The Building Science Podcast — Positive Energy

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The Building Science Podcast

The Building Science Podcast

Healthy Home Revolution

As a society we are learning, slowly but surely, how to design and build healthy indoor spaces for ourselves and our loved ones. Seeing the need to both guide and accelerate this learning process, Paula Baker LaPorte and her wingman John Banta and Erica Elliot MD dedicated themselves to write a book. This happened 35 years ago with the 1st Edition of Prescriptions for a Healthy Homes, last year (in 2022) the 4th Edition was published and it is a richly updated treasure trove of motivation, guidance and actionable information that we all need to know more about. What we need now is a step change of sorts in the way society thinks about and delivers housing to itself. We need a Healthy Home Revolution.


With that in mind, Kristof sat down with Paula to have a conversation about her journey exploring and understanding the connection between the built environment and our health. After hearing her stories and absorbing the understanding and knowledge in her book, it is clear that homes can be so much more than we currently ask them to be. Homes are more than a visual-spatial-economic situation, more than a place to hold ourselves, our families and our stuff, more than an exercise in energy efficiency and resource use; The places we live are in truth highly immersive and tactile experiences for our bodies and minds, and profoundly impactful opportunities to promote our health and the health of the planet.

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Nico MignardiComment
Green Glop & Hair Shirts - Perspectives on Client Communication

Designing and building a sustainable passive house is a powerful moment for all involved - the client, the architect, and the planet. For the owners the process is deeply personal and emotional, with layers of financial impacts and the significant time investment involved. For architects the key is to talk in a way that clients can hear them, and listen in a way that they can hear their clients*. For both the architect and the client the first few conversations set the stage for what comes next. 

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An Architectural Optimist Wrote a Book Part 2 - Design Excellence through Practice

“The pen controls the backhoe” is a slogan (from Part 1 of this series) that clearly expresses the power and deep impact of architecture on our world. Given that it is the architect’s pen that controls the backhoe, it makes sense to ask “What is it that controls the pen?” In this episode Corey Squire makes the case that it is the practices that each architecture firm employs that controls their pen. 

Stated another way: Why is it that some firms produce a consistent stream of high-performing buildings, while others have trouble crafting a single project that moves beyond traditional practice? The answer is Practice; the environment and practices within which each particular firm carries out or exercises its professional role in the society. Join us in this episode as Corey and Kristof enjoy a thoughtful and lively discussion of architectural practice along the dimensions of Vision, Culture, Process and Knowledge. This is one for all of you out there that recognize the power of architecture and want to better understand how to unleash its positive impact into the world. 

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Filter Feast Part 2

This two part interview on air filtration, air filters and filter media with Mark Davidson from Camfil covers a range of topics, from basic to advanced. Topics include the basics of particulate capture, the tradeoffs between filtration efficiency, clean air delivery rate, and energy use, filter media types, and electret degradation.  If you want to learn about the role of filtration in delivering clean indoor air for your self, or if your role in society has agency in making sure your clients are breathing healthy air, you will appreciate what you learn here. Mark is a filter nerd with the ability to break things down and communicate clearly.

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Nico MignardiComment
Filter Feast Part 1

This two part interview on air filtration, air filters and filter media with Mark Davidson from Camfil covers a range of topics, from basic to advanced. Topics include the basics of particulate capture, the tradeoffs between filtration efficiency, clean air delivery rate, and energy use, filter media types, and electret degradation.  If you want to learn about the role of filtration in delivering clean indoor air for your self, or if your role in society has agency in making sure your clients are breathing healthy air, you will appreciate what you learn here. Mark is a filter nerd with the ability to break things down and communicate clearly.

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Nico MignardiComment
The “Roaring 20s” for IAQ

The 2020’s have so far been a decade of abundance and progress for society’s awareness and understanding of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). Beyond and before the pandemic put IAQ on everyone's mind, researchers have been enjoying well funded support from various organizations, both public and private, to better understand the impacts of indoor air on our health and well being. Plus cutting edge technologies from novel mass spectrometers to real-time PCR and next-generation DNA sequencing are both expanding and accelerating our understanding of the richness, diversity and significance of indoor air quality in our lives. 


Join us for this engaging and somewhat nerdy discussion with Dr Pawel Misztal, an assistant professor from the University of Texas at Austin’s Civil Architectural and Environmental Engineering department. In this conversation Pawel unpacks the story of indoor air emissions and their impact on us. The emissions come from many sources including what we do, who we are (our bodies are highly active emission sources), and the microbes that live on every surface indoors.

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Nico MignardiComment
An Architectural Optimist Wrote a Book

There are few roles in society with the broad and lasting power of Architecture. Architecture both reflects and directs the story of a civilization and its cultural milieu by signaling what’s important, who has value, and how society functions. Recognition of the power of architecture in society sets the stage for today’s discussion with Corey Squire, a skilled sustainability consultant, a member of the AIA’s COTE Advisory Group, and an architectural optimist if there ever was one. Join us in this episode as Corey and Kristof start to digest the feast of ideas in Corey’s new book that will be coming out in the Fall of 2023.

