Carl Elefante, the past president of the American Institute of Architects, said that “The greenest building is…one that is already built.” Phius believes he is right in many aspects. Buildings in the United States were responsible for 27.6% of the total energy consumed in 2023 and 36.9% of the source energy, totaling 34.5 quadrillion Btus. With a current retrofit rate of less than 2% per year, our existing building stock is quite the task to tackle.
We at Phius aim to make building science approachable as well as passive strategies and modeling methods that are clear, but we also recognize the need to provide structure and quality assurance to create standard programs and guidance for the architectural and related professions. It is with this lens that we endeavored to develop a retrofit standard that delivers the vital benefits of passive building: thermal resilience, comfort, healthy indoor environment, operational emissions reduction, and long-term affordability, all while being more sensitive to embodied carbon and cost implications.
The result of our work is Phius REVIVE 2024. Released in July 2024, Phius REVIVE 2024 is a reimagined framework for retrofits with a focus on resilience and decarbonization. It is designed to improve building efficiency and durability, as well as occupant comfort and health, all while balancing budget restraints and the social costs associated with embodied carbon.