Many practitioners on the leading edge of the high performance building world draw from a variety of disparate manufacturers’ products and methodologies in an effort to address the details energy-efficient cold-climate construction demand. But this patchwork method lacks a cohesive, integrated systems approach. In this presentation, we will see examples of some projects which have required the development of prototype assemblies and coordinated systems, and we’ll hear a call for the broader green building community and manufacturers to help take these trends to the next step; collaboratively working toward affordability through systems approaches, integrated design, and off-site prefabrication, with the goal of a well-engineered, whole house practice for cold-climate structures.

Eli Gould left his hometown in southern Vermont twenty years ago to pioneer what was then a new degree track at Yale University, combining architecture and forestry. He returned home and founded the vertically integrated company Ironwood Brand, combining native lumber, high performance prefab, and advanced mechanical systems. In recent years he has led some of the highest performing residential building projects in the region, and developed a unique reputation for design and development of new construction assemblies and systems.