores how we can create a more sustainable built environment by focusing on efficiency, accessibility, and health.

Buildings and Beyond is a production of Steven Winter Associates. We provide energy, green building, and accessibility consulting services to improve the built environment. For more information, visit swinter.com.

Hosts: Robb Aldrich | Kelly Westby

Production Team: Heather Breslin | Alex Mirabile | Dylan Martello

Kelly:                                                     Welcome to buildings and beyond

Robb:                                                  the podcast that explores how we can create a more sustainable built environment

Kelly:                                                     by focusing on efficiency, accessibility and health.

Robb:                                                   I’m Robb Aldrich

Kelly:                                                     and I’m Kelly Westby.

Robb:                                                 This week I’m talking with Peter Stratton, who is the managing director of accessibility services here at Steven winter associates. And he’s been at this for quite a while. He’s been working on accessibility related topics since back in the eighties or nineties when the first accessibility legislation came out and he’s been helping people comply with the legislation. We talk a little bit about the history of accessibility requirements, how it differs from codes. They’re not always the same thing, which can be frustrating. And basically what he does, how he helps building owners, designers, developers comply with the proper accessibility requirements.

New Speaker:                                     Pete thanks for being here.

Peter:                                                   Thanks for having me Robb.

Robb:                                                   So one of my big focuses of this podcast, one of my big interests is to talk more with people in this company. I mean, the company’s not huge, 125 people or so, but we do a lot of different things. And accessibility is one of the things that I’m really not very familiar with. So when we decided to do this podcast, I said, all right, I want to interview Peter Stratton first. And I told you and you said fantastic, and then you left the country for two weeks. So what’s up with that?

Peter:                                                 I’m back now though, I was investigating accessibility in Machu Picchu

Robb:                                                   I look forward to the report. I guess first we’re talking about accessibility and people know what it is in a vague sense, but do you have a good working definition or an official definition?

Peter:                                                 working definition? So when we talk about accessibility in the context of what we do here at Steven winter associates, accessibility really means, that a building, a space, a facility is in compliance with a requirement or a criteria. So when we say is the building accessible? we really mean, does it comply with the requirements that are applicable to the building?

Robb:                                                   Okay. And the term universal design I hear a lot is that kind of a above and beyond term?

Peter:                                                   many terms. Accessibility is what- when we talk about accessibility, again, we mean in compliance with the requirement. When we talk about universal design or inclusive design, we talk about sort of going beyond compliance and accommodating the needs of a variety of potential building users versus accessibility, which focuses mostly on accommodating the needs of people with disabilities. So that’s the distinction.

Robb:                                                   And accessibility- The legal requirements for accessibility are a big enough stretch for some people that going above and beyond is, we don’t get into that too much

Peter:                                                   We do get into it often enough, but universal design for the most part is not a requirement of federal, state or local law or building codes. There are universal design requirements that are out there, but not to the extent that accessibility requirements exist.

Robb:                                                   Okay. So when did it start, when did you start working and when did accessibility requirements come on the books?

Peter:                                                   Yeah, well, we been working on accessibility for many years. I personally celebrate my 25th anniversary here at Steven Winter associates this month. But we haven’t been working on it that long, almost that long. Many years ago we were a contractor to HUD’s office of policy development and research and OPDNR at that time had RFPs out on the street for contractors who could get involved in some early research on the fair housing amendments act.

Robb:                                                   And that was new?

Peter:                                                   That was new at the time. Certainly. The law fair housing amendments act of 1988 when we talk about the Fair Housing Act, subsequent to the passing of the Fair Housing Amendments Act, you know, the industry was kind of confused about having to comply with the legal use of a federal regulation and also with the requirements of a building code or criteria.

Robb:                                                   And there wasn’t overlap? So this was, this was the legislation, not building code.

Peter:                                                   This is federal legislation in addition to building code that that was, that applied at the time. and then architect for example, understands building code and criteria, technical standards. And at that time, little bit confused about the legally use of a federal regulation, which they at that time learned that they need to comply with. And so there was some early research on what it all sort of really meant for the industry. And we were involved in that early research and then it sort of snowballed from there. And here we are all these years later with a significant number of people on the team doing a lot of great stuff. Yeah.

