News
Passive House: It’s all in the details
Air sealing detail The Western Sullivan Public Library – Jeffersonville Branch is a good example of a partial retrofit that was very impactful. The thermal envelope was enlarged to include the entire attic, i.e., the insulation was moved from the attic floor to the roof rafters. The first step in insulating the roof rafters is the installation of an air barrier fabric. Cellulose insulation is then “dense packed” into the space created by the air barrier and attic roof slope….
From Energy Savings to Wellness: How Builders and Designers Navigate Home Certifications
… Similarly, Richard Pedranti, founder of his eponymous architectural firm in Milford, Pa., worked with builder Louis Costanzo to design Costanzo’s personal family home in Dalton, Pa., to Phius’ passive building standards. “We view certification, specifically through standards like Phius, as the truth serum of high-performance building,” Pedranti says. “This third-party validation ensures the technical integrity of the building envelope and mechanical systems, protecting the homeowner’s investment by proving the home meets the highest global standards for energy, health, and…
Inside the Dickerman Residence, a Low-Slung Sullivan County Home by Richard Pedranti
Designed by architect Richard Pedranti, the Dickerman Residence in Sullivan County uses a simple shed form, natural materials, and high-performance strategies to create a home that settles easily into its wooded site. When architect Richard Pedranti talks about the Dickerman Residence, a modernist home built in Narrowsburg in 2015, he returns again and again to a deceptively simple idea: don’t mess it up. Pedranti is talking about the landscape, of course—a sloping, wooded site in Sullivan County, threaded with boulders,…
How a Pennsylvania Architect Marries Client Goals With Passive Design Strategies
Richard Pedranti builds custom homes that don’t make clients choose between performance and design. The Milford, Pa.-based architect explains his approach to delivering both Builder in 5 is our five-question series with the minds behind standout custom homes. In this edition, we’re speaking with Richard Pedranti, founder of Richard Pedranti Architect (RPA), a Milford, Pa.-based architecture firm that specializes in passive house design. Pedranti shared how his approach to building custom allows him to deliver homes that are “both beautiful…
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…
Richard Pedranti Architect Caps Another Year of Excellence in Sustainable Passive House Design
Firm Recognized by AIA and Builder Magazine for Passive House Architectural Design Richard Pedranti Architect (RPA), a premier architecture firm pioneering energy-efficient architecture for modern living, extended its leadership in sustainable building, earning multiple industry awards and designing a range of luxury residential passive house projects. This continued momentum in the category has cemented the firm’s position as the partner that discerning clients rely upon to harness modern building science for beautiful, healthy, and high-performance living. “In 2025, we continued…
Richard Pedranti Architect Earns Phius Design Certification for Notable New Jersey Residence
Elegant Garden State Home Exemplifies Uncompromised Living at Peak Performance Richard Pedranti Architect, a premier architecture firm pioneering energy-efficient architecture for modern living, now has under construction in New Jersey the Two Rivers Passive House, its latest Phius Design-Certified passive building. Crafted with an aesthetic that harmonizes with the vernacular of Monmouth County, NJ, the Two Rivers Passive House elegantly blends traditional beauty and substantial space. Its true innovation, however, lies beneath the surface. This residence is a testament to…
2025 BCDA Merit: Montem Villam Passive House
Expansive glass and retracting glass walls open the passive house project to the outdoors. On 10 acres near Scranton, Pennsylvania, a family deeply rooted in exceptional building construction tapped RPA | Richard Pedranti Architect to help design a passive house that was healthy and environmentally harmonious. With a central design goal of integrating the home with its views of rolling hills and a small lake, expansive glass and two retracting glass walls were utilized to connect the indoor amenities to…