Step into a well-designed, energy-efficient home and the difference is palpable. The temperature is consistent from room to room, the air is fresh without a window cracked, and the outside noise fades away. Architect Noah Fitch has spent his career designing energy-efficient homes that perform at the highest level and knows what matters most. Check out Noah's guide to creating one of these homes - and what anyone designing one should understand before they start. Link in bio.
Seen here is one of Noah's recently completed projects, a Passive House Certified custom home project in Stow, MA built by @starcontractingco . Swipe for photos of Noah enjoying a stroll (and a climb) through the house!
#EnergyEfficientDesign #GreenArchitecture #CustomHome #HighPerformance #StowMA
Glass, wood, air, and light
A house shaped with its climate
Living gently here.
Earth Day, every day!
#HappyEarthDay #EarthDay #OrleansMA #RyeNH #NorwichVT StowMA
What is a Passive House, Really? From the outside, it looks like a house. A well-designed one. Quietly modern, nothing performative. The difference is what you don’t see, but will definitely feel.
Heating is the largest form of energy consumption in a typical New England home. A superinsulated, airtight building enclosure - the walls, windows, doors, foundation, and roof - can be used as a passive strategy to reduce the heating energy required. In other words, the ‘passive’ in Passive House means the design does the work.
A Passive House prioritizes:
Insulation → a continuous thermal ‘jacket’ to slow heat loss
Airtightness → no uncomfortable drafts or energy waste and improved durability
Fresh air ventilation → consistent, healthy indoor environment for your family
High performance windows → triple pane windows allow for warmer indoor temperatures and provide extra noise reduction
Design + orientation → siting to optimize solar heat gain
The result is a home that requires a fraction of the heating and cooling energy, along with incredible thermal comfort, healthy indoor air, and a peaceful interior environment. It’s a smarter way to build, especially in cold climates.
If you’re thinking about building or renovating, these decisions matter most before the walls go up. Link in bio for more about Passive House benefits.
#passivehouse #buildingscience #newenglandhome #newengland #energyefficienthomes
Light belongs everywhere - even below grade. Thoughtfully placed windows and window wells transform basements from dark storage to bright, livable space. As architects, we study sun angles, grade, and interior layout so daylight reaches deeper than you’d expect. The result: healthier, more comfortable rooms that feel connected to the outdoors.
#Daylighting #ArchitecturalDesign #BasementDesign #PassiveHouseDesign #NEHome #StowMA #LexingtonMA #ProvidenceRI #WellfleetMA
In our latest project with ZeroEnergy Design, we used the BEAM tool to guide our foundation decision-comparing real embodied carbon impacts against standard practice.
The foundation choice we landed on is an engineered 8” thick supplementary concrete mix that is composed of 30% fly ash. Fly ash replaces a portion of the Portland cement in the mix, reducing the amount of cement required and, in turn, lowering the embodied carbon. While there is no performance advantage to this replacement, fly ash is a coal byproduct that would otherwise go to the landfill, so mixing it in this way helps divert waste while reducing the footprint of the concrete itself.
A typical new-construction foundation wall is 10” thick. By engineering this wall to 8” we further reduced the amount of concrete needed and used. We also opted out of concrete slab. Structural requirements were offset with additional steel rebar and plywood. Even with the increase in steel and wood, the overall embodied carbon was still lower than a conventional foundation.
The concrete foundation in a wood framed home is typically the largest source of embodied carbon emissions, representing 45-50+% of the overall total. Using BEAM, a conventional 10” concrete wall with a 4” slab was modeled at 32,619 kg CO₂e. The alternative 8” wall with a 30% fly ash mix and no concrete slab came in at 21,397 kg CO₂e — a meaningful reduction in embodied carbon.
While standards for embodied carbon are still emerging, tracking and sharing these numbers helps establish real benchmarks for what’s possible. Projects like this begin to form the case studies that will shape future standards, inform better decision-making, and push our industry toward building smarter, lower-carbon, and more responsible buildings. We’re committed to being part of that shift—and are excited to partner with ZED and this client on this shared vision.
#sustainablebuilding #highperformancebuilding #custombuilders #adamsbeasley
Dynamic space is not about size, it’s about section. Ceiling heights often vary throughout a home, creating different experiences as you move and offering suggestions about how spaces could be used. Taller volumes feel more expansive and social, while lower ones feel calm and protected. These subtle shifts separate rooms without walls, allowing spaces to flow together while still feeling distinct.
Some things to consider when designing a home with varying ceiling heights: well-designed heating and cooling systems to avoid air stratification, a smart shading strategy to limit unwanted glare, soft finishes and materials to reduce echo, and integrated lighting to create smooth transitions between spaces.
#ceilingheight #dynamicspaces #architecturalsection #modernarchitecture #modernhome #residentialarchitecture #passivehousedesign #StowMA #LexingtonMA #NeedhamMA #ProvidenceRI #PortsmouthRI
We prioritize our clients’ wants and needs above all, and in this case, our clients were passionate about high performance and embodied carbon. For our latest project with @zeroenergy_design , we’re using the BEAM estimator from @buildersforclimateaction to evaluate low-carbon building options.
