News
Jesse completes Passivehouse Certification training
This past week Jesse completed the rigorous and extensive three phase Passivehouse training program that is the first step in becoming a Certified Passivehouse Consultant. If he passes the test administered by PHIUS and the PHI this fall he will be the only architect in northern New England with that training.
Kaplan Thompson Architects has two projects currently under design that will attempt to meet the standard, with more on the way. It's a tough challenge, but we see it as a critical component of meeting the energy targets that will keep our climate as we've grown to like it...
For more information on the Passivehouse quality control and energy saving standard, please follow these links:
http://passivehouse.us/passiveHouse/PassiveHouseInfo.html
http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/passivhaus-beginners
Sep 2, 2010
2010 Eco Home Design Awards - Winner
BrightBuilt Barn is pleased to have won a Grand Award from Eco Home's First Annual Design Awards. "Small is not only beautiful these days, but also more practical, adaptable, and sustainable as emplified in the 640 s.f. BrightBuilt Barn prototype production house." The judges commented BrightBuilt's simplicity of form and how well it "lives" for its size due to its flexibile open floor plan.
Aug 10, 2010
Upcoming tour of our LEED Platinum home in Falmouth
This workshop will explore and showcase leading best practices that promote environmentally responsible, affordable and healthy places to live. The program will include a tour of two LEED-certified residential sites: The Audubon House and Pearl Place Apartments. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and was created by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) as a rating system for green building. The tour is put on by the National Extension Association of Family & Consumer Sciences and will be held in the afternoon on Thursday September 23rd. Please see their website (section M) for registration details, all programs are free of charge.
Aug 8, 2010
Latest issue of the Boston Globe
Catch "Falmouth Flyer" in the latest issue of the Boston Globe Magazine. This Falmouth, Maine residence was inspired by the shape and movement of birds located at the nearby Audubon Society. To read the full article click here.
Photos by Jamie Solomon and Trent Bell
Jun 27, 2010
Kaplan Thompson wins Maine AIA Award
Kaplan Thompson was thrilled to accept an award on behalf of The American Institute of Architects - Maine. As juror Tom Kundig described "BrightBuilt Barn was a classic for us because the plan was simple, the idea was simple and the surface space is very clear, believable, and certainly trimmed out....in addition on this project they have a sort of innovative sustainability strategy. Beautiful building and progressive in the way they thought about how the building worked."
Thank you Maine AIA the competition was fierce and the evening was a huge success!
May 20, 2010
KTA Presentation at Maine Audubon in Falmouth, May 12th 8:00 am
Join us for AIA Maine's Council on the Environment (COTE) second presentation in their 2030 Challenge series where Phil Kaplan and Jesse Thompson will present and discuss how designing The BrightBuilt Barn has changed their practice and effected their firm's commitment to designing only healthy, vibrant, low-energy buildings.
Please join us on Wednesday May 12, 2010 from 8:00 am to 9:30 am at the Maine Audubon in Falmouth.
May 3, 2010
Green Architect's Lounge: Solar Thermal
Fellow architect Chris Briley and Phil's latest episode in their Green Architect's Lounge has been posted at GreenBuildingAdvisor.com:
Solar Thermal: Types, Cost, and Investment
In this solar thermal podcast we cover:
- Different kinds of solar arrays: tubes and flat plates, and when and why you might use one or the other.
- Optimal installation angles and their relevance.
- How much solar do you install? How do you maximize efficiency?
- Should you take on space heating as well as domestic hot water?
- A great discussion about “return on investment,” NOT “payback,” AND how to talk to your client about it.
- What are some typical problems to avoid? (Such as air bubbles, stagnation, solar dumps, and leaks.)
- I share my six-digit idea, the “splash pot,” and Phil shares his solar tube trellis idea with Pat. Hot Zigg!
Then Phil leaves us with a song by the refreshingly unique Joanna Newsom.
May 3, 2010
KTA joins the Architecture 2030 Challenge
Kaplan Thompson Architects has signed on to the the Architecture 2030 Challenge, an effort to radically change the impact of construction on our environment.
We have pledged to only design buildings that achieve a 70% reduction in fossil fuel useage by 2015, and produce only Carbon Neutral buildings by 2030.
The BrightBuilt Barn meets the 2030 Challenge twenty years in advance, and we have many completed projects that meet the 2010 goals, including the Falmouth Flyer, Metro Green and Double Thick Walls.
To read more on this effort, please go to the Architecture 2030 webiste: http://architecture2030.org/
May 2, 2010
University of Maine Student Critiques
Phil Kaplan has wrapped up his Architectural Studio Class in his role as Adjunct Professor at the University of Maine Augusta's Architecture School. Jesse Thompson and Jamie Broadbent both attended the final student critiques. It's great to see innovative, high quality work coming from students in Maine.
