Build It Forward

Ashley Murphree built herself a tiny house out of a shipping container using every good building science practice she knew. Something in it was still making her sick.

It was not mold. She knew the building well enough to rule that out. But despite testing and doing everything right, the symptoms continued. That experience opened up a question she has been chasing ever since: what else are we not accounting for when we call a building healthy?

In this conversation on Build It Forward, recorded in the Building Science Corporation Test Hut at Summer Camp 2026, Nick Falkoff sits down with Ashley, a mechanical engineer and former general contractor who runs Alchemech Engineering in California and designs systems for high-performance homes.

Ashley walks through what she has learned about sensitization and why an occupant who has already reacted to something needs a very different building than one who has not. She gets into the research of Dr. Robert Naviaux at UC San Diego on the mitochondria and the healing cycle, and why a so many different triggers can produce the same condition. She makes the case that we are still not putting large, well-sealed filters in the right places, and asks whether the portable air purifier sitting in the corner is now part of the architecture.

The second half turns to mechanicals. Air to water monoblock heat pumps, thermal storage as a battery with no precious metals in it, and why chilled water gives you dehumidification options that refrigerant does not. It ends on an idea for an exposed, cleanable coil you could hang on a wall.

Thank you to Betsy Pettit for hosting us.

Watch Ashley's Summer Camp presentation - Healthy Living in Tight, Compact Homes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjxuDkuQCOQ

Connect with Ashley Murphree and Alchemech Engineering:
https://www.alchemech.com | IG: @alchemech.engineering

Thank you to our production partner Benjamin Obdyke. Build Better™ with samples of their roof and wall products:
https://benjaminobdyke.com/get-a-sample-build-forward-podcast

Work with Auburndale Builders on your high-performance build:
vision@auburndalebuilders.com

00:42 Who Ashley Murphree is
03:26 How her own health changed her practice
04:53 More building triggers than just mold
06:42 Is the air purifier part of the architecture
11:24 What a healthy home client actually needs
12:50 Sensitization and why it changes the building
17:20 Dr. Robert Naviaux and the healing cycle
26:32 Why leaky is not the answer
28:28 Filtering everything, MERV levels, and wildfire smoke
33:36 Air to water heat pumps and thermal storage
44:19 A cleanable coil you could hang on the wall

Music:
Welcome to the Johnsons from the album Bird Mode by E*Lightning aka Jon Erickson, CPHB
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0J8B8c2DKgBKOopmjXK3E8

Made with @PRMEABL at the Building Science Corporation Test Hut

#BuildItForward #AuburndaleBuilders #PassiveHouse #HighPerformanceBuilding #BuildingScience #HealthyHomes #IndoorAirQuality #GreenBuilding #NetZero #AshleyMurphree #BenjaminObdyke #BuildBetter

What is Build It Forward?

Build It Forward is about the people, ideas, and decisions shaping the future of high-performance residential construction. Hosted by Nick Falkoff, GM of Auburndale Builders, and produced by PRMEABL_, the name is a play on “pay it forward.”

Conversations range from technical decisions and process to people, culture, history, and collaboration — exploring what’s working, what isn’t, and what might be interesting to try next.

These conversations are worth having, and worth sharing, because the best buildings come from communities that share what they know and build forward together.