Unfamiliar? BEAM, or Building Emissions Accounting for Materials, is a web-based embodied carbon estimation tool designed for low- and mid-rise residential projects. It captures the carbon emissions from material extraction, transport, and manufacturing, providing a “cradle-to-gate” approach, which measures the carbon impact of a product from the moment it’s produced to the moment it leaves the factory gate.
BEAM contains a library of materials with verified carbon footprints, allowing us to compare different materials or assemblies in real time. The images shown here capture on-site mockups we built using materials directly recommended by the BEAM tool. We used BEAM to evaluate three different foundation assemblies and were surprised to find that one system advertised as "low carbon" actually had a higher carbon footprint due to added rebar requirements. We pair BEAM with on-site mockups of the wall assembly to ensure we understand the practical application implications of low-carbon materials, such as the wood fiber board exterior insulation specified on this project. Together, BEAM's data and physical mock-ups help us align performance, sustainability, and client priorities from day one.
This tool is a true game-changer for early decisions in project planning, allowing us to reduce embodied carbon from the start through every material choice.
#beamestimator #sustainablebuilding #highperformancebuilding
As we close the chapter on 2025, we want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to our incredible clients, partners, and friends. Your dedication to creating a more sustainable world inspires us every day. Here’s to new adventures together in the year ahead! ✨ 🌍
#ThankYou #Sustainability #GreenBuilding #NewEngland #ZeroEnergy #Decarbonization #Passive House
A simple question we posed to Stephanie H. of @zeroenergy_design and her answer was powerful and strategic.
"Everything matters. The client’s goals, the site, the existing conditions…We don’t design first and figure out later how to meet Passive House standards.
These principles guide us from Day 1.”
"High-performance design isn’t something you add on at the end. It’s something you think through from the beginning , with intention, clarity, and respect for the project’s full potential."
At Building Green, this mindset is at the heart of every conversation. We are inspired by leaders like Stephanie who remind us that great design is integrated design; where performance, beauty, and sustainability move as one.
Start with performance...
Start with purpose...
Start Day 1!
🎥: @hbzmedia
#BuildingGreen
#ZeroEnergyDesign
#PassiveHouse
#HighPerformance
#SustainableDesign
#Day1
Congratulations to Noah Fitch, who received two awards this weekend from @aiacentralmass - an Honor award for design excellence, and an Emerging Professional award - both in recognition of the Stow Passive House! This project benefited from great clients and a stellar team. Some compliments from the jury:
‘The jury was really impressed by this project’s rigorous commitment to passive house principles, paired with an exceptional level of architectural craft. It has super-insulated assemblies, airtight construction and solar optimization, which are seamlessly integrated into the elegant residential composition. It succeeds in proving that high performance buildings do not compromise on spatial richness, refined detailing or formal clarity. For an emerging professional, the achievement is especially notable, demonstrating technical mastery and design maturity in equal measures.’ Incredible job Noah! 🙌
Architecture & Mechanical Design: @zeroenergy_design
Builder: @starcontractingco
Structural Engineer: @siegelstructural
Landscape Architect: @cblastudio
#highperformance #passivehouse #greenbuilding #sustainability #architecture #centralmass #designawards #aia #aiacentralmassachusetts #StowMA #NEHome #ZeroEnergy
We’re honored that Providence Net Zero has been awarded a Gold Medal for Best Single Family Detached Home (6,000–8,000 SF) at the 2025 PRISM Awards!
Thank you to the incredible team that collaborated on this project and to @bragb_ma for this recognition!
Architecture and Mechanical Design: @zeroenergy_design
Construction: @adamsbeasley
Interior Design: @atsugunther
Landscape Architecture: @gregorylombardidesign
Photography by @natreaphotography
This Providence home blends classic New England charm with modern, sustainable innovations. Sun-filled spaces invite reading, writing, and gathering, while thoughtful glazing connects the interiors to the lush, landscaped yard. The design fosters a unique “urban family compound,” linking nearby relatives through adjoining gardens and shared outdoor spaces. Wrapped in renewable cork insulation and powered by solar energy, the home achieves carbon-neutral comfort without fossil fuels. A green roof, spa, and beautifully designed patios complete this urban oasis balancing warmth, efficiency, and a deep connection to nature.
#prism #providenceri #nehome #bragb #customhomes #highperformancedesign #zeroenergydesign
We are proud to announce that Stow Passive House is officially Phius Certified... AND was awarded in the Single-Family category of the 2025 Phius Passive Projects Design Competition, just announced at PhiusCon 2025 in Milwaukee!
Architecture and Mechanical Design: @ZeroEnergy_Design
Construction: @StarContractingCo
About Passive House Certification: earning certification means this project is designed and tested to perform well above and beyond other buildings when it comes to comfort, efficiency, resilience and safety. Projects certified to Phius’ climate-specific, cost-optimized standard are proven to use 40-60 percent less energy and provide a comfortable living environment.
#phius #passivehouse #passivebuilding #phiuscertified #phiusproject #greenbuilding #sustainability #architecture #design #building #StowMA #NEHome
