News
Plant Prefab Goes Passive House
Richard Pedrantri designs the first Passive House LivingHomes. Steve Glenn founded LivingHomes in 2004 as “a designer and developer of modern, prefabricated homes that combine world-class architecture with an unparalleled commitment to healthy and sustainable construction.” I met him that year at a modern prefab conference in Austin, Texas, when I was working with a prefab company in Canada, trying to make it easy for people to get great designs by some of the best architects, and trying to convince…
Plant Prefab Partners with Richard Pedranti Architect to Launch its First Passive House LivingHomes
Three Customizable Designs Offer Advanced Passive House Technology for Efficient Prefabrication RIALTO, California – January 26, 2021: Plant Prefab, the nation’s first Certified B CorporationTM prefabricated design and construction company, launches its first ever Passive House LivingHomes, the RPA LivingHome 1, 2, and 3, designed in partnership with new Plant Design Partner Richard Pedranti Architect (RPA). A national leader in Passive House design, RPA joins the roster of acclaimed Plant Design Partners that includes Ray Kappe, KieranTimberlake, Koto Design, Yves…
Richard Pedranti Architect Receives Two Awards from AIA Pennsylvania for Design Excellence and Environmental Design
Modern Prefabricated Energy Efficient Homes in Spring Lake, NJ and Albany NY are Recognized MILFORD, PA – December 10, 2020 – Richard Pedranti Architect (RPA), a full-service architecture firm focused on energy-efficient design and headquartered in Milford, Pennsylvania, has been recognized by the Pennsylvania Chapter of the prestigious American Institute of Architects (AIA) and their Committee on the Environment (COTE) for environmentally sustainable projects in Spring Lake Heights, New Jersey and Albany, New York. 2020 AIA Pennsylvania Architectural Excellence Design…
Jersey Shore House is Net-Zero with Passive Principles
The Lang/St. Marie Residence on the New Jersey shore is interesting for a number of reasons. It was pitched as a net-zero building, defined as one which “produces as much renewable energy as it consumes over the course of a year, leaving the occupants with a net-zero energy bill and a carbon-free home.” But it is designed by Richard Pedranti Architect (RPA), known to Treehugger as a specialist in Passive House and as a proselytizer for prefabrication. In fact, the…
High-Performance Modern Design
“The modern architectural revolution that took place in the 20th century provided great aesthetic advancements, but in an era of readily available and affordable non-renewable energy, it all but ignored efficient resource management.” —Richard Pedranti Modern design features often seem at odds with sound building science (the walls of glass alone suggest an energy hog). So when this project by Richard Pedranti Architect came my way, it presented an opportunity to ask and answer the question: How do you strike…
Passive House Busts High Cost Myth
There’s a myth circulating that super energy-efficient homes cost more to build than homes with typical code-level energy features. Last year, Architect, Richard Pedranti, busted that myth by designing a home to Passive House standards for only $165 per square foot. “We typically use between $175 and $200 per square foot for standard new home construction costs in our area,” said Pedranti. The 2,153 square-foot home achieved this with a simple design, lots of insulation, super air sealing…
For a Lake View, They Built on Stilts
It’s a Sunday spring morning. Colin Dickerman, Peter Koblish and their two pit bulls are, at last, spending it in their house in upstate New York, overlooking a lake and the woods where one dog recently got impaled by a porcupine. On the coffee table is a manuscript – probably soon to be available in bookstores near you. Dickerman, a book editor, was working on it when we pulled in. He’s in a blue jean shirt, and Koblish is wearing…
Actively Passive
The push for Passive House has become more active. As a quick refresher, a Passive House (PH) project relies on a robust envelope system to minimize or eliminate the need for conventional heating systems – relying instead on “passive” sources such as solar radiation or waste heat – as well as employs natural light and ventilation as much as possible. More specifically, a passive building is designed and built in accordance with the following strategies and systems: Continuous insulation throughout…