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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. 

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The Future of Homes

Today we are going to dig into a vision of the future of homes with two home builders intent on delivering that future in the present. How do we make truly healthy, exceptionally durable homes that also respect the environment, the new normal? 

What are we doing in residential construction today that we’ll look back on and say “Remember when we used to do that?” Conversely, what are we doing that is “new” and unconventional today but will come to be a widespread, mainstream practice? These are the opening topics in this thoughtful conversation about the importance of perspective and the role of the builder-client relationship. A core theme is whether the constraints to achieving powerfully positive outcomes are more related to materials and technologies, or perspective and process. The discussion here on all these topic and more is broad and deep. 

Join Kristof for an interview with Kevin Rosa and Paul Coppock of Opus Vitae Construction out of Portland Oregon.

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Positive EnergyComment
Hempcrete Homes: A Growing Industry

Why is the AEC industry still mostly ignoring hempcrete? There are a host of good reasons to use this renewable and low environmental impact material in homes and buildings - including indoor air quality, acoustics, thermal comfort, and  energy performance - yet the mainstream market is still largely uninformed and continues to deliver today’s houses with yesterday's material palettes. With industrial hemp coming online fueled by new legislation, favorable economics and strong market potential - amid a conventional building material supply supply chain beset by disruptions and price increases - deciding to use hempcrete for your build may be just a matter of time. 

Join us in this episode as we unpack the basics and benefits of hempcrete and beyond. Aside from hemp as an amazing multi-use crop, and hempcrete as a product, there are the unsung innovators and pathfinders in the AEC world who rarely get the attention and appreciation they deserve. In this episode we keep true to our tagline and bring the human factor to architecture design* in the form of the incomparable heart and mind of Tim White. Tim has long been a man with a passion for healthy sustainable homes. A passion that over time  has become a mission to build with hempcrete.

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Architectural Solar: A New Normal

The best place to generate electrical power is where it’s used. We all know that solar PV adds value for both owners and society by improving resilience, reducing energy costs and decreasing carbon emissions and climate impact. Yet traditional design practices and compressed schedules make it challenging for project teams to include integrated solar on their designs. 


The solution is Architectural Solar and the Architectural Solar Association knows that the key moves are early engagement and integration of architectural, structural and cladding systems. The time is now to consider solar as being architecturally significant and to realize that it does not always have to be relegated to the roof. The days of the Mr Potato HeadTM approach, where panels are stuck onto a home or building after they’re built, are over. Join us for forward-looking discussion with two industry experts in best practices for solar integration and design.

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Nico MignardiComment
Build. Not too much. Mostly with plants.

There has never been a better time or opportunity to completely rethink the way we approach the practice of architecture and construction. With climate change looming over us, becoming more visible by the day, a critical look at the materials we use and their impacts on emissions is needed. Enter natural building materials. Which ones are legit? How can we use them? Join Kristof as he interviews architect and builder, Greg Esparza, with a sweeping introduction to mass timber construction, as well as other natural building materials like cork insulation, hemp insulation, wood fiber board insulation, etc.

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Positive EnergyComment
Building Science Journalism

We live in the information age. The quality of the information we receive determines the quality of our decisions and the effectiveness of our actions. It is also no secret that money holds influence, and the methods through which we obtain information, as well as the economic dynamics of the building science and construction industry, are undergoing constant change.

We invite you to join us in exploring the significance of Building Science Journalism in today's world. Our conversation features two accomplished, knowledgeable, and profound authors who have dedicated themselves to this field: Brian Pontililo and Aaron Fagan. Along the way, we will delve into the evolving role of bloggers and social media influencers within the AEC industry. We will also acknowledge the fact that manufacturers now possess multiple avenues to convey their public relations and marketing messages to their target audiences.

Throughout our discussion, we will highlight the value of journalism, storytelling, and the adherence to journalistic standards, such as fact-checking. We encourage you to participate in this captivating dialogue and, perhaps, gain a fresh perspective that will enable you to engage more meaningfully with your favorite building science and construction channels.

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Low Carbon Buildings - What’s Next? Wow. Just Wow

You’re in for a feast of ideas here. Join us as Kristof talks with Bruce King about his work as a stubborn optimist and powerful motive force in the realm of low carbon buildings. Bruce joins a wise heart with a clever mind and a deep understanding of the technical aspects and implications of the role of energy and carbon in how we, as a society, deliver buildings to ourselves. 

Today’s interview discusses themes from Bruce’s new-at-the-time book Build Beyond Zero written along with friend and co-conspirator, Chris Magwood, and a host of superstars in the low carbon buildings space, to remind us that the very buildings we live and work in are currently poised to be “one of the most practical and affordable climate solutions instead of leading drivers of climate change.” We all have power and agency in the future of buildings and it benefits us to listen to folks like Bruce King to show us the way and motivate us to move forward. 

