NEW PASSIVE HOUSE COMPLETED IN SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA

Signum Architecture-designed Home Replaces Structure Lost in the 2017 Tubbs Fire, Providing a Model for Resilient, Sustainable, Affordable Recovery

SANTA ROSA, Calif., Nov. 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A newly-completed certified Passive House in Santa Rosa, designed by Signum Architecture to replace a structure lost in the 2017 Tubbs Fire, provides a model for recovery after wildfire that is healthy, resilient, sustainable and financially achievable. Signum partner and co-founder Jarrod Denton — a pioneering expert in sustainable, high-efficiency design and one of the earliest certified Passive House consultants in the United States — led the design team for the project, built by Wright Residential Construction.

A model for efficiency and resiliency on a budget
Though Passive House design is not a replacement for fire-safe design and construction, the overlap between energy-efficient, airtight design and fire-resilient design and construction methods is significant, and the benefits are universal. Built to a strict budget, this home demonstrates that highly sustainable, resilient design and construction is achievable for a broad range of homeowners, and highlights the positive impact of the Passive House technologies on the value of the completed structure, making it eligible for benefits such as the Department of Energy's Zero Energy Ready Homes program.

The essence of the design was to distill the home down to a simple set of forms. A mono-pitched, offset gable roof that echoes the street's slope, and the 3,250-square-foot home is arranged around a central courtyard, with kitchen, dining and living spaces aligned along the rear facade, a guest bedroom and downstairs office facing the street, and additional bedrooms above.

What is a Passive House?
Passive House is a set of next-generation sustainable design principles, considered the most rigorous voluntary energy-based standard in the design and construction industry today. Consuming up to 90% less heating and cooling energy than conventional buildings, and applicable to almost any building type or design, the Passive House high-performance building standard is the only internationally recognized, proven, science-based energy standard delivering this level of performance. To learn more, visit the Passive House Institute U.S. website here, the U.S. Green Building Council website here or the Passivhaus International website here.

About Signum Architecture
Napa-based Signum Architecture is well-known in the California wine country and beyond for authentic, site-sensitive design. In 2010, Signum completed a project in Sonoma that was the first Passive House in California and the first Passive House retrofit in North America. The firm also designed the first two LEED-certified wineries in California. Partner Jarrod Denton, one of the first certified Passive House consultants in the United States, is a LEED Accredited Professional in Building Design + Construction, and an active member of the American Institute of Architects.

About Wright Residential
Wright Residential specializes in building custom homes and high-end renovations in Sonoma, Napa, and Marin counties. Known for its relationship-first approach, the care Wright Residential puts into developing relationships is as important as the craftsmanship that goes into each home they build.

Contact: Heather Sandy Hebert, [email protected]

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SOURCE Signum Architecture