Monte Paulsen on "Windows with purpose"
I recorded the late Monte Paulsen last year at the Denver Passivhaus conference and want to share it here.
I am having trouble putting words together here, but the late Monte Paulsen is described in the Passive House Accelerator:
“Monte was a pillar of the Passive House community; an articulate educator; and a brilliant, unique, warm, and loving person. It’s hard to overstate Monte’s influence not only within the Passive House community and for the Accelerator (where he served as one of the first advisors), but the sustainability movement as a whole. He was a leader, a mentor, and an inspiration to us all; and his willingness to share his knowledge, expertise, and humor with others was part of what made him a guiding light.”
Mike Eliason had some good words to say and a great photo of the three of us:
David Beers of The Tyee, where Monte used to work, wrote a long article, Homeward: Monte Paulsen Remembered, with perhaps too much information.
I last saw Monte in Denver last fall, just before a Passive House conference. He was testing a new lecture; he had just started the Climate Ready Buildings Group and had a three-hour presentation on how to make buildings climate-ready. [UPDATE: I am advised that Monte was doing a “dry run” of the unfinished Multifamily Design Guidebook he was preparing for the Passive House Network.]
I took some of it and turned it into a post, Windows with Purpose. I quote Monte often:
“Over-glazing brings high heat loss, overheating, storm damage, and costs more. Only place a window where it has a specific purpose and where it is the best solution to serve that purpose. Common purposes: light, view, ventilation.”
A few minutes into his presentation, I realized that this was important stuff that should be recorded; this was done on a whim on my iPad, so it is not very good quality, and the sound quality is awful, But I wanted to share it with everyone. Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3, where the sound gets really bad at times, but gets to “windows with purpose.”
Monte was moving on beyond Passive House. He had lots to think about; all of us lose because his life was cut short.
Thanks so much, Lloyd.
Is the RDH MFam guide available yet? Does it address using future weather files? Monte was a big proponent for future proof/resilient design...
I also like the discussion of shading and mechanical cooling as a necessity (pt. 2, 1 min and 1:05.), dirty ERV filters in urban areas (change up to 4/yr), change ~ daily during wildfire smoke event, vacuum & reuse during fires (52 min), monitor IEQ and educate;
shading in pt. 3 at 0:00 (and much more)
It looks like a who's who of the North American PH world had a great afternoon with Monte. This was a fantastic collaborative process. Very happy to have had a chance to peak into the room and to hear the candid conversation and banter. I hope that the guide that was being developed by this workshop will be completed and published as this is important work and a great legacy for Mr Paulsen.