Form and Function

European design influences and perfect teamwork combine to bring a family project into eco-friendly excellence.

Clear vision is essential when it comes to complex projects—butit’s hard to know how to do something when one isn’t evencertain of what it is one wants to do. Fortunately, clear vision
was hardly an issue for Smitesh and Lopa Bakrania, who knew from the beginning that they wanted a family home that wasn’t just comfortable and attractive, but energy-effient and affordable. With that goal in mind, the Bakranias partnered with Richard Pedranti Architect (RPA) and Under Construction Builders (UCB) to create the Bakrania Passive House, a paragon of sustainable architecture and engineering.

That partnership has resulted in Bakrania Passive House being named Green Builder’s Green Home of the Year (GHOTY) winner in the General Green Home category.

There are some extremely well thought-out, rational design decisions. It has a moderatesized floorplan with good space utilization, and it’s extremely energy efficient. The house is a benchmark for what custom homes should be.” from the Judges

Sustainability from Scratch

Located in southern New Jersey, the Bakrania Passive House was designed from the beginning with PHIUS certification in mind. Smitesh Bakrania, a mechanical engineer and professor of sustainability, was drawn to Passive House design principles due to consistent examples of their cost- and energy-consciousness, especially in the long-term.

The airtight envelope is constructed with LP SmartSide siding, HydroGap drainable house wrap, a Siga smart membrane, and ZIP R-12 sheathing, with dense-pack cellulose insulation, while the metal standing seam roof utilizes a pre-engineered truss structure and closed cell spray foam. Heating and cooling are provided using twin Daikin air source heat pump ducted mini split systems and a Rheem electric heat pump water heater. A Zehnder Q350 energy recovery ventilator ties it all together to create a PHIUS-certified Passive House that boasts an impressive minus 6 HERS rating.

The combination of the airtight construction and optimized ventilation has also resulted in a significantly healthier living environment, with the Bakranias noting that the frequency and severity of their son’s asthma attacks have significantly decreased within their new, healthy home.

But the Bakrania Passive House’s achievements don’t end with its air filtration and insulation—it’s also a leader in residential energy conservation. Its Lucent Solar-installed, roof-mounted 8kW solar array, sporting 20 400W Hanwa panels, is affixed to the southern side of the home’s roof to ensure the maximum possible yield during the day.

To read full article, visit https://www.greenbuildermedia.com/january-february-2026-18th-annual-green-home-of-the-year-awards