PHMass
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Real-World Detailing for Prefabricated Passive Enclosures
Cheryl Saldanha and Matthew Colturi (SGH) examine how projects successfully incorporate offsite fabrication to meet the rising demand for Passive House.
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Passive House and the Grid
Paul Ormond (DOER) presents on how Passive House reduces stress on the grid, enabling faster interconnection and lowering costs for all ratepayers.
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Measuring Residential Ventilation Air Flows
Measuring ventilation is critical to high performance construction. Dr. Iain Walker (LBNL) shares which measurement methods really work and why.
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Designing the Future: Lessons from Three Massachusetts Passive Schools
An exploration of three pioneering Passive House school projects: Squantum School, Charleswood Elementary, and Revere High School, with Kate Bubriski (Arrowstreet), Ryan Dirks (Perkins Eastman), and Nicole Peterson (Thornton Tomasetti)
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Electrification of Domestic Hot Water is a Tough Nut to Crack
James Petersen (Petersen Engineering) explores the current landscape of electric DHW solutions for large multifamily projects, with a clear-eyed look at what works, what doesn’t, and where the real tradeoffs lie.
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Winthrop Center: Next Generation Passive House Office Tower
Brad Mahoney, Director of Sustainable Development at Millennium Partners, presents on their ground-breaking Winthrop Center project, currently the largest Passive House office building in the world, and the tallest building in Boston’s downtown core.
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Raising Standards, Lowering Costs: Now Accepting Proposals for Annual Passive House Symposium on December 9, 2025
Passive House Massachusetts is excited to announce the date for its next Passive House Symposium, which will be held on Tuesday, December 9, 2025. The theme for this year’s Symposium will be “Raising Standards, Lowering Costs.” Passive House buildings can deliver superior comfort, health, resilience, efficiency, and durability for minimal additional cost (especially when it…
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Introducing our New Education Program Director, Beth Campbell
Like demand for Passive House construction, Passive House Massachusetts is growing! I am so excited to announce that PHMass has hired our first Education Program Director, Beth Campbell. Beth is a seasoned construction professional and educator, with practical experience delivering projects. Starting her career 20 years ago with “tool bags on,” Beth has served as…
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Introducing Our New Executive Director, Alexander Gard-Murray
After an extensive search with many highly qualified candidates, I am thrilled to announce that the Board of Passive House Massachusetts has chosen a new Executive Director to lead our organization: Alexander Gard-Murray. Alexander brings deep experience in building decarbonization, advocacy, and education. He was previously the Director of the Greenhouse Institute, where he was…
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Announcements on PHMass Changes
Many of you will have read Aaron’s message by now and may have questions regarding our future plans. I’m writing to reassure all of our members and followers that PHMass is on the brink of significantly expanding our mission. Aaron and I have served together for the last seven years and, working with our Board and many…
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Press Release: PHMass Joins UN Initiative on High Performance Buildings
Press Release July 31, 2023 Passive House Massachusetts signs letter of intent to join the Buildings Action Coalition to support United Nations’ Initiative on High Performance Buildings Passive House Massachusetts (PHMASS) has signed a letter of intent to join the Buildings Action Coalition (BAC) in partnership with the Enniscorthy Forum, other coalition members, and the…
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The Passive House Network Releases a Report on the Low Costs and Improved Occupant Health of Multifamily Projects
The report confirms the low incremental cost for multifamily projects to achieve Passive House and provides data showing how Passive House projects can be healthier and more comfortable than traditional buildings. Key points include: Examining 45 multifamily buildings in MA and NY, they found an average cost increase over traditional projects of just 3.5%. They…
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Public Housing Passive House Project Breaks Ground in Boston
Earlier this month, Mayor Wu and others gathered to break ground for Phase One of The Bunker Hill Housing Redevelopment, the largest Public Housing Redevelopment in Boston’s history – with all 15 buildings set to be built to the Passive House standard. From the beginning, the first building and the full redevelopment were planned to…
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Passive House Year in Review 2022
What a year it’s been for Passive House in Massachusetts. Here are just a few highlights of what we have accomplished: We continued our Passive House + Renewables = Net Zero Energy campaign to promote Passive House as the foundation required to meet Net Zero goals. As part of this campaign, we have been integral in…