Robb:                                                   Very cool. And is it mostly with developers we’re working with? I mean, what’s the stretch?

Peter:                                                   I mean, so our clients run the gamut. We work with a whole bunch of stakeholders, right? So architects, developers, contractors, public agencies, and lots of attorneys because it is very litigious as you can imagine. And we’ve got developers and other entities that are sued often for noncompliance with requirements. And we do a lot of that litigation consulting. So working with a lot of attorneys these days. But for the most part I’d say we work primarily with developers and architects- that sort of bread and butter. New construction. The requirements depending also cover existing construction alterations, renovations. But I think our bread and butter for the most part is new construction, multifamily housing.

Robb:                                                   And so is that separation between legislation and codes still present? Has it gotten better or has legislation outpaced codes and codes are trying to catch up?

Peter:                                                   You know it’s a mixed bag. So in the very beginning, we had the legal use of federal regulations to worry about when we design and construct facilities, and I’m talking about housing, but we have all the federal requirements like the ADA that apply to facilities that are non housing facilities, like public accommodations. Fair housing is obviously housing and the ADA is public accommodation and commercial facilities. Title Three of the ADA and title two of the ADA covers activities of states and local governments. So if the local government does have a housing type of a facility, like a shelter, although it is housing, it is also subject to ADA title two because it’s a activity of a state or local government, I should say. So federal regulations have to be complied with in addition to the building code in the very beginning, many years ago it was a tough kind of nut to crack.

Peter:                                                   You know, what’s more stringent, what takes precedence over the other. I really only need to worry about the requirements of the building code when it comes to access because that’s enough to get me in compliance with federal regulation, which is not true. And so that was the sentiment at that time.

Robb:                                                   Were talking about nineties?

Peter:                                                   we’re talking early nineties, mid nineties. Now a lot has changed, more current additions of the building code. And I’m talking about the international building code way. When all these federal regulations came into play, we didn’t have the international building code. We had a number of different building codes like BOCA or the southern building code, that covered different jurisdictions across the country. Now, for the most part, we have the international building code. And it has chapter 11 accessibility in it.

Peter:                                                   And it has, you know, attempted to keep up with the requirements of federal law. There are some editions of the International Building Code, for example, that are approved by HUD as safe harbors for compliance with the design and construction requirements of the Fair Housing Amendments Act, a safe harbor is a document that you can turn to, that when you comply with that document from beginning to end, you essentially comply with the requirements of fair housing.

Robb:                                                   And so HUD will review a code and say, all right, this meets all our checklists?

Peter:                                                   That’s right. And HUD it has done that, but they stopped at the international building code 2006, and now we’re up to 2018. So Hud is sort of lagging, building codes have progressed.

Robb:                                                   And the accessibility requirements, the legislation also have progressed or evolved?

Peter:                                                   No, the fair housing amendments act has remained the same. The Americans with Disabilities Act has been updated and there had been criteria that have been updated. But additions of the international building code beyond 2006 have not been approved by HUD as safe harbors for compliance.

Robb:                                                   So presumably they didn’t backtrack on their accessibility measures?

Peter:                                                   Thats right. I think things have gotten better and the trend is sort of improved accessibility in the building codes for sure, but still not a HUD approved safe harbor. And it’s not that, you know, there’s nothing in the legal ease of the law that tells you that you’ve got to comply with a HUD approved safe harbor.

Robb:                                                   Thats just a service really to try to get accessibility into standard practice. Cause I mean developers, builders, have to deal with codes, architects, everybody has to deal with the codes. They know how to deal with the codes. And now you throw up a piece of legislation at them, and it’s like woah.

Peter:                                                   I think I would have believed I would have agreed with that statement 20 years ago. But today for an industry key stakeholder to say, “hey look, I’m a little confused at this law” or “I understand my building is not compliant, but you know, I get the building code I’m not really familiar with it.” I think a little bit too late for that. It’s been around for many, many, many, many years at this point. And so, you know, you try to learn and grow and I think what has changed from now to then is that the industry I think realizes now that accessibility really is its own sort of niche practice.

