Green Architects' Lounge
Arts & Culture Podcasts
Maine Architects Chris Briley and Phil Kaplan share their experience, knowledge, music preferences, and cocktail recipes. --Imagine going to a Building Energy conference, donning your name tag lanyard, attending a great session on an interesting...
Location:
United States
Genres:
Arts & Culture Podcasts
Description:
Maine Architects Chris Briley and Phil Kaplan share their experience, knowledge, music preferences, and cocktail recipes. --Imagine going to a Building Energy conference, donning your name tag lanyard, attending a great session on an interesting topic, taking a bunch of notes, and filling your quota of power point slides for the year. This podcast is nothing like that. This is like going out to a bar afterward with the speaker and fellow architects and talking about that forum session. --Chris is a principal at BRIBURN architecture for life. --Phil is a principal at Kaplan Thompson Architects
Language:
English
Contact:
207-286-6774
Email:
cbriley@briburn.com
Episodes
Building Sustainably In A Housing Crisis
4/14/2026
00:00 Show Intro
02:43 Hot Paper Toddy
06:21 Why Housing Hurts
11:36 Musical Chairs
13:07 Durability Matters
14:35 Sustainability Tradeoffs
17:07 Density And Growth
19:01 NIMBY Roadblocks
24:31 Small Project Barriers
26:11 Code Changes Coming
35:11 When Green Goes Too Far
38:38 Practical Solutions
47:12 Modular Momentum
50:15 Final Call
Duration:00:52:36
The Green Spec Playbook For Cleaner Builds Part 2
3/10/2026
05:20 Back In Play
05:26 What Makes Finishes
10:19 Drywall Alternatives
12:30 Flooring Reality Check
21:56 Low VOC Paint
28:42 Exterior Coatings
32:30 Countertop Tradeoffs
36:36 Specialties Grab Bag
44:00 Smarter Appliances
56:15 Heat Pumps Ventilation
59:20 Electrical Futureproofing
Duration:01:01:02
Window Specs For Greener Comfort
2/10/2026
00:00 Back to windows
01:11 SHGC cocktail
03:18 Sponsor break
07:00 Why windows matter
11:22 The key metrics
13:24 U-factor basics
17:36 SHGC and comfort
23:57 VT and tint
27:17 Low-E decoded
36:19 DP vs PG
Duration:01:02:10
The Green Spec Playbook For Cleaner Builds Part 1
1/13/2026
00:00:00 Welcome Back
00:04:10 Why specs matter
00:10:05 Division 01 basics
00:20:30 Site and salvage
00:26:45 Low carbon concrete
00:32:45 Masonry and metals
00:33:55 Wood and toxicity
00:44:15 Decking decisions
00:57:20 Insulation and WRBs
01:08:05 Doors and hardware
Duration:01:14:03
Designing Homes That Stay Strong When It Counts
12/9/2025
00:00 Welcome back
01:09 Storm chaser cocktail
04:05 Passive house wildfire
10:37 Resilience vs durability
15:23 Designing for hazards
22:35 Durable cold climate details
28:54 Resilience and equity
33:52 How buildings learn
38:56 Future ready services
43:04 Outboard module idea
Duration:00:46:58
Stop Scope Creep with One Meeting
11/11/2025
00:00 Welcome & scope creep defined
02:02 Cocktail: Classic Bramble
05:51 Why projects grow beyond plan
09:38 Program exercise: rooms, office & garage
14:45 Square footage reality check
17:40 Basements & garages aren’t “free”
21:54 Program–budget method (checklists & meetings)
28:33 Contingency & finish tiers
38:58 Fork in the road: cut scope or raise budget
55:53 Price updates, escalation & communication
Duration:01:00:32
Build Tight, Ventilate Right: Don't Be an Airhole
10/14/2025
00:00 Intro & Cocktail of the Day
02:42 What We Mean by “Airhole”
08:05 Why Air Sealing Matters
14:47 Ventilation vs. Infiltration
21:19 Building Science in Action
36:31 Common Air Sealing Mistakes
42:50 Tools and Techniques
50:04 Audience Q&A and Wrap-up
Duration:01:01:21
Don’t Let Your Basement Suck (Heat, Money, or Air)
9/9/2025
00:00:00 Intro & setup
00:00:53 Cocktail: Whiskey Sour (recipe + dry shake)
00:06:50 Basements: the "free room" myth
00:08:48 When a basement makes sense
00:10:47 Concrete & embodied carbon reality check
00:13:52 Phil’s numbers: foundations vs CO₂e
00:19:09 Water 101: drains, dimple mat, daylight
00:22:21 Insulation: outside vs inside
00:27:16 Slab build-up & vapor control
00:34:34 Capillary breaks + the termite shield tale
00:38:16 Foam glass underfoot (Glavel 101)
00:41:02 Slabless slab: concrete-less floors
00:46:03 ICFs: pros, cons, pour-day realities
Duration:00:57:45
Ep52_Jacob Racusin Lecture - Part 2
3/10/2020
Welcome back for part 2 of Jacob's lecture from the PassivhausMAINE lecture series on addressing embodied carbon in our built environment. We close the episode with a song from one of the bands Jacob records with; Fantasma by Mal Maiz! Enjoy!
Cheers!
