Commending the Best Passive Projects in North America and Beyond, Awardees Were Honored for Their Accomplishments in Phius-certified Passive Building
CHICAGO, Nov. 3, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Today, Phius shares the winners of its Passive Projects Design Competition. First announced during PhiusCon 2025 at its Core Conference Opening Plenary Awards Ceremony presentation, the juried competition recognized fully certified passive building projects of all types in all climate zones. Unlike other passive building standards, Phius standards represent the only climate-specific path to a zero-carbon environment, making it the leading standard for energy-efficient construction.
Entries were scored on a scale of 1-5 based on the following criteria: performance (as relates to the Phius Certified standard), difficulty level (climate/site/location challenges), cost-effectiveness, design, craftsmanship, and health (e.g., use of non-toxic materials).
Winning and Honorable Mention Awards were given in the following categories: single-family, source zero, high-rise multifamily, low-rise multifamily, retrofit, and commercial/installation. Additionally, five projects were recognized for their excellence in public space, student housing, international design, urban renewal, and student design. Finally, two projects from the winners listed below were awarded: Best Overall Project and Best Project by a Young Professional (35 or under).
Winners for each category include:
- Single-Family Winner: Spark Side | Durham, New Hampshire by Kaplan Thompson Architects
- Single-Family Honorable Mention: Stow Passive House | Stow, Massachusetts by ZeroEnergy Design
- Source Zero Winner: The Pierce at 7 Van Buren | Oak Park, Illinois by Ware Malcomb
- Source Zero Honorable Mention: Saint Clair | Studio City, California by Aramyan Kovacs Design
- High-Rise Multifamily (7 stories and above) Winner: J.J. Carroll House | Boston, Massachusetts by MASS Design Group
- Low-Rise Multifamily (6 stories and below) Winner: 1005 Broadway | Chelsea, Massachusetts by Utile Design
- Low-Rise Multifamily (6 stories and below) Honorable Mention: Front Street Building 2 | Portland, Maine by Utile Design
- Low-Rise Multifamily (6 stories and below) Honorable Mention: Conservatory Apartments | Chicago, Illinois by San F. King/HED
- Retrofit Winner: The Bank Lofts | Richfield Springs, New York by Juhlee Lee-Hartford, River Architects
- Retrofit Honorable Mention: Phius Zero Historic Retrofit | Oak Park, Illinois by TBDA
- Commercial/Institutional Winner: The Academy for Global Citizenship | Chicago, Illinois by SNMG A Ltd., Farr Associates
- Commercial/Institutional Honorable Mention: The Bush School - Upper School | Seattle, Washington by Mithun
- Award for Public Space Excellence: Mount Vernon Library Commons | Mount Vernon, Washington by HKP Architects
- Student Housing Recognition: Meadows Neighborhood Student Housing | West Windsor, New Jersey by Mithun
- International Recognition: Edogawa Passive House | Tokyo, Japan by Tosho Juken
- Excellence in Urban Renewal: Evanston's First Passive House | Evanston, Illinois by Kipnis Architecture + Planning
- Student Design Recognition: Alley House | Indianapolis, Indiana by Ball State University Students and Faculty
- Best Overall Project Winner: Betty Greene Apartments | Boston, Massachusetts by Utile Design
- Best Project by a Young Professional (35 or under): J.J. Carroll House | Boston, Massachusetts by MASS Design Group
Winners were chosen by a panel of five jurors assembled by Phius and the Phius Alliance. Each juror met two of the following criteria: Phius Certified Consultant (CPHC®) or Phius Certified Builder, Rater, or Verifier in good standing, has completed at least one Phius-certified project, and/or is a licensed professional.
Images of all winning projects are available HERE. Visit www.Phius.org for more information.
About Phius
Phius is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization committed to decarbonizing the built environment by making high-performance passive building the mainstream market standard. We train and certify professionals, maintain and update the Phius climate-specific passive building standard, certify and quality assure passive buildings, certify high-performance building products, and conduct research to advance high-performance building.
Media Contact
Jennifer Karkar Ritchie, Phius, 1 2063543044, [email protected], www.phius.org
SOURCE Phius
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