Robb:                                                   Right. You have to do it. That’s like efficiency. I mean codes didn’t use to address efficiency. It was, you know, structural safety, fire safety..

Peter:                                                   You’ve got to do it right. And you rely on the accessibility consultant just like you would rely on any specialty consultant. The acoustics consultant, right? The landscape consultant, the mechanical consultant, you know, the architect is not developing or designing mechanical systems and is not doing acoustics probably for the most part. So how can you expect an architect to essentially be paid what they’re paid and also understand all of the nuts and bolts of a federal regulation in addition to the building code? I think it’s just way too much.

Robb:                                                   Gotcha. So what are some of the nuts and bolts, I mean, what are some of the things that people fail to comply with? Some common things that just requires some extra thought or some extra planning?

Peter:                                                   Yeah things people fail to comply with that? That a great question. I think what trips people up and when I see people, I think for the most part, designers or architects and interior designers, speaking as one of those professionals. Yes. And just based on the experience, you know what I see every day. All of the codes, the federal laws, the state laws, local legislation, all have what’s called scoping criteria and technical criteria. So the scoping criteria is what needs to be accessible. For example, how many building entrances are required to be accessible, how many bathrooms are required to be accessible. And then you turn to technical criteria for direction on how to make an entrance accessible. The clear width of the door, you know, maximum opening pressure, maneuvering clearance on both sides, the hardware type, closing speed, all of that. The technical criteria I think are pretty simple. You know, you go to the criteria, you open the book and you follow the steps, the door has to provide a clear with of no less than 32 inches measuring between the face of the door and the opposing stop when the door is open, 90 degrees. That’s simple. I think it’s scoping criteria in terms of how many, how much, that sort of confuses architects and designers. And that’s where we see, I think, the mistakes being made. You know, the building code for example in New York City requires that all public entrances are accessible. Americans with disabilities act requires that 60% of public entrances are accessible. The fair housing amendments act requires that at least one primary entrance be accessible. So if you have a building that is subject to a number of federal requirements, which many are, in addition to building code, you’ve got different scoping requirements and you’ve got different technical requirements to comply with. So it’s understanding what to apply and sort of what governs what rule you’ve got to follow. And so it’s mostly the scoping information. That’s what trips designers up.

Robb:                                                   And its not necessarily getting the details right, You know, so something has to be a dimension of x and its dimension of x plus one inches

Peter:                                                   I want to say yes, but then again, when I think about it, you know, the devil’s in the details, it’s all about the details really. I think it’s the scoping criteria that just, if you don’t iron out the scoping criteria, how many and what, right at the onset, and you can continue to design the project very difficult to correct, you’ve got yourself in a hole. When it comes to the technical criteria, you know, bevels on thresholds, maximum threshold height, clear width at doors. There’s lots that we’d need to think about in order to meet the technical requirements. So to say that a 32 inch door needs to provide a clear width of 32 inches, does a 210 door work? Should you default to a 36 inch door because you have a different or an odd hinge on a 210 door, so the devil is in the details. Certainly.

Robb:                                                   So have the requirements, I don’t know if hinges is a good example, but has the legislation evolved to kind of make these requirements more practical, more buildable or, or I mean I think I’ve heard someone talk about like ranges and you know, used to mandate a dimension of x, now it’s a dimension of x plus or minus an inch or something to have some wiggle room

Peter:                                                   yes, the criteria have, the requirements have, definitely progressed, not as fast as the law itself, you know, so we’ve got technical standards that change and develop every so many years. A federal regulation does not do that. The law stays in place. The technical criteria changed over time. That said though, the Americans with Disabilities Act has recently been updated, but the fair housing amendments act has not been updated and either have other federal laws. So although the laws can change, they primarily stay the same, and it’s the technical criteria that change. So what was required by a technical standard in 1998 is very different than the same technical standard, which is now dated, latest one in 2009, 2017 coming onboard. So, there are committees that develop these criteria’s, you know, they also learn as we build over time.