Duration:01:02:32
Ep51_Jacob Racusin Lecture - Part 1
2/25/2020
Chris and Phil were not only lucky enough to attend a lecture by Jacob Racusin, but they were also able to record it! Our friends at PassivhausMAINE invited Jacob to share his insights on low-impact, high-performance building technologies and discuss some of the ground-breaking work he has been involved in lately regarding plant-based construction and carbon sequestration in our built environment. He's a wonderful speaker with contagious passion for combating climate change through better...
Duration:00:59:53
Ep50_Offsite Construction and High Performance
11/1/2019
Welcome to Episode #50!!! So many people are talking about offsite construction as an inevitable next step to solve the myriad housing issues we currently face, and we can't help but envision high-performance as going hand in hand with this movement. We discuss the evolution of these systems from the Sears Kit Homes of the 20's, to the race-to-the-bottom Post-war Mobile Home industry, to the Dwell Prefab dreams of the oughts, to the realities of today - both in the USA and in Europe. We'll...
Duration:01:10:48
Ep49_Siding
9/9/2019
We know. You want a sustainable siding that is maintenance free and affordable. The problem is that there are just so many options from which to choose and it's difficult to wade through the ocean of literature and opinion to find the perfect siding for your sustainable home. Lucky for you, Chris and Phil have hit the record button on an in-depth conversation about siding (as well as a cocktail for the fleeting summer, the Montenegroni). Be sure to look for an upcoming article with...
Duration:01:15:03
Ep48_Embodied Carbon in Buildings
7/18/2019
Embodied carbon is carbon that is emitted in the production of materials, and the building industry is responsible for 40% of global annual emissions. Buildings are the problem AND the solution and understanding the immediate impacts of embodied carbon is absolutely vital. We define the critical difference between operational and embodied carbon, and explain why net zero energy buildings simply aren't enough at this moment in time. We take a pass at understanding the numbers behind them. We...
Duration:01:03:44
Ep47_Solar Storage
5/18/2019
In this episode, Chris and Phil head over to the Portland Pod to record because they have not one, but two guests (Geoff Sparrow and Fred Greenhalgh of Revision Energy) to talk about Solar Storage! With lithium ion batteries hitting the market at ever more affordable prices, perhaps you've considered adding them to a project. The whole gang will sip fancy sunny cocktails and talk about the pros and cons of solar storage, when to consider them, and your options for installation.
Duration:01:07:05
Ep46_Living Building Challenge
3/12/2019
What is a Living Building? It is rooted in place yet harvests all it needs (energy, water), is adapted to its climate and site, operates pollution-free, is comprised of integrated systems, and...is BEAUTIFUL. Phil and Chris talk about Living Building Challenge, a certification program that aims to transform the market place, with all it's joys and challenges. Collaborating for the first time, their firms are working on an LBC project, The Ecology School in Saco, Maine. They discuss the 7...
Duration:00:59:57
Ep45_The Multi-zone Heat Pump Issue with guest Dana Fischer
2/4/2019
In cold climates, Multi-zone heat pump systems (or multi-split systems) are developing a reputation for greatly under-performing , in terms of energy efficiency. Don't freak out! Chris and Phil have special guest, Dana Fischer of Mitsubishi, over to share a beverage and get to the bottom of this problem and how to properly approach the design of multi-zone heat pumps for your energy efficient house (or building).
Be sure to head over to Greenbuildingadvisor.com for additional content and...
Duration:00:55:18
Ep44-Getting Schooled on Passive House
11/14/2018
The Green Architects' Lounge is BACK! After a long hiatus, Chris and Phil are reuniting for a fresh new season of the podcast! They're kicking it of with a LIVE recording at the PassivhausMAINE 2018 Fall Forum at the Mechanics' Hall in Portland Maine. The topic: Passive House Schools! They (and the hyperbollically massive) audience will sip cocktails and discuss the hows, whys, and why-nots of getting our schools to this high level of energy-efficiency.
Duration:00:55:51
Ep42-Passive House: PHIUS or PHI?
11/30/2015
If you’re working on a Passive House (or Passivhaus) project, there will come a time when you will have to decide whether to certify your project through PHI (the Passivhaus Institut) or PHIUS (the Passive House Institute U.S.). Before their split in 2011, they were essentially one and the same, where PHIUS was the American “branch” of the European PHI. But due to irreconcilable differences, sadly, our “parents of passive house” got a divorce and now you have to choose which one you will...
Duration:00:50:59
Ep41-Ventilation for Your Tight House-Guest Sonia Barrantes-Pt2
9/17/2015
We’ve come to realize that we all want simple rules of thumb to guide our design process. Unfortunately, there isn’t a rule of thumb for everything and we’re going to have to rely on some common sense, good advice, and good old-fashioned engineering to get this balanced ventilation system right.
Our cocktails are refreshed and we’re ready to go.
Duration:00:18:50
Ep40-Ventilation for Your Tight House-Pt1
9/15/2015
In this episode we are assuming that you are preparing to design or build a super-tight house and you’re interested in the best way to provide fresh air for its occupants.
In the old days, you’d just “let the house breathe” [shudder]. But those days are long gone. A healthy house leaks, while an energy-efficient house controls how it leaks — and this episode is all about the latter.
Duration:00:31:00