Want to learn about sustainable building and building beyond the code? Brian Guinan, Passive House builder, director of I-Smart Building Group and host of Sustainable Builders Yak, shares more.

This episode is part of a special series on the National Construction Code, and NCC 2022.

Listen to the episode now.

Hello! This is episode 298, and in it, I’m talking with Brian Guinan from I-Smart Building Group.

In this first part of my conversation with Brian, we learn more about his background, how he became an industry leader in sustainable building, how he got involved in Builders Declare and now Sustainable Builders Alliance.

And he also talks through how he specifically achieves high performance building outcomes in an efficient and fast-tracked way.

We also discuss the whole ‘passive solar vs passive house’ conversation that can happen in the sustainable sector of the industry.

Now, let’s dive in!

Brian Guinan is the director of I-Smart Building Group, a company delivering High performance custom residential homes with a heavy focus on PassivHaus and has over 30 years experience in the industry in Europe, the US and now here in Australia. 

Brian is a qualified Carpenter, Registered building practitioner, Certified Passive House Tradesperson, Certified Passive House Consultant, Accredited ATTMA air tightness tester, Director of Builders Declare (now Sustainable Builders Alliance) and the host of the podcast Sustainable Builders Yak. More importantly Brian is a husband to a beautiful wife and father to 4 incredible children.

Brian has been driven to incite change in the industry for many years now and has been the pioneer for Passive House in Western Australia building over 50 homes to Passive house standards and completing 4 of the only 6 certified Passive Homes in Western Australia to date.

I recorded my conversation with Brian a few months ago, as he was heading overseas for a time and I wanted to get this in the can before he did. 

At the time of recording this interview with Brian, Sustainable Builders Alliance’s launch was impending, and of course, since then it’s successfully launched, and it has an amazing website that is an incredible resource for builders, designers, architects and homeowners alike. 

You’ll also hear me completely blank on what climate zone Byron Bay is, as Brian and I discuss a house under construction at Wategos. Byron is actually Climate Zone 2. And I’m not used to being asked questions when I’m interviewing someone on the podcast, so got caught off guard!

Let’s jump into Part 1 of my conversation with Brian.

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE NOW.

RESOURCES:

Please note, the links to some of these pages may be out of date or superseded as the NCC2022 adoption occurs, or (later) the NCC2022 is superseded by newer legislation.

National Construction Code 2022 >>> https://ncc.abcb.gov.au/editions/ncc-2022

NCC2022 state and territory adoption dates >>> https://abcb.gov.au/ncc-2022-state-and-territory-adoption-dates

NCC 2022 overview of key changes: articles >>> https://ncc.abcb.gov.au/ncc-2022-overview-key-changes-articles

I-Smart Building Group

• Website >>> https://ismart-bg.com.au/
• Instagram >>> https://www.instagram.com/ismart_building_group/?hl=en
• Facebook >>> https://www.facebook.com/ismartbuilding/

Sustainable Builders Yak Podcast >>> ON SPOTIFY

Sustainable Builders Alliance Website >>> https://www.thesba.com.au/

Episodes on Undercover Architect’s podcast about building with a volume builder

• Episode 273: ‘3 Top Challenges when building with a Volume Builder’
  >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/podcast-building-with-a-volume-builder-3-challenges/
• Episode 274: ‘Tips for building with a Volume Builder’
  >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/podcast-tips-building-with-volume-builder/

My conversation with Daniel Kress about Passive House (and the first episode in a series I did on Passive House design and construction)

• Season 8, Episode 9: What is Passive House?
  >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/podcast-what-is-passive-house-passivhaus-daniel-kress/

Access the support and guidance you need to be confident and empowered when renovating and building your family home inside my flagship online program, HOME METHOD >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/courses/the-home-method/

Learn more about how to interview and select the right builder with the Choose Your Builder mini-course >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/courses/choose-your-builder

Access my free online workshop “Your Project Plan” >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/projectplan