Peter:                                                   And so one of the things that we often hear is, you know, is there any tolerance? you know, the requirement is 18 inches, a distance of 18 inches between the center line of a toilet and the adjacent side wall for example. It’s very tough to meet that hard line 18 and construction, right? Construction is not a perfect science. So the criteria have moved away from that hard line of 18 and now contemplate a range of between 16 and 18, which is much easier to comply with. Right. Much more builder friendly and much more practical. I’d say. And so that’s where we are with the criteria.

Robb:                                                   So with, with projects that go well, I mean that you’re involved in, I kind of assume it’s kind of a soup to nuts process being involved with designers early on and, and through construction and verifying after construction

Peter:                                                   So it runs the gamut. If we could have our wish of course it would be to be involved, at schematic design. So we can advise on the direction that the designer is going in terms of designing the units. Normally we provide two comprehensive reviews, but we don’t only stop at the architectural review, right. we’re reviewing all the plan sets, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and architectural. So it’s just not the spaces.

Robb:                                                   what on mechanical? What are you have to inspect mechanical drawings for?

Peter:                                                   So We’re looking, for example, for information on thermostats, which you usually find. We’re looking at height. Often times there are chase walls, which obstruct into maneuvering cones at doors, for example. It’s all the mechanical chases, plumbing chases, you know, there are a whole variety of things.

Robb:                                                   Are you saying mechanical engineers might draw ducks where they might interfere with somebody?

Peter:                                                   Sometimes, I think it’s more likely though that we might have a plumbing set that’s misaligned or that doesn’t align with the architectural set. So for example, in a bathtub, in a bathroom or a shower, we’ll see the architect has designed the control wall, whether operable parts to the shower and the top is. The plumbing set may have the same controls but on an opposing wall. And so we often find that the plan sets are not aligned.

Robb:                                                   Alright so They’re just trying to minimize their plumbing rounds, they’re trying to make it practical for them.

Peter:                                                   Right, well The architect put the controls on an exterior wall and then in the plumbing, they go from the exterior wall right to an interior wall. And so the building is now constructed with the plumbing on the interior wall because that’s the plumbing set. Cause they pull the plumbing set and that’s what they are building from. But there’s a reason why the architect put the plumbing controls on the exterior wall. Gotcha. And so when you bust stop plumbing controls or control locations, that’s very difficult to fix if sometimes not possible at all.

Robb:                                                   So, so people are doing better in general? I mean people are catching on?

New Speaker:                                     I think people are doing better in general. Yes. You know, years ago it was difficult to convince a design team that they should have their plans reviewed and they should have construction inspected along the way during various stages of construction, which is what we do. But I think people have learned the hard way sometimes. As you know, sometimes the hard way. Yes. Certainly. I think what’s important to realize is that when we’re talking about, you know, designing and constructing multifamily housing, if the building is not built in compliance with the design and construction requirements of the fair housing amendments act, you are violating someone’s civil rights and to violate a building code is one thing to violate civil right is a different thing. And that’s why you hear about so much litigation that surrounds noncompliance with the Fair Housing Amendments Act. We used to hear years ago the developer say, we rely on the architect to get this right, they’re the design professional, why do I need to hire a separate accessibility consultant? But they have since learned that they probably shouldn’t rely only on the architect. There are certainly architects that are very great at it. But again it’s a very specialized field. it certainly is.

Robb:                                                   So if we were to talk again in five years, what do you think we’d be talking about? What would have changed?

Peter:                                                   Wow. Five years from now? I would say that based on the trend that we are seeing now, and you know, our group here at Steven Winter Associates has grown pretty significantly over a very short number of years. The work is certainly coming in at a good rate. I think that we might see in five years, probably less of an uptick in litigation. And hopefully that’s as a result of people retaining accessibility, the consultants that do work like us. Gatta give it the old Clark, Rob.

Robb:                                                   Yeah, absolutely. Getting it right the first time. And I’ve gone through the hard way. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And that’s, I think you started out as a more on the litigation side and they’ve really tried to migrate more and more with builders and developers and designers to get it right.

