Today we are chatting to Raphael Siket the director of Ecolibria. Ecolibria are a Building Biology science company that assess existing buildings and indoor environments as well as offer building design consulting for new builds and renovations.
Over the last 12 months or so, Raph has been undertaking an exciting project of retrofitting a volume-built house with Passive House and Building Biology principals. In today’s conversation Raph shares some of his insights, learning and tips inspired from his journey.
There are many useful takeaways from this interview which we have documented in the show notes for you.
We enjoyed today’s chat with Raph and we are sure you will enjoy it too.
- Raph’s journey to Building Biology
- Where Raph’s passion for Building Biology comes from
- Common issues Raph finds that impacts Indoor Air Quality in residential and commercial buildings
- Briefly what passive house design is
- Raph’s journey to passive house and what he discovered
- How Raph has gone about retrofitting his volume built 2005 home
- Some discoveries after stripping back the house
- Details Raph has documented during the process and how it may help inform
- Some of the challenges Raph came across during the retrofit
- Considerations needed in making material choices
- Advice if you are using a volume builder to build your home
- The issues of carpet and how to get around some of the potential health issues they create
- The material Raph has reconsidered and why
- The importance of being site responsive, practical and functional for the occupants when selecting materials
- Tips for people retrofitting a home
- The importance of glazing/windows and insulation
- Raph’s favourite parts of the journey
- Raph’s favourite 3 elements of the build
- Where to find Raph
Head to our website for all the FULL show notes and links from today's podcast.
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