Building Community in High-Performance Construction with Ben Bogie

In this first episode of Build It Forward, Nick Falkoff, General Manager of Auburndale Builders, sits down with Ben Bogie, Director of Building Science at Building Performance Cooperative, and Amy Lieb, Executive Director of the Studio for High Performance Design and Construction, to talk about why community plays such a critical role in advancing high-performance building.

Rather than focusing on a single product or system, this conversation zooms out to look at how builders, designers, educators, and tradespeople actually learn, grow, and improve over time. From local meetups and trade school partnerships to national networks like BS*+beer, the group explores how shared knowledge, hands-on learning, and personal relationships help people navigate an increasingly complex building industry.

The discussion also touches on workforce development, the gap between online information and real-world experience, and why creating welcoming, in-person spaces matters just as much as technical expertise.

Chapters
00:00 – Introduction
01:00 – Inside the Studio HPDC High-Performance Barn
03:00 – Why Community Matters in High-Performance Building
05:00 – Making Building Science Approachable
08:30 – Learning Through Hands-On Experience
11:00 – The Origins of BS*+beer
14:30 – Scaling Community Without Losing What Works
18:00 – Workforce Development and Trade Schools
22:00 – Teaching Core Concepts Without Overwhelm
27:00 – Where High-Performance Communities Go Next
33:30 – Monitoring, data, and making the invisible visible
38:00 – Closing thoughts

This episode was filmed at Studio HPDC's 200-year-old Passive House teaching barn in Newton, MA.
www.studiohpdc.org

Connect with:
Ben Bogie, Building Performance Cooperative
IG: @benbogie
https://www.bpcgreenbuilders.com

Amy Lieb, Studio HPDC
IG: @studiohpdc
www.studiohpdc.org

Work with Auburndale Builders on your high-performance build:
[e-mail]

Music:
"Welcome to the Johnsons" from the album Bird Mode
by E*Lightning aka Jon Erickson, CPHB, CPHC, CPHV
elightning.bandcamp.com

Made with PRMEABL_

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.