News
Half of Americans Surveyed Struggle to Feel Warm and Comfortable in their Homes During the Winter Months Finds RPA|Ecocor
Drafts and Poor Insulation Create Both Discomfort and Familial Strife MILFORD, PA AND SEARSMONT, ME Richard Pedranti Architect (RPA), a full-service architecture firm focused on sustainable design, and Ecocor, a construction company that manufactures, delivers and assembles high performance Passive House buildings, surveyed Americans and found that regardless of how much they pay to heat their home, more than half of respondents struggle to feel comfortable in their homes during colder months. This is not just causing physical discomfort, but…
Ecocor Brings Swedish Building Tech to the USA to Produce Passivhaus Prefabs
When we wrote about high tech wood prefabs in Sweden, readers asked “why can’t we have this in America?” In fact, you now can. Not only that, you can have it built to Passivhaus, or Passive House standard of insulation and air quality. (Don’t know Passivhaus? See related links at bottom) That’s because Maine builder ECOCOR is importing the fancy RANDEK tools that slice and dice wood with such accuracy and assemble such perfect wall panels. You also get good…
Factories Gear Up for Passive House Building
Plants on both sides of North America specialize in superinsulated panelized building components. Factories designed to turn out prefabricated components for Passive House buildings are up and running on both sides of North America. In Pemberton, British Columbia, a company called BC Passive House operates the BC Passive House Factory, a 16,146-square-foot production facility that makes panelized parts for Passive House buildings as well as panels for timber-frame buildings. BC Passive House completed in 2014 Vancouver-based Hemsworth Architecture, which…
North America’s First Fully Prefabricated Passive Houses Could Revolutionize the Housing Market
A brilliant new partnership announced today could revolutionize the way Americans build their homes. Ecocor has teamed up with sustainability-minded design firm Richard Pedranti Architect (RPA) to design and build North America’s most energy-efficient prefab Passive Houses starting with eleven model home designs. The factory-built homes not only give Americans the opportunity to buy a super insulated, energy-efficient home at what we presume will be an affordable price, but will also allow them to modify and customize their eco-friendly home…
New Passive House Prefab Factory an Assembly Line for Green Homes
Maine-based EcoCor offers 11 different models of energy-efficient, factory-built prefabs, ready-to-order. The passive house movement, which promotes ultra-efficient building standards as means to reduce energy usage and create healthier, cleaner homes, has slowly gained a foothold in the United States after being imported from Europe. A new company in Maine hopes to speed up adoption with the only certified passive house prefab factory in the states. Ecocor will offer 11 different homes, all of which meet the rigorous Passive House…
Offsite Builder, Architect Launch Line of Energy-Efficient Prefab Homes
Dive Brief: Offsite “high performance” building manufacturer Ecocor has teamed up with Richard Pedranti Architect to develop a line of prefabricated homes that meet the strict energy-efficient requirements of the “Passive House” standard. The team currently has 11 customizable models that range from 323 square feet to 2,685 square feet, and all utilize Passive House Institute-certified wall assemblies. The Passive House energy efficiency standard has been widely adopted in Europe and, according to Ecocor, can reduce a building’s heating and…
More Prefab Passive House Options for North America
Passive House Institute (PHI)-certified walls are coming to North America, says ARCHITECT associate editor Hallie Busta. Ecocor, a Searsmont, Maine-based high-performance building manufacturer is partnering with Milford, Pa.–based architecture firm Richard Pedranti Architect (RPA) to design and build single-family homes built to Passive House standards. The designs will use the only PHI-certified wall assembly in North America. There will be 11 house plans available in a range of sizes from a 323-square-foot cabin to a 2,685-square-foot single-family home. Residents can…
More Prefab Passive House Options for North America
The model of sustainable construction popular in Europe is making its way to the U.S. and Canada. There’s a new player in the small but growing market for prefabricated Passive House construction in the U.S. Announced on Monday, the Searsmont, Maine–based high-performance building manufacturer Ecocor is teaming up with Milford, Pa.–based architecture firm Richard Pedranti Architect (RPA) to design, build, and assemble single-family homes built to the Passive House Institute (PHI) and Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) standards. The designs…