Passive House Accelerator is happy to announce that Collective Carpentry has joined the Accelerator community as an Innovation Partner. Based in Invermere, British Columbia, the company designs, manufactures, and installs floor, wall, and roof panels for high-performance buildings, including those seeking Passive House certification. Enclosures are manufactured with a continuous layer of insulation and assembled to be airtight. Collective Carpentry also plans for penetrations and services to preserve the integrity of the airtight layers. The assemblies themselves are deliberately low-carbon and, where the client wants it, entirely foam-free.
Collective Carpentry Joins Passive House Accelerator as an Innovation Partner
The company’s journey began in 2006 in BC’s Columbia Valley. At the time, the company operated as a local general contractor. Even then, they understood the necessity of quality construction because of the valley’s hot summers and frigid winters. In 2014, the company decided to move the construction of their wall and roof assemblies indoors. “We were working through an especially challenging winter, and we came to the realization that this wasn’t sustainable for our bodies or for the materials we were working with,” co-owner Jan Pratschke told the Accelerator in 2021.
Comfortable working conditions are the starting point when it comes to the benefits of prefab. Bringing construction indoors helps to reduce variability, allowing for better quality control, improved precision, and replicability. Collective Carpentry further reduces variability by offering all-inclusive packages to bundle together design, fabrication, delivery, and installation of the entire building enclosure, from the floor to the roof.
This has proven to be one of the core factors distinguishing Collective Carpentry in an increasingly crowded prefab field. It’s not where the work begins but where it ends. In addition to constructing a 3D model of a project, generating comprehensive shop drawings, and fabricating the panels, the company sends its own crew into the field to assemble them and to install gaskets, tapes, caulks, and structural connections. That level of care and willingness to see a project through every stage of design and construction is what has made Collective Carpentry one of North America’s leading firms for high-performance panels. It’s also why they’ve worked on projects throughout Western Canada and the Western United States, including as far south as New Mexico.
"Since Passive House Accelerator's earliest days (and even in prior groundwork laid before), we've always been impressed by the passionate, dedicated, and experienced team at the Accelerator and the exceptional content they produce," said Craig Toohey, head of marketing & business development at Collective Carpentry. "Today it's hard to imagine a Passive House community without the Accelerator, and we're more than thrilled to be along for the ride as an Innovation sponsor."
“Even the most meticulously built panel is only as good as the crew who sets and seals it,” said Passive House Accelerator Director Zack Semke. “That’s what makes this partnership so exciting. Collective Carpentry knows every facet of the process: from design to fabrication to transportation to installation. We’re thrilled to learn from their experience and happy to welcome them as an Innovation Partner.”
Passive House Accelerator Founder Michael Ingui said, “What’s so compelling about Collective Carpentry is that they’re carpenters first. They approach every problem with a deep understanding of how buildings actually come together, so their solutions are innovative, practical, and executed with remarkable precision. They are exceptional at what they do, and I’m proud to have them as part of our community.”
To learn more about Collective Carpentry, its building system, its installation services, and its Collective Homes line of pre-designed houses, you can check out their page on the Accelerator site or visit collectivecarpentry.com.