The Building Science Podcast

Latest Episodes:

The Future of Homes Aug 17, 2023

Show notes

Today we are going to dig into The Future of Homes with two home builders intent on delivering that future in the present. How do we make truly healthy, exceptionally durable homes that also respect the environment, the new normal?

What are we doing in residential construction today that we’ll look back on and say “Remember when we used to do that?” Conversely, what are we doing that is “new” and unconventional today but will come to be a widespread, mainstream practice? These are the opening topics in this thoughtful conversation about the importance of perspective and the role of the builder-client relationship. A core theme is whether the constraints to achieving powerfully positive outcomes are more related to materials and technologies, or perspective and process. The discussion here on all these topic and more is broad and deep.

Join Kristof for an interview with Kevin Rosa and Paul Coppock of Opus Vitae Construction out of Portland, Oregon.

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Kevin Rosa

He constantly seeks out the best process and the latest and most in-depth scientific construction knowledge, Kevin is Passive House certified, and refers to himself as a “building science nerd”.

Paul Coppock

His favorite aspects of the job are problem-solving and the uniqueness of each project. He relishes the opportunity to build lasting relationships with clients and subcontractors.

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Team

Hosted by Kristof Irwin
Edited by Nico Mignardi
Produced by M. Walker

Hempcrete Homes: A Growing Industry Aug 09, 2023

Show notes

Why is the AEC industry still mostly ignoring hempcrete? There are a host of good reasons to use this renewable and low environmental impact material in homes and buildings - including indoor air quality, acoustics, thermal comfort, and energy performance - yet the mainstream market is still largely uninformed and continues to deliver today’s houses with yesterday's material palettes. With industrial hemp coming online fueled by new legislation, favorable economics and strong market potential - amid a conventional building material supply supply chain beset by disruptions and price increases - deciding to use hempcrete for your build may be just a matter of time.

Join us in this episode as we unpack the basics and benefits of hempcrete and beyond. Aside from hemp as an amazing multi-use crop, and hempcrete as a product, there are the unsung innovators and pathfinders in the AEC world who rarely get the attention and appreciation they deserve. In this episode we keep true to our tagline and bring the human factor to architecture design* in the form of the incomparable heart and mind of Tim White. Tim has long been a man with a passion for healthy sustainable homes. A passion that over time has become a mission to build with hempcrete.

*Quiz question: Where have you heard that phrase before?

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Tim is the president and owner of Texas Healthy Homes. He is an experienced builder and product designer, with a passion for sustainability and human health.

He has built over 50 natural homes in the last 20 years across the United States and the Caribbean. As a clay and lime expert, Tim has developed proprietary technology for both plaster and masonry blocks independently and as a product designer for American Clay. He loves to educate and has led workshops on historic masonry, lime plasters, clay plasters, straw bale construction and LSC.

Prior to becoming a natural builder, Tim played college football, served in the Marine Corps and guided Class 5 river rafting trips in southern Colorado.
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Team

Hosted by Kristof Irwin
Edited by Nico Mignardi
Produced by M. Walker

Architectural Solar: A New Normal Aug 02, 2023

Show notes

The best place to generate electrical power is where it’s used. We all know that solar PV adds value for both owners and society by improving resilience, reducing energy costs and decreasing carbon emissions and climate impact. Yet traditional design practices and compressed schedules make it challenging for project teams to include integrated solar on their designs.
The solution is Architectural Solar and the Architectural Solar Association knows that the key moves are early engagement and integration of architectural, structural and cladding systems. The time is now to consider solar as being architecturally significant and to realize that it does not always have to be relegated to the roof. The days of the Mr Potato HeadTM approach, where panels are stuck onto a home or building after they’re built, are over. Join us for forward-looking discussion with two industry experts in best practices for solar integration and design.
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Stan Pipkin

Since 2007, Stan has co-managed and owned Lighthouse Solar in Austin, TX. He has been involved in the shaping of local and state policy to foster the growth of solar energy. In addition, Stan runs an architectural design practice, Pipkinc., focusing on residential, commercial and civic projects. He has found considerable overlap between integrated solar design and holistic architectural design services.

