Making Quality Homes A(a)ffordable?
In a Seattle neighborhood, close to public transportation, Dan Whitmore and his associates, Ginger Segel and Wayne Apostolik, are putting the money where their ideals are and making affordable housing happen. Not just affordable but also high-performance Passive House affordable per the Phius standards. Plus they are fully electrified and have an onsite PV array that unlocks the benefits of onsite power generation. The core question that Dan unpacks in this interview is this one:
“Why is providing affordable housing treated as something that can only be addressed by government programs and non-profits? ”
For context, in case it’s needed, the need for affordable housing is a compelling societal issue with wide-ranging impacts. In many cities in the US the cost of housing is rising faster than incomes and there is a growing racial homeownership gap. The lack of housing creates a lot of burden, pain and turmoil in, and can have lasting impacts on people's lives, particularly children. On the flip side, studies have shown that investing in affordable housing can have a significant positive economic multiplier effect. So why is there a painful shortage of both Affordable, government/non-profit homes with a “Big A”, and affordable, with a “Little a”, projects?
Perhaps the answer lies in each of us exploring our values and considering our role, responsibility, and impact.
Dan Whitmore
Dan Whitmore has worked in the construction industry since 1987 as a carpenter, general contractor, builder, and consultant with additional stints as a designer and FEMA Inspector.
His introduction to high-performance building came at an impressionable age when, in 1977, his family built an award-winning Solar Home in Oklahoma where he grew up. As designer, builder, and Certified Passive House Consultant (CPHC®), he completed one of the first passive houses in Washington State in 2010. Since then, he has consulted on and/or built more than 20 passive house projects.
He now divides his time between Indicator, his new energy, durability, and constructability consulting firm, and Cascade Built, a builder/developer of sustainable multifamily projects in Seattle. Whitmore is also an Instructor at Phius, co-developer of the Phius Certified Builder Training program, Council Chair of the Phius Alliance, and a founding board member of Passive House Northwest.
Team
Hosted by Kristof Irwin
Edited by Nico Mignardi
Produced by M. Walker