My name is Ben Leer, I am a sustainability consultant, designer, builder and educator. I currently teach in the Building Science department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and am a NAPHN trainer for the international Passive House Tradesperson Certification. My path has been unconventional and at times challenging, but my various experiences have given me a broad perspective on what it means to create a sustainable future.  

As an undergrad at Hunter College I studied environmental science. This is where I was first introduced to the many problems that plague our planet. Armed with the scientific knowledge that things had to change, I embarked on my post college career. I casted a wide net and tried to get involved with any “green” organization that I could. I cleaned beaches for the NYC Environmental Protection Agency, worked in rooftop hydroponic farms, collected food scraps at local farmers markets, and oversaw invasive species removal at Pelham Bay park.  Needless to say I lacked direction and specificity. So where does one go when there is no clear path forward… back to school. 

I first enrolled in the Masters of Architecture program at CCNY. As a kid, I had worked in my father’s contracting company and have been in and out of the construction industry for most of my life. I figured that an architecture degree would be a perfect combination of this hands on experience and my goal of building a more sustainable world. To my dismay the discipline of architecture, while dynamic and storied, is only just beginning to reckon with its role in the environmental degradation of the planet. Sustainability as a design concept is usually an afterthought or add on. I wanted something more immersive, something that placed the ecological crisis in the center of the design problem, I wanted to specifically address the urgency of the moment. 

That’s when I was introduced to the Sustainability in the Urban Environment program at CCNY. During the end of my first year in the M.Arch studio, I attended a lecture given by the director of the program. The presentation outlined everything that I had felt was missing within my own studies and practice. It lauded an interdisciplinary approach, leveraging systemic and holistic thinking in order to put the future of the planet in the center of the design discussion. I was sold. 

The next year I enrolled in the program, keeping my focus specifically within architecture. The curriculum broadened my view of what sustainability could look like and infomed a way of design thinking that is still with me today. 

Since leaving the program I have been fully indoctrinated by the Passive House (PH) building methodology. I am a certified passive house consultant/trainer and I have worked on numerous PH projects around the country. The PH philosophy, which I first encountered in a Low Energy Buildings class at CCNY, reduces on average the operational CO2e emissions of buildings by 75%. It does this passively through the architecture by creating a super insulated and airtight enclosure. 

I got my start in the PH world working with a sustainable material supplier, 475. The company focuses on providing high performance building materials with low environmental impacts. At 475, I got to consult on projects all over North American, including the largest certified Passive House in the world (at the time) and the first certified manufacturing plant in Sri Lanka. I was lucky enough to travel the country giving lectures promoting building science and the Passive philosophy. Since leaving 475, I have started my own consulting practice where I combine my varied background to provide services that range from PH consulting, on-site support, education and training.  I am currently working on my own house in the Catskills and excited to practice what I preach during the renovation process!