In 2000 he co-founded a research and design collective, Spurse, which has engaged in community design projects, material research and process consulting for institutions and organizations ranging from the Guggenheim Museum to The Land Institute. Their work has included exhibitions, workshops, lectures, participatory community design projects, product development and architectural design. Lecture and workshop venues have included MIT, Rhode Island School of Design, Maine College of Art and the Guggenheim

While managing and growing all aspects of Lighthouse Solar, Stan worked closely with a number of industry innovators, including Lumos Solar on the development of its architectural solar product suite. Stan holds a Master of Architecture from the University of Texas, his skill-set sits at the nexus of solar energy and architecture.
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Christopher Klinga

Chris is a licensed, professional structural engineer, with 10-years of hands-on experience in the architectural solar industry. He has an extensive background in solar installation design and operations and architectural solar product development. In addition to his efforts with ASA, Chris operates his own solar product development firm SolMotiv Design, which consults directly with the full value chain of both PV and curtain wall industries. Chris is also a co-inventor on 3 solar technology patents and 3 pending patents. Chris holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado in Boulder.

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Team

Hosted by Kristof Irwin
Edited by Nico Mignardi
Produced by M. Walker

Build. Not too much. Mostly with plants. Jul 19, 2023

Show notes

There has never been a better time or opportunity to completely rethink the way we approach the practice of architecture and construction. With climate change looming over us, becoming more visible by the day, a critical look at the materials we use and their impacts on emissions is needed. Enter natural building materials. Which ones are legit? How can we use them? Join Kristof as he interviews architect and builder, Greg Esparza, with a sweeping introduction to mass timber construction, as well as other natural building materials like cork insulation, hemp insulation, wood fiber board insulation, etc.
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Greg Esparza

Greg is a co-founder of Moontower Design & Build and the founder of Cross Cabin Build & Supply. He received his Bachelors of Science in Architecture, University of Texas at Austin and has been in the design and construction industry for over 15 years. Greg prides himself on developing deep relationships with his manyinteresting clients and delivering fantastic outcomes on their projects. Greg is a fierce advocate for natural building materials and has spoken at building science conferences across the country, including The Humid Climate Conference.

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Cross Cabin Build & Supply

Cross Cabin Build + Supply promotes climate-friendly homebuilding in and around their hometown of Austin, Texas. They do this through distributing low carbon, renewable, plant-based building products and providing technical support during design and construction of climate-friendly homes. Cross Cabin specializes in mass timber projects and foam-free, vapor-open homes that prioritize a safe work environment for craftspeople, a healthy home for families, and a careful consideration of the climate impact of how building materials are made and how these materials can be recycled, reused, or naturally biodegraded in the future.

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Team

Hosted & Produced by Kristof Irwin
Edited by Nico Mignardi
Engineered & Produced by M. Walker

Building Science Journalism Jul 12, 2023

Show notes

We live in the information age. The quality of the information we receive determines the quality of our decisions and the effectiveness of our actions. It is also no secret that money holds influence, and the methods through which we obtain information, as well as the economic dynamics of the building science and construction industry, are undergoing constant change.

We invite you to join us in exploring the significance of Building Science Journalism in today's world. Our conversation features two accomplished, knowledgeable, and profound authors who have dedicated themselves to this field: Brian Pontililo and Aaron Fagan. Along the way, we will delve into the evolving role of bloggers and social media influencers within the AEC industry. We will also acknowledge the fact that manufacturers now possess multiple avenues to convey their public relations and marketing messages to their target audiences.

Throughout our discussion, we will highlight the value of journalism, storytelling, and the adherence to journalistic standards, such as fact-checking. We encourage you to participate in this captivating dialogue and, perhaps, gain a fresh perspective that will enable you to engage more meaningfully with your favorite building science and construction channels.
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Brian Pontililo

Brian Pontolilo has spent the better part of the last 20 years as a journalist, writer, and editor covering residential design and construction at Fine Homebuilding magazine and GreenBuildingAdvisor.com. Brian has a degree in professional writing, worked for a short time at local newspapers, and has worked in landscape construction, as a painter, and as a carpenter before coming to the Taunton Press, and during the three breaks he has taken from office life. On his current hiatus from full-time employment, Brian is designing and building what he hopes will be a pretty good house in northwest Connecticut.

Aaron Fagan

Former associate editor for Fine Homebuilding, Aaron has written and edited for a disparate list of publications, including The Economist, Penthouse, and Scientific American. He has also worked as a welder in a window factory, as a screw-machine operator, and as a remodel/repair carpenter. Educated at Hampshire College and Syracuse University, Aaron is the author of three poetry collections: Garage, Echo Train, and A Better Place is Hard to Find.

