In this episode of The Passive House Podcast, Ilka Cassidy and Jacob Racusin are at the BuildingEnergy Boston 2026 Conference (Sponsored by New Energy Works).

Ilka and Jacob recap day 2 of the conference including a keynote by Melissa O’Mara and Kevin Stack, “Unstoppable Inner Resilience and Generational Leadership,” which guided attendees through a meditation connecting to ancestors and future generations, highlighting accountability, leadership, and the “knowing-doing gap” via the Inner Development Goals. Ilka then interviews architect Phil Kaplan about a deep energy retrofit of a mid-century Acorn Deck House involving unexpected conditions, major structural changes, and questions about cost and embodied carbon versus rebuilding. The day’s highlights also include sessions on tools and strategies to balance operational and embodied carbon, evaluate deep versus moderate retrofits, and push manufacturers toward healthier, lower-impact materials.

Episode with Rachel White & Michael Hindle: https://passivehouseaccelerator.com/podcast/building-energy-boston-with-rachel-white-michael-hindle

Meditation that is similar to the one described in the episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-long-time-academy/id1589516917

Episode with Melissa O'Mara and Kevin Stack: https://passivehouseaccelerator.com/podcast/180-inner-development-goals-idgs-and-buildings-with-kevin-stack-and-melissa-omara

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, Ilka Cassidy and Jacob Racusin are at the BuildingEnergy Boston 2026 Conference (Sponsored by New Energy Works).

Ilka and Jacob speak with:

• Gregory Smith, Architect at Moody Nolan
• Clay Tilton, Existing Buildings Program ManagerBuilt Environment Plus (BE+)
• Arlen Li, Fitwel Ambassador, Planning PrincipalHGA
• Anthony Michetti, Director of Sustainability, Cell Signaling Technology
• Julie Newman, PhDDirector of SustainabilityMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
• Steve Hessler Building Systems Specialist at New Energy Works | Certified Passive House Consultant at Holzraum System
• Bryan Bleiere, Director of Offsite Construction at New Energy Works
• Luke Winston-Almanzar CEO, Co-Founder Reservoir

They discuss the conference mood amid political and economic headwinds, the theme “Don’t Stop Us Now,” and a keynote on “The Cost of Pausing” featuring MIT and Cell Signaling Technology, emphasizing business cases and co-benefits for maintaining climate goals. Conference co-chairs Clay Hilton and Greg Smith highlight curation, community-building, and student participation. Trade-floor interviews feature Reservoir’s smart heat-pump water heater with predictive controls and recirculation, and New Energy Works’ timber/panelization work and foam-free assemblies.

https://nesea.org/conference/schedule/50140

https://newenergyworks.com/

https://passivehouseaccelerator.com/articles/component-spotlight-rethinking-domestic-hot-water-intro...

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.

Building science is at the core of high-performance construction, but it takes more than an understanding of psi-values and hygrothermal dynamics to actually get these buildings built. As we see in this episode, having a real-world understanding of materials science, finance, and how people actually work together is yet another component to this line of work. Granted, there’s still a lot of building science involved, as emphasized by the clips featuring Ed May and Ben Bogie, but this episode of The Reimagine Edit series of the Passive House Podcast should be a reminder that construction touches loads of academic fields, and that the status of expert will forever be a moving target in an evolving industry.

In this episode, host Zack Semke shares selected clips of conversations from the Reimagine Collective. Featured speakers include Ben Bogie, Jesse Hunt, Michael Ingui, Ed May, and Emily Mottram.

The Reimagine Edit is a special series of the Passive House Podcast that shares curated insights from our Experts-In-Residence at the Reimagine Buildings Collective, our membership community of building professionals stepping up to tackle climate change. Learn more about the Reimagine Buildings Collective at https://www.reimaginebuildings.com.