Peter:                                                   You got, it definitely started on the litigation side, you know, and when we started, litigation was the only way, you know, to hurt someone in the pocket is the way to get them to learn. And so that was the sort of the press, in terms of enforcement at that time. And at that time, the model of course was cases that involved, the complaints against the industry- architects, developers, and, you know, we today, our model is to work on behalf of industry and to help industry navigate litigation should it make its way into litigation. And that’s what all of our litigation projects now involve, you know, helping industry navigate litigation. And I think that starting in litigation has enabled us to have a very keen sense of how decisions are made that surround particular issues. You know, what the court might sort of be lenient on, what the court might press, what happens in New York City versus same litigation outside of New York City. What happens in a jurisdiction when attorney Xyz is involved in the case versus the same type of litigation that doesn’t involve this particular attorney. And so we’ve learned that as a result of the business. I think that’s the value that we bring.

Robb:                                                   All right. Nice. Anything else? Any other big picture accessibility points?

Peter:                                                   pig picture, accessibility points? Uh, not that I can think of offhand, Rob, of course, we might need to do a better job in getting this particular office a little bit more accessible, but you know, this is radio and we can’t see that.

Robb:                                                   You could send me some notes so I’ll get right on it. Thanks Pete. Appreciate it.

Speaker 3:                                           Thank you for listening to buildings and beyond. For more information about the topics discussed today, visit www.swinter.com/podcast And check out the episode show notes buildings and beyond is brought to you by Steven Winter Associates. We provide energy, green building and accessibility consulting services. Do you improve the built environment our professionals have led the way since 1972 and the development of best practices to achieve high performance buildings I production team for today’s episode includes Dylan Martello, Alex Mirabile, and myself. Heather Breslin, thank you for listening and we’ll see you next week.

Jonathan Rodnite

I am the Assistant Chief Engineer of 125 Park Avenue with 10 years of commercial and real estate experience. I started as a handyman in 2012 and my career goal is to become a Director of Engineering. My passion for this business has driven me to pursue additional classes at the Local 94 Training Center with the goal of becoming an instructor. I want to encourage the current and future generation of Local 94 engineers to elevate their performance with a deep understanding of operational efficiencies by way of hands on experience.

Adam Romano

Adam Romano is a Principle Building Systems Consultant with Steven Winter Associates. Adam possesses over 17 years’ experience in the building science field and has extensive experience with new and existing buildings. His work at SWA focuses on building performance analysis, conducting energy audits and commissioning, design and implementation of high-performance HVAC systems, and instructional design and training delivery.

Ever wonder who is responsible for ensuring the performance of a building? Yes, designers and contractors can have a significant impact during construction, but once the building is complete, it’s the building operators and maintenance staff that have the greatest influence on the operational efficiency of large buildings. As a result, these boots on the ground professionals play a critical role in our fight against climate change.

In this episode, Kelly chats with Jonathan Rodnite and Adam Romano, two engineers who represent two interconnected and vital practices of building operations—maintenance and training. Both Jonathan and Adam share their perspectives on the importance of operator training, provide advice to listeners who may be interested in joining the workforce, and recount their favorite stories from the field.

Send your feedback and questions to [email protected]

Buildings and Beyond is the podcast that explores how we can create a more sustainable built environment by focusing on efficiency, accessibility, and health.

Buildings and Beyond is a production of Steven Winter Associates. We provide energy, green building, and accessibility consulting services to improve the built environment. For more information, visit swinter.com.

Hosts: Robb Aldrich | Kelly Westby

Production Team: Heather Breslin | Alex Mirabile | Dylan Martello

Christina McPike

Christina McPike is the Director of Energy & Sustainability at WinnCompanies, a Boston based, 50-year-old multifamily housing owner, developer, and manager. Since joining Winn’s Energy & Sustainability team in 2013, Ms. McPike has implemented over $50 million worth of energy efficiency upgrades across Winn’s portfolio. Under Ms. McPike’s leadership, WinnDevelopment successfully integrates high performance design in every project, from occupied moderate renovations to historic adaptive reuse projects to ground up new construction. Ms. McPike is a Lifetime member of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association. She holds an M.S. degree from Northeastern University and a B.A. from Boston College.

If you’re like us, you want to hear from someone who not only talks the talk but walks the walk. Our guest for this episode is the perfect example of this: she has the experience of a developer and the expertise of a sustainability guru – a perspective that is hard to find.