Low Carbon Buildings - What’s Next? Wow. Just Wow Jul 05, 2023

Show notes

You’re in for a feast of ideas here. Join us as Kristof talks with Bruce King about his work as a stubborn optimist and powerful motive force in the realm of low carbon buildings. Bruce joins a wise heart with a clever mind and a deep understanding of the technical aspects and implications of the role of energy and carbon in how we, as a society, deliver buildings to ourselves.

Today’s interview discusses themes from Bruce’s new-at-the-time book Build Beyond Zero written along with friend and co-conspirator, Chris Magwood, and a host of superstars in the low carbon buildings space, to remind us that the very buildings we live and work in are currently poised to be “one of the most practical and affordable climate solutions instead of leading drivers of climate change.” We all have power and agency in the future of buildings and it benefits us to listen to folks like Bruce King to show us the way and motivate us to move forward.

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Bruce King
Bruce King is the founder of the Ecological Building Network (EBNet), and a registered engineer with 35 years of worldwide experience in structural engineering and construction. He is the author of Buildings of Earth and Straw, Making Better Concrete, Design of Straw Bale Buildings, ASTM International E-2392, earthen building guidelines, and dozens of papers and articles for conferences and journals. He has organized three international conferences on ecological building, and is the founder of BuildWell Source, a user-based collection of low-carbon materials knowledge, and of the BuildWell Symposia. www.bruce-king.com www.ecobuildnetwork.org

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About Bruce’s Books
Build Beyond Zero

Authors Bruce King and Chris Magwood re-envision buildings as one of the most practical and affordable climate solutions instead of leading drivers of climate change. Build Beyond Zero provides a snapshot of a beginning and map towards a carbon-smart built environment that acts as a CO2 filter. Professional engineers, designers, and developers are invited to imaging the very real potential for our built environment to be a site of net carbon storage, a massive drawdown pool that could help to heal our climate. And if you have not yet read, or recently re-read his first book, please feel encouraged to do so!

New Carbon Architecture

Imagine a building made of sky. For the first time in history, we can build pretty much anything out of carbon that we coaxed from the air. We can structure any architectural style with wood, we can insulate with straw and mushrooms, we can make concrete - better concrete - with clay, microbes, smoke, and a careful look in the rear view mirror and the microscope.

All of these emerging technologies - and more - arrive in tandem with the growing understanding that the so-called embodied carbon of building materials matters a great deal more than anyone thought in the fight to halt and reverse climate change.

The built environment can switch from being a problem to a solution - much nicer places to occupy that just happen to pull carbon out of the air.

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Team

Hosted & Produced by Kristof Irwin
Engineered & Edited by Nico Mignardi
Produced by M. Walker

Direct DC-to-LED Lighting (Bonus Short Episode) Jun 30, 2023

Show notes

Producer’s note: after a regrettably long COVID-19 disruption, this fun bonus short episode (recorded live in 2018) finally gets to see the light of day

Are you open to rethinking how you provide lighting to your home? What if there were a lighting system that not only saves you time, money and energy, but also enhances your experience of the living space?

I think we all already know that running 120V AC around a home to power DC LEDs leads to a lot of warm AC-to-DC transformers and wasted energy. We also know that Solar runs on DC and batteries store DC power, so why do we still use AC for lighting (besides the fact that it’s traditional)?

Enter direct DC lighting for homes – an approach that brings efficiency, safety, and versatility to illuminate your surroundings. With its low-voltage wiring, energy-saving direct DC to LED connection, and smart control systems, DC lighting offers a host of possibilities and benefits including:

Simplifying lighting installation

Reducing the use and associated costs of copper wiring

Providing flicker-free dimming in true white or tunable colors

Supplying backup lighting during outages

Improving the owner/end-user experience.

Join us for this short interview with Murray Freeman, a pioneer and stubborn optimist in the DC Lighting space. We will learn the basics and leave you with an informed perspective on the fascinating realm of direct DC-to-LED lighting, where modern technology, sustainable living, and high quality owner/user experience converge.
Murray Freeman
Murray has deployed Power over Ethernet in over 3,000 buildings. Creative engineer, he has striven to design systems for better reliability, durability, and self diagnosing while achieving cost efficiency. With experience in residential construction, he realized that neither PoE nor 120 VAC are suitable for lighting in new home construction - therefore, a new standard low voltage method to light LEDs was invented. His lighting solutions equips new homes and small business with smart switches and tunable white extended lifespan LEDs. He founded ATX-LED to design and manufacture energy efficient smart lighting systems. His goal is to bring high feature and higher quality lighting solutions to new construction, changing forever how light is wired.
Hosted & Produced by Kristof Irwin
Edited by Nico Mignardi
Engineered & Produced by M. Walker

An Introduction to Embodied Carbon & Buildings Jun 28, 2023

Show notes

Is a building more like a river or a rock?

