The Cincinnati Ice Box Challenge
After weeks in the sun during warmer-than-average temperatures, results of the Cincinnati Ice Box Challenge are in: Passive House continues to be the reigning champion of building standards.
The Ice Box Challenge has a long history across the world, and these particular boxes are no stranger to the event. Built in Colorado for the 2023 Colorado Ice Box Tour, the boxes were also featured in last year’s Challenge at the Minnesota State Fair before finding their way to Ohio.
This year’s Challenge, held by AIA Cincinnati during HOMEARAMA® 2025, helped to introduce hundreds of homeowners, architects, realtors, and builders to the Passive House standard. Over the course of 17 days, the Ice Boxes sparked conversations in sustainable building alongside info sessions, ice cream socials, and a scavenger hunt. At the time the Standard Box ran out of ice (4 days early!) the Passive House box still held 345lbs of ice!
The final reveal included a few remarks from Andrew Glass, one of the AIA Cincinnati Volunteers, Kim Ravold from The Passive House Network, and Meeka Owens, Cincinnati City Councilmember and Chair of the Climate, Environment, & Infrastructure Committee.
AIA Cincinnati would like to thank the volunteers who helped put this together, including Aerin Goldman, Allison Biernacki, Ally Balmer, Amber Wasinski, Amy Hucke, Andy Glass, Carl Sterner, Chris Bartell, David Oen, Evonne Morales, Jen Karbula, Jonathan Schaefer, Julie Carpenter, Lillian Acree, Maia Davidson, Maria Ponce de Leon, Maria Rampolla, Mukta Rai Saxena, Nathan Myers, Paul Yankie, Ryan Bartell, Ryan O’Malley, Sarah Kleiner, Scott Hand, Tim Nolan, Wendy Klepcyk, Wyatt Ross, and Yasha Ogg.
They would also like to thank their sponsors, including Pepper Construction, Arts Rental, 475 High Performance Building Supply, AIA Ohio Foundation, Trilobite Design, CMTA, Keller – Williams Seven Hills, Skanska, Sol design + consulting, Big Ice, Crapsey & Gilles Contractors, Champlin Architecture, MA Design, schaefer, Terracon Consultants, and Harlan Graphic Arts.
Check out their journey with the photos below!