Christina McPike is the Director of Energy and Sustainability at WinnCompanies, a 50-year-old multifamily housing owner, developer, and manager. Christina provides an insightful look into the energy market, and shares the trends, incentives, and opportunities that have stemmed from recent carbon mandates for buildings. She also describes the details of one of Winn’s most ambitious projects – an all-electric deep energy retrofit in Boston – and discusses the programs her team leveraged that made the project economical.

Send your feedback and questions to [email protected]

Buildings and Beyond is the podcast that explores how we can create a more sustainable built environment by focusing on efficiency, accessibility, and health.

Buildings and Beyond is a production of Steven Winter Associates. We provide energy, green building, and accessibility consulting services to improve the built environment. For more information, visit swinter.com.

Hosts: Robb Aldrich | Kelly Westby

Production Team: Heather Breslin | Alex Mirabile | Dylan Martello

Robb Aldrich

Robb focuses on building energy systems: researching new technologies, monitoring performance, and helping practitioners create better, healthier, more efficient buildings.

Kelly Westby

As Director of the Building Operations, Decarbonization, and Efficiency team at Steven Winter Associates, Kelly has worked with building owners, developers, contractors, and design teams to improve building performance throughout the east coast. She has a wide range of experience in building science, energy efficiency retrofits, commissioning, and building decarbonization.

Dylan Martello

Dylan is a Senior Building Systems Consultant and Certified Passive House Designer with Steven Winter Associates, Inc. specializing in Passive House and Net Zero projects. Dylan works with project architects and engineers to assist in the design of extremely energy efficient buildings. His direct project experience on large-scale Passive House certified or pre-certified projects comprises a wide range of use types such as high rise multifamily, core and shell offices, hotels, and industrial facilities.

Alex Mirabile

Alex Mirabile is a Marketing Coordinator at Steven Winter Associates (SWA) and a recent graduate from the University of New Hampshire. His responsibilities at SWA span a wide range of the company’s marketing efforts including social media management, event planning, and writing for external publications. During his time at UNH, Alex graduated with a B.S. in Environmental Conservation and Sustainability and served as a member of the New Hampshire Sustainable Energy Association (NHSEA).

Sometimes it’s good to vent. Well, if you ask a Passive House expert, it’s always good to vent. So, that’s exactly what we did for this episode.

Based on popular demand, the Buildings and Beyond team took a more informal approach to this month’s episode and gathered for a roundtable discussion. With a mix of backgrounds and expertise, we came to the table with a different topic and shared our thoughts, findings, and of course, did some venting…

Here are the topics we discussed:

Ventilation:

Electrifying domestic water heating:

All-electric commercial kitchens:

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Backup power generation in a zero-carbon world:

The Passive House Network is a national 501(c)3 nonprofit, that provides Passive House education to building professionals across the United States, and supports a community of knowledge-sharing, in collaboration with regional and international Passive House organizations.

Formerly known as the North American Passive House Network (NAPHN) – this past year, in 2021 – NAPHN became simply The Passive House Network, or PHN, with a focus on reinforcing the connections between regional and global capacities.

Find out more and register for your next Passive House training at www.PassiveHouseNewtork.org.

Send your feedback and questions to [email protected]

Buildings and Beyond is the podcast that explores how we can create a more sustainable built environment by focusing on efficiency, accessibility, and health.

Buildings and Beyond is a production of Steven Winter Associates. We provide energy, green building, and accessibility consulting services to improve the built environment. For more information, visit swinter.com.

Hosts: Robb Aldrich | Kelly Westby

Production Team: Heather Breslin | Alex Mirabile | Dylan Martello

Patrick Hossay, PhD

Patrick Hossay is Professor and founding Chair of the Sustainability department and Energy Studies program at Stockton University. He jokingly states that his eclectic training has made him ideally suited as a professor of sustainability, but not much else, with advanced degrees, training and experience in engineering, technology, political science, and history. He is the author of multiple books and articles in diverse fields, including social science, history, environmental science, and engineering; and has taught and conducted research in renewable energy, environmental policy, natural resource management, sustainable communities, and international development.  He currently works and teaches in renewable energy, green buildings, automotive technology, green vehicle innovations, and sustainable design. Hossay has worked for more than two decades as a consultant on international development projects and municipal planning, and currently consults and advises regionally in the energy and design fields. He is also an experienced and licensed aircraft and automotive mechanic, and restores classic cars and motorcycles in his off time.

