Marketing Passivhaus

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-buildings

• AUROS 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/@emupassive

• Emu 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--HJe

• Studio 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.social

• B.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/bronwynbarry

• Bluesky => 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/@ArquitecturaRegenerativa

• Website => https://arre.bio/

• Instagram => https://www.instagram.com/arre.bio/

• LinkedIn (Martín) =>https://www.linkedin.com/in/martincomas/ 

Graham Irwin, AIA, NCARB, is the Principal at Essential Habitat Architecture—architecture for the future of California. Working at the forefront of high-performance architecture in California since 2008, Essential Habitat designs modern, sustainable homes for people who want exceptional performance without sacrificing style. In this episode, we discuss the lack of a visual typology for Passivhaus buildings, the profound tranquility of being inside a Passivhaus home, and the importance of feeling happy and comfortable in your space.

Connect with Graham and Essential Habitat Architecture:

• Website => https://www.essentialhabitat.com/

• Instagram => https://www.instagram.com/eharchitecture/

• LinkedIn (Graham) => https://www.linkedin.com/in/graham-irwin/