In this episode of the Passive House Podcast, Ilka Cassidy talks with Emily Mottram, architect, co-owner of Mottram + Maines, and co-author of Pretty Good House; Michael Maines, residential designer, structural engineer by training, and co-founder of the BS + Beer Show; and Aaron Jones, carpenter, builder, and founder of BS + Beer Canada. The conversation comes ahead of BS + Beer’s three-hour Delivery programming block at Reimagine Buildings ‘26: The Solutions on November 6. BS + Beer started as a building science discussion group that met at a brewery in Maine, and it now has around 40 active groups in the US, Canada, and Australia.
Emily, Michael, and Aaron talk about the gap between the people who design buildings and the people who build them, and why a builder who understands the reason behind a detail will do it right when conditions on site change. Emily argues against bid work and for paying contractors to help during design, so the team knows the wall assembly and the budget before drawings are finished. Aaron explains why a low-carbon building that only lasts five years is a failure, and why a well-built 1,100-square-foot house often serves clients better than a drafty 2,200-square-foot one. Their Delivery block at RB26 will cover durability and airtightness, explaining upfront costs to clients, building companies that are still around after the job ends, hot water system design, and the health of the crews doing the installation.
View the full program here:
https://events.ringcentral.com/events/reimagine-buildings-26/registration
Register for Reimagine Buildings ‘26: The Solutions:
https://events.ringcentral.com/events/reimagine-buildings-26/registration
www.mottramandmaines.com
Join us on the Reimagine Buildings Collective:
https://collective.reimaginebuildings.com/