A degree in sustainability can mean many things. Sure, you can develop a focus, but how does an undergraduate program truly prepare you to become a professional in such a broad and complex topic? To learn more about what an undergraduate degree in sustainability should look like, we looked to Stockton University’s Patrick Hossay.

Patrick was recommended to us by various colleagues of ours who were fortunate enough to go through his sustainability program. Influenced by Patrick’s eclectic background, the program takes an interdisciplinary approach to education, requiring students to master a variety of topics that they may face as future sustainability professionals.

In addition to learning about Stockton’s unique degree program, Patrick and “Buildings and Beyond” host Robb take a trip down memory lane and share their experience as students. They also discuss the value of trades, which Patrick believes is being hampered by the growing belief that everyone “must” go to college.

About Stockton’s Sustainability Program

Stockton University’s Sustainability program offers BS and BA degrees that allow students to concentrate their studies in Renewable Energy, Agroecology, Environmental Policy or Sustainability Management, and gain hands-on practical training along with a broad interdisciplinary education.

Information on the Sustainability degree program at Stockton University can be found here: https://stockton.edu/sciences-math/sustainability.html

Other Resources

Shop Class as Soulcraft – book by Matthew Crawford

Send your feedback and questions to [email protected]

Buildings and Beyond is the podcast that explores how we can create a more sustainable built environment by focusing on efficiency, accessibility, and health.

Buildings and Beyond is a production of Steven Winter Associates. We provide energy, green building, and accessibility consulting services to improve the built environment. For more information, visit swinter.com.

Hosts: Robb Aldrich | Kelly Westby

Production Team: Heather Breslin | Alex Mirabile | Dylan Martello

Andrew Peel

Andrew Peel is the Founder & Managing Principal of Peel Passive House Consulting. Andrew’s primary areas of expertise are in low-carbon buildings and renewable energy. His professional and academic experience ranges from consultancy, program management, authoring technical and non-technical articles, course and lecture delivery, and technical research. Andrew provides Passive House and sustainability consultancy, certification, and training services to the building sector. Prior to forging out on his own, Andrew worked in a variety of capacities in Europe. These included managing the innovative carbon-saving technologies scheme and the Energy Saving Trust’s Best Practice Helpline. He also managed and delivered Passive House, Code for Sustainable Homes, wind turbine development, and thermal modelling projects as well as organizing Passive House study tours. Further activities included contributing to the development of the UK government’s housing energy calculation methodology (SAP) and the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP). Read more

The Passive House standard has been applied to some extraordinary building projects to date. From single family and high-rise residential to industrial and commercial buildings, building professionals have adopted the Passive House approach to improve occupant health and comfort, and reduce energy use (in some cases up to 90%!). That’s why when we heard about the world’s first certified Passive House car dealership, we knew we found our next podcast guest.

On this episode, Kelly chats with Andrew Peel from Peel Passive House Consulting to discuss one of his favorite (and most challenging) projects to date: a Passive House-certified Subaru dealership in Alberta, Canada.

Send your feedback and questions to [email protected]

Buildings and Beyond is the podcast that explores how we can create a more sustainable built environment by focusing on efficiency, accessibility, and health.

Buildings and Beyond is a production of Steven Winter Associates. We provide energy, green building, and accessibility consulting services to improve the built environment. For more information, visit swinter.com.

Hosts: Robb Aldrich | Kelly Westby

Production Team: Heather Breslin | Alex Mirabile | Dylan Martello

Jon Harrod

Jon Harrod, Ph.D., is a contractor, author and electrification advocate. In 2006 he founded Snug Planet, an award-winning home performance company based in Ithaca NY. From its initial focus on energy audits and envelope improvements, Snug Planet has grown to offer whole-home solutions, including moisture management and HVAC upgrades. Snug Planet is an active participant in New York State residential programs serving low-income and market-rate customers. In early 2022, Snug Planet will be merging with Halco Energy, one of the largest home performance contractors in New York. Jon is certified by the Building Performance Institute as a Building Analyst, Envelope Professional, Heating Professional, and AC/Heat Pump Professional. Jon’s articles have appeared in Home Energy Magazine, Journal of Extension, Building Performance Journal; and ASHRAE Journal. He is a regular contributor to Green Building Advisor.

