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March 10, 2021

Building the Passive House Legacy Through Responsible Land Stewardship

During the numerous conversations we had about what we wanted from this next chapter of our lives, when it came to our role as landowners, we had very specific things in mind. We wanted to be good stewards. We knew our role would be a temporary one; the land would remain long after we were gone and we wanted to protect it and improve its health—enhance its biodiversity, revitalize its soil, and remove the invasive plants and plant native ones. But, we also planned to build a house.
January 5, 2021

The Passive House Building Envelope: Thermal Windows and a Great View

Wickedly cold winters, summer days with temperatures that reach into the 90s, and large swings in humidity have provided the perfect backdrop over the course of a century for the evolution of an innovative, premium window product that is now part of the building envelope for Cold Brook Farm. 
October 2, 2020

The Passive House: Giving Back to the Community by Sourcing Local

During a time when many small businesses are collapsing under the weight of the global pandemic, “source local” is a philosophy that has become more important than ever. Well before the COVID-19 pandemic began, Jason and Deborah detailed an original concept for the project and their intention to use materials to build the home that were sustainable and produced or harvested within 500-miles of the property.
July 14, 2020

In Pursuit of the Passive House

As I sketched out a new rendering of the homestead, lifestyle and convenience certainly remained factors, but were no longer the primary drivers of the design. The priorities of the passive house would be guided by sustainability, energy-efficiency and the home’s integration with the land surrounding it.