Photo: Ben Dodge presenting on a Music Lab and Performance Venue assignment
Apr 26, 2010
Green Homes Lecture Series
Put on by the Maine Chapter of the US Green Building Council this six-week lecture series designed to help homeowners make good, green decisions about their homes. If you're considering a home renovation, an upgrade to your home's systems, or just want to learn more about greening your home, then this series is for you!
Jesse Thompson will be presenting on "Your Homes Core System" on April 13th at the East End Community School with Dan Kolbert of Kolbert Building and Fortunat Mueller of ReVision Energy.
Mar 30, 2010
NESEA Special Expert Session: Deep Energy Retrofits
Jesse attended the recent special expert session at the NESEA Building Energy Conference dedicated to advancing the research on Deep Energy Retrofits in New England. Our office has pledged to meet the carbon reduction goals of the Architecture 2030 Challenge, but we'll need to do more than just build new low-energy buildings, we'll also have to determine the best way to radically reduce the energy use of our existing building stock, while improving comfort and making our world more beautiful.
We have several projects that are trying to meet these goals right now: Madeline ReFab and Mere Zero
Building Science Consulting, along with its Building America team, regularly holds expert meetings on research topics relevant to the Building America projects. Experts in the field are invited to present their latest research, which is followed by discussion.
Mar 12, 2010
Three new projects posted
We've added several projects, completed or currently under construction:
An interior renovation to a historic town home: Suite Change
A contemporary new house in mid-coast Maine, super low-energy: Flying Point
A Deep Energy Retrofit to a 1960's ranch house in-town in Portland Maine: Madeline ReFab
Take a look!
Mar 5, 2010
Podcast & Green Building Advisor
Phil Kaplan and Chris Briley's green building podcasts recently caught the attention of Green Building Advisor. As Architects we are proud to be affiliated with this site and think it's a great resource for building green.
Feb 24, 2010
Winter Edition of Boston Home
Adventures in Extreme Green in the latest issue of Boston Home.
Jan 25, 2010
Residential Architect - Architects' Choice
Check us out in the November/December issue of Residential Architect.
Jan 11, 2010
Hats off to Jamie!
Kaplan Thompson Architects would like to congratulate Jamie Broadbent on the recent completion of his professional licensing exams. He is now a registered architect in the State of Maine. Jamie’s talent and drive are truley assets to our firm.
Jan 1, 2010
KTA wins USGBC LEED for Homes Innovative Project Award!
The BrightBuilt Barn has won the 2009 LEED for Homes Innovative Project Award from the USGBC. Phil Kaplan and Tedd Benson from Bensonwood accepted the award in Phoenix at the annual GreenBuild conference.
According to the USGBC, “BrightBuilt Barn was selected for this award because it brings to life a vision of an evolved future for the homebuilding industry, and effectively employs a smaller, replicable, flexible prefabricated design that succeeds in reimagining the look and feel of "home," while keeping upfront costs low and longterm operational costs to an absolute minimum.” We couldn’t agree more. Thank you USGBC and thank you BrightBuilt Barn Team!
Nov 18, 2009
Holiday Party
The partners are rolling into 2010
Nov 15, 2009
NPR - Living on Earth: Building Green with Less Green
BrightBuilt Barn was part of the conversation on NPR this weekend on how to reduce residential carbon emissions. To hear the full story click on the following link or listen to the mp3 directly.
Oct 26, 2009
Fat is the New Green
Check out Jesse's latest interview in the October issue of Maine Home + Design: Fat is the New Green
Oct 19, 2009
Take a Virtual Tour of Metro Green
Curious to see more about Metro Green? Check out the attached You Tube video where Metro Green is featured on the Arlington Virginia Network.
Photographs by Parker Daniell
Sep 14, 2009
AIA New England Competition Exhibition
If you are near the Portsmouth area, feel free to check out some of our work at the Discover Portsmouth Center. We will be exhibiting in an American Institute of Architects (AIANE) competition between September 28th and October 3rd. You can also view and vote on our work online at AIANE, we have two entries #48 #49. Vote for us as "The House in Which I'd Most Like to Live."
Sep 10, 2009
NESEA 2009 Green Open House Tour
This year we will be participating with the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) for their annual Green Buildings Open House on October 3rd. This is the largest sustainable energy event in the US promoting sustainable energy solutions. Via open houses throughout the US NESEA hopes to inspire communities and advocate a commitment to responsible energy use.
We will be showcasing two homes in Falmouth and Rockland Maine. Check out NESEA’s site for directions and open house hours.
Photographs by Jamie Broadbent and Naomi C.O. Beal
Aug 21, 2009
Washington Post: Going Green and Platinum in Arlington
Read about our latest LEED Platinum home, METRO GREEN, located in Arlington Virginia via the attached WASHINGTON POST link.
Jun 29, 2009
June issue of JLC - The Journal of Light Construction
Check out the featured article "Building a Tight House."
Jun 20, 2009