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When Hammer & Hand President Sam Hagerman accepted an award for best passive home building practices from the Passive House Institute US last week, he did so on behalf of the entire project team.

The Karuna House in Newberg received first place for a single-family structure during a ceremony in Chicago. Hagerman accepted the award on behalf of Hammer & Hand, Holst Architecture, consultant Dylan Lamar and Earth Advantage.

Zack Semke, director of business development for Hammer & Hand, said the house has won other awards since its construction about a year and a half ago, and that it is the 鈥渇irst project in the world to earn the triple crown of passive house,鈥� which includes the PHIUS award, a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum rating and Minergie-P certification 鈥� a Swiss rating system for passive building. The home has also received awards and acclaim from the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Institute of Building Sciences, Green Builder magazine and the American Institute of Architects’ Portland chapter.

鈥淭his was a really fantastic project and we all learned a lot from it,鈥� Semke said. 鈥淲e tried to bring laser focus on actual performance combined with a broader view of sustainability but also address all other green concerns.鈥�

Based on the Karuna House’s first year of operation, Semke said energy needs were driven to low levels from the combination of an advanced building structure and solar design.

The foundation of the house 鈥� concrete poured over a thick layer of expanded polystyrene 鈥� helps create better thermal performance, and the stud walls of certified wood were insulated with high-density cellulose made of recycled newspaper. Much of the rest of the home was built with engineered wood.

The Karuna House’s owner, Eric Lemelson, commissioned its construction, Semke said.

Semke said projects like this don’t come along often enough and that he would love to do another.

鈥淯ltimately, certification is important; it requires you to meet the numbers,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut most important is that we’re building at that level.鈥