Michael Ingui has designed the first Passive House in Manhattan, the first in a landmark district, and the first passive plus house in the US — and in this video, he distills a decade of hard-won lessons into 10 steps that any architect, contractor, or developer can follow. The framework starts where most people wouldn't expect: not with insulation values or blower door targets, but with getting the client genuinely excited — by leading with what they're gaining (filtered fresh air, warm walls, no drafts, no dust) rather than what the building does technically. From there, Michael walks through early contractor and consultant integration, air sealing strategy, drawing package discipline, a whole-crew kickoff meeting, weekly check-ins, and using the blower door as a diagnostic tool throughout construction rather than a pass/fail test at the end. The insights aren't just Michael's — he went to the practitioners he most admires, whose work looks different from his own, and the 10 steps reflect that collective intelligence. If you're trying to figure out how to run a Passive House project without going backwards, this is the clearest roadmap available in under 13 minutes.
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