Passive House Podcast

Matthew Cutler-Welsh, Zack Semke, Mary James, and Ilka Cassidy
  • 4.8 (32)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Interviews with the leaders, practitioners, and change-makers in the global Passive House movement. A production of Passive House Accelerator.

  1. 285: Exploring Design and Community with Filmmaker Allie Rood

    2D AGO

    285: Exploring Design and Community with Filmmaker Allie Rood

    In this episode of the Passive House Podcast Jay Fox interviews Vermont filmmaker Allie Rood about her documentary Prickly Mountain and My Design Build Life, which traces the design-build architecture movement that began in Warren, Vermont around 1963 and influenced design-build programs nationwide. Rood explains her personal connection through her father’s work in the community, the movement’s roots among Yale architects reacting against the designer/builder class divide, and ideas like Dave Sellers’ “Wild Beam Theory” of improvisational building. She contrasts early sculptural ski houses with a later sustainability-focused generation behind the Dimetrodon co-housing project and discusses Yestermorrow’s emergence as a design-build school. Rud also recounts the film’s 10-year production, funding and grant challenges, finding an editor, shifting to a personal narrative, and current festival distribution and screening plans. https://allieroodfilms.com/Trailer for the film: https://vimeo.com/1125499443?fl=pl&fe=sh Reimagine Buildings: Designing for Survivability: https://events.ringcentral.com/events/reimagine-buildings-survivability/registration Thank you for listening to the Passive House Podcast! To learn more about Passive House and to stay abreast of our latest programming, visit passivehouseaccelerator.com. And please join us at one of our Passive House Accelerator LIVE! zoom gatherings on Wednesdays.

    1h 5m
  2. 284: Breaking Down Barriers to High-Performance Buildings with Nidhi Shah

    APR 21

    284: Breaking Down Barriers to High-Performance Buildings with Nidhi Shah

    In this episode of The Passive House Podcast, Mary James chats with Nidhi Shah, a certified Passive House designer and member of the Reimagine Buildings Collective. Shah traces her path from early sustainability interests in India to Passive House training in the UK. They dive into her retrofit-focused work with Retrofit Action for Tomorrow (RAFT), emphasizing whole-building approaches over piecemeal measures like external wall insulation or heat pumps. Nidhi  describes how funding criteria centered on operational carbon shaped retrofit decisions for cash-strapped public-sector buildings, and why reducing demand and peak heating loads matters alongside electrification and comfort. https://www.retrofitaction.org.uk/s/RAFT-Whole-Life-Carbon-ReportReimagine Buildings: Designing for Survivability: https://events.ringcentral.com/events/reimagine-buildings-survivability/registration Thank you for listening to the Passive House Podcast! To learn more about Passive House and to stay abreast of our latest programming, visit passivehouseaccelerator.com. And please join us at one of our Passive House Accelerator LIVE! zoom gatherings on Wednesdays.

    44 min
  3. 283: Wunderbar Passive House with Andreas Goetz

    APR 14

    283: Wunderbar Passive House with Andreas Goetz

    In this episode of The Passive House Podcast, Matthew Cutler-Welsh speaks with Andreas Goetz about building the Wunderbar Passive House in Orewa, about 40 minutes north of Auckland. Originally from Germany and motivated by comfort and health, Goetz pursued Passive House despite local challenges, choosing a simple rectangular ICF design with imported European triple-glazed windows and integrated exterior shutters to manage overheating without mechanical cooling. The home uses whole-house ventilation, achieved near 0.6 ACH50 airtightness, has low power bills, and added solar projected to pay back in four years, while also earning Homestar V5. https://wunderbar-passive-house.org/ Thank you for listening to the Passive House Podcast! To learn more about Passive House and to stay abreast of our latest programming, visit passivehouseaccelerator.com. And please join us at one of our Passive House Accelerator LIVE! zoom gatherings on Wednesdays.

    35 min
  4. 282: BuildingEnergy Boston 2026 Part 2

    APR 8

    282: BuildingEnergy Boston 2026 Part 2

    In this episode of The Passive House Podcast, Ilka Cassidy and Jacob Racusin are at the BuildingEnergy Boston 2026 Conference (Sponsored by New Energy Works). Ilka and Jacob recap day 2 of the conference including a keynote by Melissa O’Mara and Kevin Stack, “Unstoppable Inner Resilience and Generational Leadership,” which guided attendees through a meditation connecting to ancestors and future generations, highlighting accountability, leadership, and the “knowing-doing gap” via the Inner Development Goals. Ilka then interviews architect Phil Kaplan about a deep energy retrofit of a mid-century Acorn Deck House involving unexpected conditions, major structural changes, and questions about cost and embodied carbon versus rebuilding. The day’s highlights also include sessions on tools and strategies to balance operational and embodied carbon, evaluate deep versus moderate retrofits, and push manufacturers toward healthier, lower-impact materials. Episode with Rachel White & Michael Hindle: https://passivehouseaccelerator.com/podcast/building-energy-boston-with-rachel-white-michael-hindle Meditation that is similar to the one described in the episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-long-time-academy/id1589516917 Episode with Melissa O'Mara and Kevin Stack: https://passivehouseaccelerator.com/podcast/180-inner-development-goals-idgs-and-buildings-with-kevin-stack-and-melissa-omara  Thank you for listening to the Passive House Podcast! To learn more about Passive House and to stay abreast of our latest programming, visit passivehouseaccelerator.com. And please join us at one of our Passive House Accelerator LIVE! zoom gatherings on Wednesdays.