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Direct DC-to-LED Lighting (Bonus Short Episode)

Are you open to rethinking how you provide lighting to your home? What if there were a lighting system that not only saves you time, money and energy,  but also enhances your experience of the living space?

I think we all already know that running 120V AC around a home to power DC LEDs leads to a lot of warm AC-to-DC transformers and wasted energy. We also know that Solar runs on DC and batteries store DC power, so why do we still use AC for lighting (besides the fact that it’s traditional)? 

Enter direct DC lighting for homes – an approach that brings efficiency, safety, and versatility to illuminate your surroundings. With its low-voltage wiring, energy-saving direct DC to LED connection, and smart control systems, DC lighting offers a host of possibilities and benefits including:

  • Simplifying lighting installation

  • Reducing the use and associated costs of copper wiring

  • Providing flicker-free dimming in true white or tunable colors

  • Supplying backup lighting during outages

  • Improving the owner/end-user experience. 

Join us for this short interview with Murray Freeman, a pioneer and stubborn optimist in the DC Lighting space. We will learn the basics and leave you with an informed perspective on the fascinating realm of direct DC-to-LED lighting, where modern technology, sustainable living, and high quality owner/user experience converge.

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An Introduction to Embodied Carbon & Buildings

Is a building more like a river or a rock?

A building seems to just sit there*, so in that sense it seems to be more like a rock. But in reality every building material, and thus the entire building itself, is a snapshot in time of a river of resources and energy flowing from natural ecosystems into our use, and then, ultimately flowing back into the environment. 

All along the way, this flow of energy and resources emits carbon and other molecules into the sky, changing atmospheric chemistry and imbalancing our climate’s equilibrium. We’ve long known that this is both happening and that it’s a problem. What’s different now is that human society is waking up to the fact that we must work together to chart a new course forward. A course that recognizes the importance of reducing the both operational and embodied, or upfront, carbon emissions. 

That’s where our guest today comes in. Andrew Himes is all about helping groups move society forward by focusing on the convergence of technology, communication and social activism. Join us for this fast paced and compelling interview with Andrew as we talk about the theory of change for industry transformation using data & tools, policy change, and collective action.

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Nico MignardiComment
Do you like it hot? Do you want it now? Do you want it to last forever?

Gary Klein is in hot water and that’s a good thing. Hot water is the often-overlooked aspect of energy use in our homes and buildings and that makes zero sense. Energy for water heating is either the second largest, or in some cases the largest single energy use and does not get enough attention.

As if that were not motivation enough, hot water is also the place where convenience and energy savings align perfectly because no one wants to wait for hot water and no one (arguably) wants to needlessly waste energy. With all the product based attention on ways to heat water - air-water heat pumps, electric, gas, tankless - it may surprise you to learn that once you have hot water what you do with it can matter even more.  

Join us in this action packed interview with Gary Klien, a true national treasure in the realm of water heating and distribution as he applies simple logic again and again to break down the How and the Why of having hot water arrive efficiently When and Where you need it.   

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Building Passion For Passive

Knowing how to build fantastic high performing buildings is not enough; we need to cause that to actually happen. We need high performance buildings to exist. Knowing how is necessary, but also clearly not sufficient. During this time of increasing urgency to realize new performance outcomes, we need new skills in order to fulfill our roles in society as architects, engineers, builders and trades. What this means is that we need to think about what actually works and then do a lot of that right now. In this episode we interview a veteran Passive House architect who has thought deeply about this topic of “What do we do differently that will cause owners to make better decisions?” In our rational, fact-filled world, we may be leaving some powerful tools on the table. Tools that recognize that we are far more than rational decision-making computers; we are humans and as such we are powerfully influenced by relationships and by emotions. Join Kristof as he interviews Graham Irwin, AIA, CPHC and the rich discussion that follows.

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Proving Passive House Is Practical, Possible, & Promising (In Climate Zone 2A)

Join Kristof as he interviews architect and Passive House nerd, Trey Farmer, in a wide ranging discussion about remodeling his personal residence into an award winning passive house in Austin, TX. The ambitious project was an endeavor to prove to the Austin architecture and construction community that beautiful, well designed single family passive houses were not only possible in the market, but also quite practical and able to be built without breaking the bank or special products. Trey’s emphasis on community and his own business endeavors all point to a deep prioritization of doing better and leading by example. This episode is awesome and we can’t wait for you to hear it.

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The Business of Building Science

Happy New Year!

Welcome back to the 8th season of our little show. We can hardly believe it. In this episode, we ask the question “what is it actually like to run a business that focuses on building science?” Turns out, we know something about that. Join Kristof and Miguel in a discussion about the challenges, joys, and future of business model innovation as building scientists and entrepreneurs. You can learn more about our Performance Consulting and Residential MEP services on our company website. Be on the lookout for great new episodes in the coming weeks (we’re stacked with interview appointments at the moment and it’s exciting).

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