A building seems to just sit there*, so in that sense it seems to be more like a rock. But in reality every building material, and thus the entire building itself, is a snapshot in time of a river of resources and energy flowing from natural ecosystems into our use, and then, ultimately flowing back into the environment

All along the way, this flow of energy and resources emits carbon and other molecules into the sky, changing atmospheric chemistry and imbalancing our climate’s equilibrium. We’ve long known that this is both happening and that it’s a problem. What’s different now is that human society is waking up to the fact that we must work together to chart a new course forward. A course that recognizes the importance of reducing the both operational and embodied, or upfront, carbon emissions.

That’s where our guest today comes in. Andrew Himes is all about helping groups move society forward by focusing on the convergence of technology, communication and social activism. Join us for this fast paced and compelling interview with Andrew as we talk about the theory of change for industry transformation using data & tools, policy change, and collective action.

*From a building science perspective, we know that a building’s enclosure seems static and solid but is actually constantly and dynamically mediating the flows of heat, light, sound, vibration, odor, microbes, allergens, water and air (mass) between the interior and exterior conditions.

Links & Resources

Carbon Leadership Forum

MEP 2040

Andrew’s TEDx Seattle Talk : Save our buildings, Save our Planet

Team

Hosted & Produced by Kristof Irwin

Engineered & Edited by Nico Mignardi

Produced by M. Walker

Do you like it hot? Do you want it now? Do you want it to last forever? Jun 21, 2023

Show notes

Gary Klein is in hot water and that’s a good thing. Hot water is the often-overlooked aspect of energy use in our homes and buildings and that makes zero sense. Energy for water heating is either the second largest, or in some cases the largest single energy use and does not get enough attention.

As if that were not motivation enough, hot water is also the place where convenience and energy savings align perfectly because no one wants to wait for hot water and no one (arguably) wants to needlessly waste energy. With all the product based attention on ways to heat water - air-water heat pumps, electric, gas, tankless - it may surprise you to learn that once you have hot water what you do with it can matter even more.

Join us in this action packed interview with Gary Klien, a true national treasure in the realm of water heating and distribution as he applies simple logic again and again to break down the How and the Why of having hot water arrive efficiently When and Where you need it.
Gary Klein

Gary Klein is the principal and founder of Gary Klein and Associates. Every day, across the United States, millions of gallons of water and millions of Btus of energy are lost in our hot-water systems through a combination of structural and behavioral waste. Ours is an era where efforts to conserve resources have led to ever-increasing complexity, be it in water heaters that are harder to understand and use, be it in the smart grid and electric meters that tell the utility all about our behavior. Given human nature, it is our responsibility to provide the infrastructure that supports efficient behaviors.

Gary Klein is tackling this issue in a different way, rejecting complexity and concentrating on elegant simplicity. He works to change building codes and to get architects and builders to use plumbing systems that, by their design, deliver hot water quickly and with minimal waste. He has looked at the structural and behavioral waste and believes great resource savings are to be had in both. When he gives a presentation, it's impossible to doze in the back row. He calls on people at random to serve as props, marks lines on the floor in tape, makes people think, and makes them laugh. It works.
Team

Hosted by Kristof Irwin
Produced by M. Walker
Edited by Nico Mignardi

Building Passion For Passive Nov 04, 2022

Show notes

Knowing how to build fantastic high performing buildings is not enough; we need to cause that to actually happen. We need high performance buildings to exist. Knowing how is necessary, but also clearly not sufficient. During this time of increasing urgency to realize new performance outcomes, we need new skills in order to fulfill our roles in society as architects, engineers, builders and trades. What this means is that we need to think about what actually works and then do a lot of that right now. In this episode we interview a veteran Passive House architect who has thought deeply about this topic of “What do we do differently that will cause owners to make better decisions?” In our rational, fact-filled world, we may be leaving some powerful tools on the table. Tools that recognize that we are far more than rational decision-making computers; we are humans and as such we are powerfully influenced by relationships and by emotions.

Join Kristof as he interviews Graham Irwin, AIA, CPHC and the rich discussion that follows.
Team

Hosted by Kristof Irwin
Edited and Produced by M. Walker