    52 min
  5. 281: BuildingEnergy Boston 2026 Part 1

    MAR 31

    281: BuildingEnergy Boston 2026 Part 1

    In this episode of The Passive House Podcast, Ilka Cassidy and Jacob Racusin are at the BuildingEnergy Boston 2026 Conference (Sponsored by New Energy Works). Ilka and Jacob speak with: Gregory Smith, Architect at Moody NolanClay Tilton, Existing Buildings Program ManagerBuilt Environment Plus (BE+)Arlen Li, Fitwel Ambassador, Planning PrincipalHGAAnthony Michetti, Director of Sustainability, Cell Signaling TechnologyJulie Newman, PhDDirector of SustainabilityMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)Steve Hessler Building Systems Specialist at New Energy Works | Certified Passive House Consultant at Holzraum SystemBryan Bleiere, Director of Offsite Construction at New Energy WorksLuke Winston-Almanzar CEO, Co-Founder ReservoirThey discuss the conference mood amid political and economic headwinds, the theme “Don’t Stop Us Now,” and a keynote on “The Cost of Pausing” featuring MIT and Cell Signaling Technology, emphasizing business cases and co-benefits for maintaining climate goals. Conference co-chairs Clay Hilton and Greg Smith highlight curation, community-building, and student participation. Trade-floor interviews feature Reservoir’s smart heat-pump water heater with predictive controls and recirculation, and New Energy Works’ timber/panelization work and foam-free assemblies. https://nesea.org/conference/schedule/50140 https://newenergyworks.com/ https://passivehouseaccelerator.com/articles/component-spotlight-rethinking-domestic-hot-water-intro... Thank you for listening to the Passive House Podcast! To learn more about Passive House and to stay abreast of our latest programming, visit passivehouseaccelerator.com. And please join us at one of our Passive House Accelerator LIVE! zoom gatherings on Wednesdays.

    1h 15m
  6. TRE 16: Beyond Building Science

    MAR 24

    TRE 16: Beyond Building Science

    Building science is at the core of high-performance construction, but it takes more than an understanding of psi-values and hygrothermal dynamics to actually get these buildings built. As we see in this episode, having a real-world understanding of materials science, finance, and how people actually work together is yet another component to this line of work. Granted, there’s still a lot of building science involved, as emphasized by the clips featuring Ed May and Ben Bogie, but this episode of The Reimagine Edit series of the Passive House Podcast should be a reminder that construction touches loads of academic fields, and that the status of expert will forever be a moving target in an evolving industry. In this episode, host Zack Semke shares selected clips of conversations from the Reimagine Collective. Featured speakers include Ben Bogie, Jesse Hunt, Michael Ingui, Ed May, and Emily Mottram. The Reimagine Edit is a special series of the Passive House Podcast that shares curated insights from our Experts-In-Residence at the Reimagine Buildings Collective, our membership community of building professionals stepping up to tackle climate change. Learn more about the Reimagine Buildings Collective at https://www.reimaginebuildings.com.

    1 hr
  7. 280: Scaling Passive House in Massachusetts with Nick Nigro

    MAR 17

    280: Scaling Passive House in Massachusetts with Nick Nigro

    In this episode of The Passive House Podcast, Zack Semke chats with Nick Nigro of Leggat McCall about the Bunker Hill Housing Redevelopment in Charlestown, Boston, a phased replacement of 42 aging WWII-era public housing buildings into 2,699 mixed-income units. Nick explains how the team committed to Passive House from day one and is using a repeatable “kit of parts”—precast lateral-load-bearing cores, prefabricated load-bearing exterior panels, and CLT floor systems—to improve speed, reduce temporary work, and lower both carbon and cost through iteration across 15 buildings. He describes early modeling, enclosure mockup testing, and construction-sequencing innovations like using the permanent elevator as a hoist.  https://passivehouseaccelerator.com/articles/critical-mass-scaling-passive-house-at-bunker-hillhttps://www.lmp.com/ Thank you for listening to the Passive House Podcast! To learn more about Passive House and to stay abreast of our latest programming, visit passivehouseaccelerator.com. And please join us at one of our Passive House Accelerator LIVE! zoom gatherings on Wednesdays.

    1h 1m
  8. 279: Beyond Aesthetics: Kia Weatherspoon on Design Equity

    MAR 10

    279: Beyond Aesthetics: Kia Weatherspoon on Design Equity

    In this episode of The Passive House Podcast, Mary James chats with Kia Weatherspoon, founder of Determined by Design. Weatherspoon describes how experiences visiting her brother in prison and creating privacy during Air Force deployments shaped her belief that spaces must be felt, not just seen. She explains her mission-driven focus on affordable housing and a design process rooted in ancestry, legacy, and identity, translating community narratives into specific material and layout decisions. The discussion emphasizes bringing interiors into the integrated design team early, pushing for healthier materials amid cost and pricing-transparency challenges, and streamlining specifications to maintain budgets. The hosts reflect on how interior environments affect wellbeing and project outcomes. https://www.determinedbydesign.com/portfolio/station-u-o/ https://passivehouseaccelerator.com/articles/leading-with-humanity-passive-interior-design

    42 min
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4.8
out of 5
32 Ratings

About

Interviews with the leaders, practitioners, and change-makers in the global Passive House movement. A production of Passive House Accelerator.

Information

  • Creator
    Matthew Cutler-Welsh, Zack Semke, Mary James, and Ilka Cassidy
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    508
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Passive House Accelerator
  • Show Website
    Passive House Podcast

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