What if buildings could make us healthier?

What if buildings could make us healthier? We track steps, calories, heart rates—so why not architecture? When we talk about improving buildings, the conversation is usually cosmetic or mechanical: add a plant here, throw in some double glazing, maybe upgrade……

2025 NYCECC: Why Passive House is Your Cheat Code

If you work in the New York City AEC industry, you have likely felt the ground shifting beneath your feet. On March 30, 2026, the 2025 New York City Energy Conservation Code (NYCECC) officially becomes the law of the land.……

Passive House Retrofitting Strategies: Longevity and Efficiency

High Performance and Passive House Retrofitting Strategies for Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Buildings. How long should a building last? This question has shifted over time. Do we build for the length of a 30-year mortgage, 50 years, or a century?……

Are You Ignoring the Biggest Thermal Bridge in Your Building?

American construction is currently undergoing a massive and necessary transformation. Builders, architects, and developers are rapidly adopting continuous exterior insulation to meet stricter energy codes and higher performance standards. We insulate our walls better than ever before, wrap our buildings……

Underperformance Of Tilted Glass Units

This is one of those cases where the label performance should not be taken at face value: U-value of glass units – if the glass is meant to be installed horizontal or with a tilt angle. The analysis shown here……

Thermal bridging of I-Joist vs Larsen Truss

I-Joist vs Larsen Truss: Does it make a difference for exterior high R-Value insulating? Many high-performance buildings, when addressing the issue of super-insulation, will opt for traditional 2×6 stud framing with an added layer of exterior insulation to help reach……

The Building Time Constant: Your Key to Thermal Resilience

Among the many parameters than play a role in the thermal behavior of a building, whether or not it is built to be a Passive House, the time constant is one of the least known ones. Nontheless, this parameter influences…