OPAL Architecture

We are a diverse team of architects and designers who share a passion for creating the next generation of sustainable buildings. We value collaboration and work closely as a team, drawing on the skills and talents of each member of our staff. This collaborative approach extends also to our consultants, and to our clients as well. We believe that the best outcomes result from a problem-solving process that fully engages the abilities and imagination of all involved.

NotchSB

NotchSB is the result of an architecture firm’s realization that good design isn’t enough. Even though we at OPAL were designing super-energy-efficient Passive House-level buildings, we came to see that the materials we were specifying were not always sustainable, and in many cases at odds with our goal of embodied carbon reduction. To address these issues, our partners co-founded two companies: TimberHP, to manufacture the most environmentally friendly wood fiber insulation in the world; and NotchSB (formerly OPAL Build), to use that insulation and other high performance forest products in delivering streamlined, single-source, prefabricated building shell solutions with the goal of reducing labor and schedule 50%. Founded as OPAL Build in 2021 and rebranded to NotchSB in 2024, NotchSB’s mission is to provide construction solutions that meet the highest standards of design, construction efficiency, and sustainability, using materials that are healthy for people and healthy for the planet.

To learn more, visit the NotchSB site.

TimberHP

TimberHP, a privately-held building products company, was founded in 2017 to manufacture high-performance, wood fiber insulation for the first time in North America. Co-founded by OPAL’s Executive Partner Matthew O’Malia and materials scientist Joshua Henry, Timber HP’s manufacturing is located at the former paper mill in Madison, Maine. TimberHP boards, batts and loose fill, building on wood fiber insulation’s two-decade legacy of proven market success in Europe, offer best-in-class insulation solutions—safe, cost competitive and sustainable.

For more information, product details and where to find products, visit the TimberHP site.

We do not believe in staying in our lane. We all face existential challenges given the rate of climate change and buildings play an outsized role in both the problem and potential solution.  Therefore, as a minimum requirement, all buildings should not only be neutral or sustain the environment, but actively help improve the climate with solutions that are environmentally appropriate, durable and scalable.

We also believe that design and construction solutions must actively evolve to meet the challenges and opportunities we face.  Through innovation, entrepreneurship and collaboration, we are developing the next generation of materials, construction systems and buildings that have a scalable positive impact and can improve people’s lives and the planet.

Our approach to problem solving and innovation has always been based on data, and we apply that to a building’s energy performance, environmental footprint and construction costs to ensure the solutions we propose align with reality and are impactful. This has been a founding principal of the company and continues to guide our approach today. As leaders in building ecology and architectural design, we have not turned away from the difficult challenges and we will continue to take risks to help ensure that future generations can inhabit and enjoy this place.

Climate change is humanity’s most urgent challenge. Harmful climate impacts are driven disproportionately by building construction and operation, including up to 40% of total CO2 emissions globally. Architects occupy a position of influence within the construction industry, driving material flows and modeling innovative best practices for building at all scales. With this comes responsibility, and an opportunity to collaborate with builders, material manufacturers, and others to seek uncompromising and impactful climate solutions. This responsibility to innovate is OPAL’s founding idea, guiding our decisions on all of our projects.

The Dimensions of Building Ecology

Rooted in our history as one of the first Passive House design firms in the United States, we have developed a unique and holistic process for ecological design that maximizes positive impact across scales on every project. Our framework envisions a future built upon a habitable planet for humans, circular resources and a low- waste economy, clean and responsible use of water, healthy local habitats, and communities that are healthy, safe, inclusive, and equitable by design. We believe that moving beyond “sustainability” towards a design-integrated building ecology is necessary and recognizes the role our buildings play in a zero-emissions future.

Our human condition is designed, not preconceived.  We choose to make positive impact. We seek clients as allies to be part of this future.

Sustainability Consulting

OPAL provides sustainable design consulting services to a broad range of project types, drawing on our extensive experience designing, building, and certifying high performance buildings. We have particular experience using Passive House design principles, data driven energy modeling, and life cycle analysis to execute projects that can achieve net zero for operational energy and eventually pay back their embodied carbon debt.  Our background is in delivering high performance buildings while working with real-world construction and budgetary constraints.  We can help you and your project achieve ambitious sustainability goals.

Passive House Approach

Buildings account for nearly 40 percent of global energy use, and for an equivalent amount of carbon emissions worldwide. At OPAL, we understand that stemming climate change will require a massive reduction in the energy consumed by the buildings we design and construct. At OPAL, we follow the Passive House approach: We create an airtight, blower-door-tested super-insulated building shell. We specify ultra-high performance windows and doors and locate them where they’ll collect free heat from the sun. And we install a heat-recovery ventilation system that delivers a constant flow of fresh air while capturing 80 percent of the heat in the air it exhausts to the outdoors. An OPAL building uses 20 percent of the energy consumed by a conventional code-compliant house, while providing a healthier, more comfortable living environment.