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.

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-Report
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.

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.