Session Enclosures Designers and consultants Builders and trades

Material Thoughts

Floris Keverling Buisman, 475 High Performance Building Supply; Mike Horgan, Cairn Collaborative; Caroline Dunn, Cairn Collaborative; Andrew Ruff, GOA Architecture (moderator) · 2026 Conference

The recording and the credit quiz come with purchase. Complete the video and the quiz, and a certificate of attendance for all applicable credits arrives automatically.

Register

Materials and Passive House: a mass timber urban infill retrofit in New York, certified Passive House Plus, with data a year on, and an adobe Passive House rebuild in Altadena after the Eaton fire.

Learning objectives

  • Describe how adobe acts with naturally high thermal mass in support of an insulated envelope.
  • Explain the necessity of having designers and structural engineers work together for projects involving biomaterials.
  • Describe the benefits and differences of Adobe from standard materials through the lens of internal heat sources, thermal insulation, thermal mass, and facade color.
  • Explain the measurable data one would use to determine the “success” of a building utilizing natural materials.
  • Explore design concepts that promote reliable and durable solutions for Passive House thermal envelopes, mechanical and renewables utilizing Mass timber structures.
  • Investigate how air sealing and vapor control affect the performance of insulating historic masonry walls without resorting to foam.
  • Identify and address constraints that inform the decisions in the design process for Mass timber infill projects, especially in areas like New York City where exterior walls need to be non-combustible.
  • Analyze first year occupancy performance figures, including heating/cooling load and demand, PV production, IAQ and comfort assessment of employees in a certified Passive House office.

Topics: Embodied carbon, Insulation and assemblies

More in this area