Emu Passive
Emu Passive is the leading provider of hands-on Passive House training in the United States. The journey that lead here actually started in Australia and Italy, and made what Emu is today.
Recovering Architects
Emu was founded by Enrico Bonilauri and Mariana Pickering in 2009, and an architecture practice in Italy.
Enrico and Mariana originally met at their Master’s Degree program in Sustainable Design in Sydney, Australia, in 2007.
Emu’s Passive House Journey
We started our Passive House journey in 2010, when Enrico took his Passive House training. Passive House became Emu’s benchmark for all things building science, and started applying the standard to the buildings we were designing.
Passive House Training Providers
As soon as we started implementing Passive House to our projects, we had to face the fact that people working on site had no idea about air sealing, thermal breaks, and other high performance details. We started training construction crews organically at first, and we became Passive House Training Providers in 2016.
Bringing Passive House Hands-On Training To The US
Emu moved to Colorado in 2016, eventually establishing our home base in Denver in 2024.
In 2017, we started offering the Passive House training in Colorado, with two courses, and a total of 15 students altogether.
In 2025, we’ve passed the threshold of 1000 professionals trained, and we’re expecting to train 250 in just one year. Our projections for 2026 are to exceed that, and to get to up to 350 professionals trained in one year.
Emu’s Mission
At Emu Passive, our mission is to bridge the gap between everyday construction practices and the most advanced building science. We empower professionals to build for the future—with resilience, efficiency, and confidence—through expert Passive House training and education.
5000 Builders Challenge
We have recently launched the 5000 Builders Challenge, an ambitious plan to train 5000 American construction professionals by 2030.
We believe that the key to shape the future is to change people’s behaviors and mindsets, and we found education and training to be powerful tools to achieve this goal.
Emu Passive’s Team
We are proud of Emu’s diverse team. Learn more about Emu team members, and explore open positions.
The Name Emu
Many believe Emu may be an acronym or an abbreviation. It is not.
When the founders of Emu were looking for a name for the company, the idea was to have something short that would translate across different languages. Also, they were looking for something tied to Australia, where they had met.
They landed on the name Emu, and the first name of the company was “Emu Architetti“. With the move of the company to the US, the name shifted to “Emu Systems“, and eventually evolved to “Emu Passive” when the focus of the company became centered around Passive House training.
1.1k
American Pros Trained
95.4%
Passive House exam pass rate
4.7 / 5
Emu's training was relevant for participants' goals and responsibilities
4.8 / 5
Participants recommend Emu's Passive House Boot Camps