Project Story

This house was supposed to be DONE in 2021. The owners - living in California in 2019 - wanted a way to connect with some of their East Coast roots and a multi-generational/family summer community that had meant a lot to them. We started with an abandoned home - vacant for years on the edge of the community. Re-using and re-connecting to parts of the original, we created a new wing, running East-West, to harvest the sun’s energy both actively and passively. The owners were looking for maximum efficiency, and pursuing the toughest of goals: Passive House.

Passive House is an energy standard for buildings that starts and ends with an energy budget - five principles of insulation, airtightness, ventilation, energy consumption, thermal bridging. It’s a rigorous standard, third-party reviewed and tested, with little room for mistake. We love a challenge, and this would be our second Passive building. If we could get it built.

When the pandemic struck, we were about to sign a construction contract with Mathes Hulme Builders of Brattleboro. The global shut-down changed everyone’s schedule significantly. But within a year, our confidence in civilization returned, and a future seemed possible again. The project re-started in 2022, and clients moved in during the summer of 2023. Phew.

Project Wrangling: HELM Construction Solutions

HERS Rating and Passive House Verification: PowerHouse Energy Solutions

Passive House Coordination: Northeast Projects