From vacant lot to proof of concept.
Before this house existed, the site was an empty parcel in the Hamilton County Landbank’s inventory. Mt. Airy is one of Cincinnati’s most beautiful neighborhoods, bordered by the largest urban forest in the city. It’s also a neighborhood that has seen more decline over the past four decades than any other in Cincinnati, according to a University of Cincinnati study. Investment had largely passed it by.
We acquired the lot through the Landbank and set out to build something that would prove a point: that a vacant, overlooked parcel in an underinvested neighborhood is not a problem. It’s an opportunity.
The Mt. Airy Passive House was designed and built by Scott Hand, Principal Architect of Trilobite Design. It is the first PHIUS-certified Passive House in Cincinnati. It is all-electric, net-zero ready, and built to outlast everything around it. And it sits on a lot that was sitting empty, contributing nothing to the neighborhood, just a few years earlier.
This project is the foundation of everything Trilobite Design is building toward. It proved that Passive House construction works in Cincinnati’s climate, that sustainable development is viable on Landbank parcels, and that high-performance buildings can anchor neighborhood investment rather than follow it.
Mt Airy Passive House statistics:
Conditioned area: 3,400 sf.
Program: 3 bed, 2.5 bath.
Completed: October 2022
HERS Index: 34 (a typical new home scores 100; lower is better)
Site EUI: 7.0 BTU/sf (compared to efficient home baseline of 50.0)
HVAC: Build Equinox CERV2 + LG 1.5-ton heat pump
Utilities: All electric. No gas connection. Net-zero ready.
First PHIUS-certified Passive House in Cincinnati.
Successful redevelopment through The Port’s Land Bank process.
A Modern Sanctuary in Harmony with Nature
This isn’t just a house; it’s a blueprint for the future of living in Cincinnati. Nestled in the historic and wooded neighborhood of Mt. Airy, this custom home proves that world-class energy efficiency and stunning modern design can coexist beautifully. As a certified Passive House, it uses up to 90% less energy for heating and cooling than a standard home, offering unparalleled comfort and minimal environmental impact. For clients seeking a sustainable architect in the Cincinnati region, this project is a testament to what’s possible.
The building science behind the performance.
Passive House is not a style. It is a measurable performance standard focused on five principles: insulation, airtightness, high-performance windows, ventilation with heat recovery, and elimination of thermal bridges. Every decision in this project was driven by those principles.
Envelope and insulation. The entire home is wrapped in a continuous, super-insulated shell from foundation to roof. This thermal blanket dramatically reduces heat transfer and keeps interior temperatures stable through Cincinnati’s hot summers and cold winters with very little mechanical input.
Airtightness. Every joint, seam, and penetration was sealed and tested. After the initial blower door test, the construction crew spent four to five days going back through the framing and caulking every connection between every stud and every piece of plywood before drywall went up. The result is a home that stops energy-wasting air leakage completely and gives us precise control over the indoor environment.
Windows. Triple-pane windows from Neuffer, tuned by orientation. South-facing windows maximize solar heat gain in winter. Other orientations minimize unwanted heat gain in summer. The whole-window U-value of 0.18 means these windows insulate nearly as well as a standard wall.
Ventilation. A Build Equinox CERV2 Energy Recovery Ventilator provides continuous fresh, filtered air while recovering over 85% of the energy from exhaust air. The house breathes constantly without ever opening a window. After living with this system, the difference in comfort and air quality compared to a conventional home is immediately obvious.
Materials for the long term. The exterior features oxidized wood siding that is naturally resistant to insects, rot, and weathering. The roof is standing-seam copper, a material that will never need replacement and will develop a distinctive patina over the decades. These choices reflect a core Trilobite principle: build once, build right, and minimize the maintenance burden for the life of the structure.
All electric. No gas line, no gas appliances, no combustion inside the building. An induction cooktop, heat pump HVAC, and electric water heating mean the home can be powered entirely by renewable energy as the grid continues to clean up. It is net-zero ready today.
What It Costs to Live Here
The 10% question.
Building to Passive House standards costs approximately 10% more than conventional code-compliant construction. Most of that premium goes to insulation and the labor required to achieve airtightness.
What you get for that 10%: heating and cooling costs that are a fraction of a conventional home. A HERS Index of 34 means this house uses roughly 66% less energy than a typical new build. A Site EUI of 7.0 compared to a baseline of 50.0 means it uses about 86% less energy per square foot for site operations.
The math is simple. The upfront premium pays for itself through energy savings over the first years of ownership. After that, the savings compound for as long as the building stands. And because of the durability of the envelope, windows, roof, and siding, maintenance costs over the life of the home are substantially lower too.
This is not a luxury add-on. It is a better way to build, and it costs less to own over time than the conventional alternative.
A model, not just a home.
The Mt. Airy Passive House was always intended to be more than a residence. It was designed to answer a set of questions that mattered to us and to the city:
Can Passive House standards be met in Cincinnati’s mixed-humid climate, which is notoriously challenging for airtight construction? Yes. PHIUS certification confirmed it.
Can sustainable, high-performance housing be built on underutilized urban land through programs like the Landbank? Yes. The acquisition and development process worked, and the result is a home that raised the bar for the entire street.
Can this approach scale beyond a single house? We believe so. The lessons from this project are directly informing our work on the Northside EcoVillage, our infill development concepts, and our mixed-use proposals through Mt. Airy CURE. Every project we take on now starts from the knowledge base this house built.
The Hamilton County Landbank featured this project as a success story. The AIA Cincinnati chapter hosted a professional tour. WVXU covered it on Cincinnati Edition. The project has been presented, studied, and discussed across the region. But the most important validation is the simplest one: it works. It is comfortable, quiet, efficient, and built to last for generations.
Recognition and Press
Hamilton County Landbank — Featured Success Story Read the feature →
PHIUS Certified Project Database — Mt. Airy Passive House, Cincinnati OH View certification →
WVXU / Cincinnati Edition — “How Passive House Design Can Save Homeowners Money” Listen →
AIA Cincinnati — Passive House Tour, presented by CRAN, COTE, and Early Professionals committees Details →
The Port — Port Short video feature Watch →
This is where it started. Here’s where it’s going.
The Mt. Airy Passive House proved that Trilobite Design can take a project from site acquisition through design, construction, and certification. We are now applying that same approach at a larger scale through our development practice.
If you want to build a high-performance home, or if you’re interested in partnering on sustainable development in Cincinnati, we should talk.