What is Next Generation Living? It is an architectural consulting firm founded by Chris McCray, an architect with a mission to create homes and buildings that are resilient, sustainable and perform at a very high level of energy efficiency. As a Certified Passive House consultant, he designs homes and commercial buildings that meet the Passive House Institute US (phius.org) standard for resilient and sustainable architecture. Learn More
What we offer…
Code Compliance
For architects and builders we offer International building, Residential, and energy code plan review and zoning compliance. We can also assist with permitting and board approvals, representing your firm throughout the approval…
Design Consultation
For homeowners, architects, builders, and developers we can provide design support for Passive building and Phius certification, energy modeling, sustainability consultation, Net-Zero design, including existing building upfits…
High Performance Homes
For homeowners and builders, we have a library of architectural designs for high-perforance homes that are ready for construction. we can help with permitting as well. These plans offer a more affordable path to…
Frequently asked questions…
Is the Passive House standard for residential buildings only?
The Passive House standard is for all buildings, both residential and commercial. The oft-used term passive house is something of a misnomer. Although plenty of single-family homes have been built to the passive house standard, the approach is increasingly being applied to multifamily apartment buildings and large-scale commercial buildings as well*. The term passive building is gradually coming into more common usage, as it’s a more accurate term than passive house.
* 425 Grand Concourse is the largest Passive House (PHIUS) project in North America to date [280,000sf]. Per the architect’s web site, “this new mixed-use and mixed-income development creates 277 units of affordable housing. The two-story base houses a medical facility, supermarket, community support space, and a new student services center for CUNY Hostos”.
Does my house have to be certified to be considered a Passive House?
Yes. While passive house design principles can be integrated into the design of any building, Phius certification is a holistically applied standard, from concept through construction. There are two certifying organizations in the U.S.: Phius (Passive House Institute of the US) and Passive House Institute (Passivhaus). Phius puts passive building principles into practice in a way that is both cost-optimized and climate appropriate. This means you will pay less to build it than for other passive certifications and your home/building is quality assured, so you can count on an extremely comfortable, healthy, and resilient building. Refer to the following link for more information about why Phius certification matters: https://www.phius.org/phius-difference
What are Passive Building design principles?
There are five basic principles of passive building that apply to all passive structures:
- Employ continuous insulation throughout its entire envelope without any thermal bridging.
- Create an extremely airtight building envelope, preventing infiltration of outside air and loss of conditioned air.
- Employ high-performance windows (double or triple-paned) and doors – solar gain is managed to exploit the sun’s energy for heating purposes in the heating season and to minimize overheating during the cooling season.
- Use some form of balanced heat and moisture recovery ventilation.
- Uses a minimal space conditioning system.
Does it cost more to design and build a high-performance building?
Currently, a passive building typically costs about 3-5% more than a conventional home. Larger projects benefit from the economy of scale: a multifamily passive building typically only costs 0-3% more than a building built to an energy star baseline. In general, the larger the building the smaller the cost difference. Also, as more large-scale window and door manufacturers bring high-performance products to market, economies of scale are expected to drive down costs even further.
Design costs can vary depending on the architect and CPHC (Phius Certified Passive House Consultant) that you work with. Generally, in order to design a certified passive building, you will need an architect, a CPHC, and a Phius Certified Rater. In some cases, the architect and CPHC are the same person. However, the Phius Certified Rater is an independent consultant who is responsible for verifying that the built project performs in conformance with the Phius standards. In addition, it is a good idea to consider working with a Phius Certified Builder (CPHB). Builders who achieve this certification have a thorough understanding of the methods and materials required to deliver a passive building in a timely and cost-effective manner.
Passive buildings are super airtight – what about moisture and mold problems?
Passive buildings do require an extremely airtight building envelope. Combined with super-insulation, this approach dramatically reduces temperature variation, which also prevents condensation and mold issues. In addition to maintaining excellent air quality, the constant, low-level ventilation also helps prevent moisture problems.
That being said, potential moisture issues must be carefully addressed during the design stage. That’s why it’s important to work with a Phius Certified Consultant (CPHC®). CPHCs are trained to accurately model building performance and to identify and address potential moisture issues with a variety of techniques.
Selected Project Portfolio
The Everliegh
Passive House
Bella Vista
Passive House
The Tulsa
Passive House
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