November 2025
Greetings from Graphite!
Welcome to November at Graphite Studio! We hope you had a great time dressing up and indulging in your favorite treats over Halloween. This past month we had quite a lot happening in Graphite-land as we met fellow colleagues across the state of Massachusetts learning, listening, and engaging in conversations for a better future.
Warmly,
Andrew and the Graphite Team!
Image taken at Rareforms BYOP (Bring Your Own Pumpkin) Event by Kath from HELM
Berkshire Edge Transformations Publication
Graphite Studio is honored to have participated in the recent Berkshire Edge: Transformations article highlighting the deep energy retrofit of a 19th-century home in the Berkshires—an inspiring local project that demonstrates how historic structures can be transformed into comfortable, energy-efficient spaces while celebrating the craftsmanship of area builders. As neighbors in this vibrant community, we aim to continue fostering dialogue about the power of design and collaboration in making homes healthy, durable, comfortable, and inviting for everyone.
High-Performance Panel & Networking with BRAGB & Top Notch Contracting
Graphite is excited to have attended the Builders and Remodelers Association of Greater Boston (BRAGB) at Top Notch Contracting. This event brought together Greater Boston’s building community for a night of connection, collaboration, and candid conversation around high-performance homes in our region.
Ohannes Ortiz (Top Notch) kept things lively and the mic moving, Nick Schiffer of NS Builders dug into what it takes to actually deliver on the details and bring luxury homes to life—no shortcuts, just craftsmanship and team vision. David Fenchel (Traverse Architects) shared how he approaches sustainable design with a modern eye, always listening first to each client's story and the regional context. Stephanie Horowitz (ZeroEnergy Design) showed us how beauty, health, and real performance can come together to uplift both people and planet. Bijan Khosraviani (A9 Green) translated the ‘wonky’ technical side of energy ratings, code, and consulting into the real-world decisions we all face.
Events like these help us move beyond silos and find common ground, whether you’re reworking a classic New England home or breaking ground on a new net-zero retreat. In the audience, we knew we’d Trevor from Haycon, a high performance colleague AND current client!
Graphite at Bottom Lines
Last week Graphite participated in our biannual gathering at our NESEA Bottom Lines Retreat hosted by 377 Builders in Great Barrington, MA. These gatherings offer space for honest reflection and real business introspection among peers, focusing on strengthening firm resilience and supporting one another through shared lessons and comaraderie.
This retreat reinforced our commitment to collaborate on improvement, highlighting that transparency and mutual learning are essential for healthy business, vibrant company culture, and meaningful client relationships. We returned both humbled and energized, eager to apply new insights in our work and grateful for the solidarity of the NESEA community.
Graphite Science: Talks at BS+Beer
FULL HOUSE! This month’s BS & Beer at Rareforms in Easthampton brought together builders, trades, and design professionals from all across Western MA. The spotlight topic was “Incentives and Rebates,” with a special focus on how federal tax credits for energy-saving upgrades are shifting fast for 2025.
Special thanks to our expert presenters for their practical, candid insights from Mark Tajima (B-Alpha, Building Performance Institute), Ian Finlayson (MA DOER), Dan Britton (ReVision Energy), and Adin Maynard (Power House Energy Consulting). And thank you to Rareforms for hosting a fabulous gathering!
It’s great to get a little homegrown BS+Beer out here in the Western half of the state, and refreshing to see so many familiar faces - some spanning nearly 20 years of green building and design in the Valley.
Project Progress: Phoenix Nest
Phoenix Nest is nearing the end of construction and we are excited for our client to move in. One last item to check off is the final blower door to make sure the ship is ready to sail! (See our new crawlspace above -with a new construction sequence by MHB to support Yellow-Guard-on-Glavel as an air barrier that’ll last!)