Sustainable Design
Sustainable design is at the core of our practice, and is rooted in the belief that architecture and design matter – that through our work, we can make a difference in the world. Since buildings account for roughly 45% of U.S. carbon output, it is imperative that we design with future generations in mind.
Handel Architects is a world leader in sustainable design, and we are the single most experienced firm in the world at large-scale Passive House design. Our work began with the path-breaking, Passive House and LEED Platinum student residence high-rise, The House at Cornell Tech. The House was the world’s largest Passive House building at the time of completion in 2017 and was the 2018 LEED for Homes Project of the Year. Since then, Handel has worked directly with the Passive House Institute to push the boundaries of their performance standards with three large-scale Passive House developments: Harmony Commons, a 718-bed dormitory for the University of Toronto Scarborough that opened in September 2023; Sendero Verde, a 709-unit 100% affordable housing development in East Harlem; and a mixed-use office and residential tower in Boston, Winthrop Center, which is now the world’s largest Passive House building. We are currently in design of two additional Passive House buildings, one at the University of Michigan and another for a senior affordable housing development in the Lower East Side.
See the variety of Handel Architects' sustainable design work here.
Services we offer:
- Passive House Design
- LEED Design
- Enterprise Green Communities
- IBI Well Design
We paved the way for large-scale Passive House design.
Passive House, developed in Germany, is a strict international building standard that drastically reduces energy consumption while creating a healthier and more comfortable living environment for a fraction of the usual energy costs.
Our Passive House experience is unmatched. Handel Architects has a number of Certified Passive House Designers (CPHD) on staff who have lectured extensively on the principles of Passive House design, including recent panel discussions at AIA National, Greenbuild, and the International Passivhaus Institute conference in Vienna.
Our sustainable approach has made headlines.
Our groundbreaking work in Passive House design has led to a variety of feature articles, including pieces by The Atlantic, Metropolis, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.
We are thought leaders in the sustainable design community.
We believe that the best way to reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the building industry is to make sustainable design easy to understand and inexpensive to build. Our sustainability team has been teaching and lecturing to a variety of building owners, including private developers, non-profits, colleges & universities, and city agencies. Please contact Jonathan Kinsley, Director of Marketing, if you would like to schedule a discussion on how to meet your organization's sustainability goals.
Some recent conversations:
LEED Certification vs. Passive House: Which One is Right For Your Building?
Why Passive House Buildings Create a Healthier Interior Environment