The electrification of buildings is considered to be a primary strategy for reducing carbon emissions and kicking fossil fuels. Luckily, due to advancements in technology and carefully developed best practices, heat pumps may be a driving force in helping us to achieve our all-electric goals. But when do heat pumps make sense? As we know, there’s no one-size-fits-all application.

On this episode, Robb chats with Jon Harrod about the feasibility of heat pumps in low-moderate income homes. John shares some important factors to consider when evaluating heat pumps, such as construction type, geographic location, project financing, and more.

Snug Planet:

Website

Case Studies

Jon’s Blogs:

Green Building Advisor 

Send your feedback and questions to [email protected]

Buildings and Beyond is the podcast that explores how we can create a more sustainable built environment by focusing on efficiency, accessibility, and health.

Buildings and Beyond is a production of Steven Winter Associates. We provide energy, green building, and accessibility consulting services to improve the built environment. For more information, visit swinter.com.

Hosts: Robb Aldrich | Kelly Westby

Production Team: Heather Breslin | Alex Mirabile | Dylan Martello

Kathryn Wright

Kathryn Wright joined USDN in February 2020 as the Programs Director for Building Energy. In her role, Kathryn oversees the network’s strategic direction and innovation work in the built environment. Prior to USDN, Kathryn led Cadmus’ Sustainable Communities and Organizations practice. In this role, she focused on helping local and state governments plan and implement greenhouse gas reduction and resilience strategies. Illustrative work includes leading stakeholder engagement for the development and refinement of performance requirements for Boston’s disclosure ordinance, preparing research to support the City of Cambridge’s roadmap for resilient and equitable renewable thermal deployment across its community and serving as the Project Director for Massachusetts’ 2030 Climate Plan and 2050 Roadmap. Prior to Cadmus, Kathryn held a fellowship at the Center for Business and Environment at Yale and the Connecticut Green Bank focused on helping cities and towns increase distributed solar deployment. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the New Buildings Institute. She holds Bachelors degrees from the University of Pittsburgh in Marketing and Environmental Science and a Masters from Yale in Environmental Management. Read more

As building professionals and policymakers, it is our responsibility to integrate equity into our work. But how do we ensure equity is being addressed in a comprehensive manner? Fortunately, the Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN) has developed a framework for local government decision makers to serve as a guide for ensuring equity in the built environment.

On this episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with USDN’s Program Director for Building Energy, Kathryn Wright. Kathryn summarizes some of the concepts and practices highlighted in the framework and explains how her personal experiences drove her to improve equity in buildings.

USDN

The Equity and Buildings Framework: https://www.usdn.org/projects/equity-in-buildings-framework.html#/

Zero Cities Project: https://www.usdn.org/projects/zero-cities-project.html#/

Equity Principles and Commitments: https://www.usdn.org/uploads/cms/documents/usdn_equity_and_buildings_framework_-_june_2021_-_principles.pdf

High Impact Practices: https://www.usdn.org/high-impact-practices.html#/

Other Organizations

Greenlink Analytics Equity Metrics Project: https://www.equitymap.org/

Justice 40: https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/briefing-room/2021/07/20/the-path-to-achieving-justice40/

Cool new story map on redlining and environment from CalEPA: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/f167b251809c43778a2f9f040f43d2f5

Send your feedback and questions to [email protected]

Buildings and Beyond is the podcast that explores how we can create a more sustainable built environment by focusing on efficiency, accessibility, and health.

Buildings and Beyond is a production of Steven Winter Associates. We provide energy, green building, and accessibility consulting services to improve the built environment. For more information, visit swinter.com.

Hosts: Robb Aldrich | Kelly Westby

Production Team: Heather Breslin | Alex Mirabile | Dylan Martello