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 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
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
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
Ep39-Don't Be an Air Hole-Pt2
10/7/2014
Phil and I have freshened up our drinks and now we’re ready to tackle Items 8 through 15. Be sure to go back to Part 1 to listen to Items 1 through 7.
Duration:00:26:08
Ep38-Don't Be an Air Hole-Pt1
9/29/2014
It’s back to the basics with this one, folks.
Back in 2013, we were asked to do a presentation at NESEA for the “Fundementals” track — something similar to our “Sprout Follies” podcast. We put together a PowerPoint presentation, and did our best to deal with the fact that our cocktails would be coffee. It was well received, so we thought it would be a good idea to share a condensed version of that presentation as a podcast here at GBA.
Most “Top 10” lists have only ten items. Ours has...
Duration:00:30:05
Ep37-Foundations-Pt2
7/15/2014
Phil and Chris have returned to continue their discussion on foundations. In Part One, they covered slabs and frost walls, and in this part they cover basements and crawl spaces.
Duration:00:33:05
Ep36-Foundations-Pt1
7/7/2014
Not too long ago I found myself in a deep conversation (pun intended) about frost-protected slabs with some other architects and building professionals. I was surprised at the energy surrounding the topic. We all seemed to have developed substantial differences in the details on our own and we were all learning from each other.
I was equally surprised at how fresh this concept seemed — I mean, haven’t we been founding our wood structures on the ground for centuries now? Millennia,...
Duration:00:32:23
Ep35-An Update on the Pretty Good House -Pt2
12/21/2013
Cocktails in hand, Phil and I pick up the conversation about the Pretty Good House. Be sure to check Part 1 of this episode for some of the basics and the origins of this nebulous building/design concept.
Duration:00:37:40
Ep34-An Update on the Pretty Good House-Pt1
12/9/2013
The status quo of newly constructed homes here in America is, well, disappointing. Despite some strong market-transforming rating systems (such as LEED, Energy Star, Passivhaus, etc.), the classic American home is still being designed and built exactly as it was 20, 30, or even 40 years ago. Why?
There’s a few reasons, the biggest of which is market demand. People buy what’s on the market, and builders build what sells. The only ones pushing the market are those few who are willing to go...
Duration:00:29:14
Ep33-Making Green Affordable-pt2
10/29/2013
Part Two of this episode brings us to construction details for high-performance affordable homes. Again, we feel the need to point out that we are not talking about low-income housing or housing that makes a difference between shelter and non-shelter. We're talking about high-performance homes that will compete, on a financial level, with those cheap vinyl boxes that litter suburbia and urban areas alike.
Phil and I have refreshed our drinks and are ready to talk about building envelope...
Duration:00:38:24
Ep32-Making Green Affordable-Pt1
10/8/2013
Now that “green” design (usually defined as design that is energy-efficient and environmentally friendly) is arguably in the mainstream, our industry faces a challenge: to bring green design into the realm of affordability.
So, join Phil and me as we knock back a cocktail, roll up our shirt sleeves, and discuss our respective approaches to affordable green design. I should also warn you that Phil and I are a bit chatty in the beginning, and if you are the type that likes to get right to the...
Duration:00:24:49