By Mary James

When the Eaton and Palisades fires swept through Los Angeles starting in early January of this year, more than 16,000 structures burned. In addition to the devastating personal and economic losses that these burned-out buildings represent, each pile of charred remains is a reminder of the tons of carbon emissions and toxic chemicals that each structure releases. The quest to rebuild with an eye to creating fire-resistant homes has never been more urgent. 

With that goal in mind, the Passive House Network (PHN), in collaboration with Passive House California, has launched a new design competition intended to create a catalog of Passive House homes that are fire resilient. The network is looking to inspire the design community to showcase how Passive House can be instrumental in creating sustainable, healthy, and fire-resilient structures, in a variety of styles that reflect the diversity of Los Angeles aesthetics.  

Among other competition requirements, PHN is asking the submissions to reflect one of the following styles that were common in the neighborhoods that burned: Craftsman (Arts & Crafts), Spanish Colonial Revival, Mid-Century Modern, Ranch Style, or Contemporary. A winner will be selected in each category, and all entries have to be received by September 30th. The competition is being sponsored by Rockwool. 

Kim Ravold, communications manager at PHN, explains that the idea for the competition arose from PHN’s climate disaster subcommittee, which was started just after the Los Angeles fires. Susie Harris, PHN’s community coordinator who lives in Southern California, was actively involved in the competition’s development.  

“When it comes to wildfires, you have the tragedies of the houses that did burn down, but you also have the safety of all the communities in the area who maybe couldn't shelter in place because their houses aren't airtight or smoke tight,” Ravold points out, discussing just how broad the impacts of building back better can be. She explains that the competition has multiple goals: “We can really raise awareness for Passive House and hopefully give community members options to rebuild that are in their budget and that fit their lot sizes. And, a large focus that we have in this competition is, how do we also make sure that we preserve what was unique about these areas?” 

The competition was just formally announced, but already Ravold has been fielding enquiries about it, including one from a Cuban resident asking if entrants have to live in the United States. Her response: “Everybody is welcome. We're really excited to see what everyone around the world can bring to this competition.” PHN is working to promote the competition with a number of partnership organizations. 

Asked if she plans to enter her design into the PHN competition, Barry replied, “Sure. The competition overlaps well with what I’ve started to do with my business. I’m trying to make Passive House design accessible and scalable, so it becomes normalized in California.”