News
2025 BCDA Merit: Niantic Net Zero House
The Passive House design is separated into living zones keep the primary and guest areas private. Set against a granite cliffside in Connecticut, the Niantic Net Zero House lends breathtaking views of the cliff and Niantic Bay through continuous indoor-outdoor living. The home was built by Bluewater Millwork & Construction and designed by RPA | Richard Pedranti Architect. Two distinct barn shapes house separate living zones for the energy-neutral home with a private primary space, a guest space, and a central public gathering…
Passively Perfect
Modern building strategies help create an exceptional living environment and meaningful, measurable sustainability. The Niantic Net Zero House is a single-family home neat in the sailing mecca of Block Island Sound in Connecticut. Passive House design strategies create an exceptional living environment for this home, which is embraced in granite cliffs with breathtaking views of Niantic Bay. For a Philadelphia couple, finding a location for their second home and choosing an architect to fulfill their vision was a years-long journey….
Richard Pedranti Architect designs Catskills region’s newest Phius Design-Certified passive house
Personal Residence of Prominent New York Real Estate Broker Achieves Phius CORE Design Certification Richard Pedranti Architect (RPA), a premier architecture firm pioneering energy efficient architecture for modern living, now has under construction the Fall Brook Passive House, one of the newest Phius Design-Certified passive buildings in the Empire State. In July 2025, the Fall Brook Passive House, a single-family passive home located in Livingston Manor, New York, and owned by leading real estate broker Jennifer Grimes of Country House…
Shepherdstown to be home of first Phius design-certified passive house in the state
In June, Sean and Tracey Porter will be moving into their new home at 312 W. German St. in Shepherdstown. This home is special to them for a number of reasons, such as that it will be the first home they have built and that it will be in a walkable town that has already begun to feel like home to them. However, for the Porters, the most exciting thing about their new home will be the fact that it…
Architect talks how passive houses differ from typical American houses
Richard Pedranti Architect (RPA), a premier architecture firm pioneering energy-efficient architecture for modern living, has begun constructing the first Phius design-certified passive building in West Virginia, at 312 West German Street in Shepherdstown. The single-family passive home’s design was officially approved by the Passive House Institute U.S. (Phius) in Nov. 2024, under the Phius CORE 2021 Program. Gaining this certification and then having its completed construction approved by Phius this coming summer, according to RPA principal Richard Pedranti, is the…
Eastern Panhandle to be home of first Phius design-certified passive house in the state
In June, Sean and Tracey Porter will be moving into their new home at 312 W. German St. in Shepherdstown. This home is special to them for a number of reasons, such as that it will be the first home they have built and that it will be in a walkable town that has already begun to feel like home to them. However, for the Porters, the most exciting thing about their new home will be the fact that it…
On the Market: Extremely Minimalist House Outside Nazareth
Why “extremely”? Because not just the aesthetic is minimalist; so are the electric bills, thanks to its high-performance passive-house construction. Are you one of those people who wants to live lightly on the earth but doesn’t want to give up all the trappings of civilization? If you are, and you love high modernist architecture, then this Nazareth passive house for sale has your name on it. As the photo above should make clear, this house truly stands out from the…
A Lesson in Collaboration
The house that Richard Pedranti designed for his friend Lawrence Mullane was in every sense a collaboration, as Mullane is not only the homeowner, but also the contractor who realized Pedranti’s design. It was a joint effort that employed Pedranti’s penchant for distinctive modern design while fulfilling Mullane’s wish for a traditional form of construction. Despite the contemporary glass-and-aluminum facade, the Mullane residence has the structural geometry of a barn. “That’s what Lawrence asked for,” says Pedranti. “A barn.” To…