Big news! The Humid Climate Conference is coming back to ATX and it’s time for some appropriate FOMO. We’re just two weeks out. You will be so glad you made the decision to come to HCC in ATX. Both the technical knowledge and perspectives you’ll hear, as well as the realization and experience of the power, vitality and unstoppability of the growing community of folks in the AEC that are stepping up to move our industry and our society forward.  The theme for HCC’24 is Transitions. The  work we do in the world as architects, developers, builders, trades, and even owners is important a ..read more

Today’s episode opens up the system of systems that delivers the materials, equipment and tools we use to deliver high quality homes and buildings to ourselves. The focus is on an novel ultrasonic leak detection system. This is potentially game-changing technology that impacts the ability to confidently deliver Passive House quality air control layers. Along the way you’ll learn about the importance of the air barrier and get a glimpse of the vastness of the AEC. This is an expansive episode that covers the human side of what it will take to get us from high quality designs to high performance ..read more

What if it’s true that “We can not solve our problems using the same level of thinking that created them”? - Attributed to Albert Einstein Could it be that our building science understanding is limited? Could it be that even the clarity of understanding we gain by viewing homes and buildings as a systems of systems, assemblies, materials and products interacting according to the laws of science and nature - is necessary but not sufficient to cause us to build that way?  Building science is a necessary understanding but it is proving insufficient to cause the change we want at the pace w ..read more

Josh Salinger Joshua Salinger is CEO and Founder of Birdsmouth Design Build, a residential Design Build company located in Portland OR. In 1999 Josh graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a double major in Zoology and Conservation. In 2007 he started Birdsmouth Design Build with the goal of designing and building beautiful, high performing homes that transform and improve the built environment. Josh has received certifications from Earth Advantage’s Sustainable Homes Professional course, and is an early graduate of the Passive House Builders Training program administered by PH ..read more

Luke Leung Luke is a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Fellow; He is also a Centennial Fellow from The Pennsylvania State University Architectural Engineering Department; Board of Directors for USGBC (United State Green Building Council), Illinois; Chairman of the ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning) Committee on “Tall Buildings”; Chairman of the Building Pressure Committee, Chicago Committee on High Rise Buildings; Sustainable Committee with Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat; Part Time Professor at IIT;  Member of the Chica ..read more

Chris Magwood Chris works with the Embodied Carbon Team in the Carbon Free Buildings Program. He brings focus on carbon-storing material and the residential sector to the team, using his experience with LCA studies and policy development to support the team’s work. Chris has been designing and building zero-carbon buildings throughout his 25-year career. From 2005 to 2018, he was a lead instructor in a hands-on design/build program at Endeavour Centre and was responsible for many zero-carbon, zero-toxin, and zero-waste buildings. In 2019, he helped found Builders for Climate Action and codevel ..read more

How do we design and build affordable net-zero, carbon-negative homes? That important goal is the subject of today’s episode and is the focus of a multidisciplinary team that includes PNNL, WSU and Green Canopy NODE. On the podcast today you’ll hear from Patti Gunderson with PNNL who is working with a talented team who are taking a thoughtful approach to this ambitious goal. One that focuses on modular design, carbon sequestering materials, thermal/energy efficiency, and a forward-looking circular approach that relies on cleverly designed, factory-built, bio-based materials right from the star ..read more

Refrigerants are all around us and we barely ever notice. They are a hidden force in creating the comforts we have grown to think of as normal and yet many of us know little about them. Rethinking refrigerants is considered by many experts to be the #1 way to to combat and draw down climate change given how much carbon they can add to the atmosphere when not created and handled correctly. This episode features John Miles of Sanden Water Heaters in a ranging discussion of the effects and behaviors of refrigerants that might just blow your mind a little ..read more

Modern building materials are generally feats of engineering marvel - we’ve managed to manufacture countless high performing systems, yet it has often been at the cost of human exposure to harmful chemicals. But it’s not a hopeless situation. There are people who are helping the average consumer understand what’s what. Join Kristof in a wide ranging conversation with Gina Ciganik and William Weber from the Healthy Building Network. Gina Ciganik Chief Executive Officer Gina has been growing and scaling HBN’s vision since assuming the CEO role in 2016. Previously she served as Senior Advisor for ..read more

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 appo ..read more