Affordable housing innovation & workforce program win "Best of the Best" awards at yearly energy conference

SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT

Efficiency Vermont’s annual Better Building by Design (BBD) event honors ten firms for affordability, energy resilience, and workforce development efforts

 

SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT — More than 840 people gathered for the 2026 Better Building by Design (BBD) conference this week, the region’s premier design and construction conference held each year by Efficiency Vermont. Ten organizations were honored with “Best of the Best” awards for leadership and innovative projects, including the event’s first-ever award recognizing a workforce development program.

Architects, designers, builders, contractors, and more from across the northeast gathered at the DoubleTree Hotel & Conference Center in South Burlington from May 6-7. The theme for this year’s event was “Tight Margins, Bold Moves: Building for Affordability, Efficiency, and Electrification.” The ten “Best of the Best” award winners whose work demonstrated the themes of this year’s BBD are:

• Workforce Development Innovation: Vermont Adult Learning’s Energy Works Program (statewide)
• Efficiency Excellence Network Partner of the Year: Lamos Electric (Franklin)
• Efficiency Excellence Network Leadership Award: Johnstone Supply (Williston)
• Affordable Housing Innovation (Multifamily Homes): Champlain Housing Trust and Evernorth for the 10th Cavalry Apartments (Colchester)
• Performance Excellence (Multifamily Homes): Cathedral Square for Reid Commons (St. Albans)
• Affordable Housing Innovation (Single-Family Homes): Central Vermont Habitat for Humanity for 41 Central Street (Randolph)
• Performance Excellence (Single-Family Homes): Bellwether Craftsmen and New Frameworks for Rose Hill Lane (Shelburne)
• Commercial Resilience Champion: Geobarns, LLC, for Farmer and the Bell (Woodstock)
• Small Business Innovation: Duncan Wisniewski Architecture, Alburgh Family Clubhouse (Alburgh)
• Large Business Innovation: Studio III Architecture and Scott + Partners Architecture, BETA Technologies Production Facility (South Burlington)

Attendees shared the latest in energy efficiency practices, strengthened professional connections, and shared insights across nearly 50 conference workshops. More than 60 exhibitors, nonprofits, and other organizations offered interactive learning with building materials, heating systems, and other technologies that improve how homes and buildings use energy.

“Vermont is meeting the energy challenges we face together—collaborating with electric utilities, supporting our weatherization partners, and working with educators, trainers, and employers to grow our climate workforce,” said Peter Walke, Efficiency Vermont’s Managing Director, in comments opening the annual event.

Efficiency investments made in 2025 saved Vermonters over 49,000 Megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity, or enough to power more than 700 homes for a decade, Walke noted. Those investments will save Vermonters $139 million over their lifetime. “It takes coordination across the supply chain—and a skilled workforce to design, install, and service these projects—to make this kind of durable affordability happen.”

This year’s BBD keynote speaker was Ellen Kahler, the Executive Director of the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF). Kahler’s more than two decades leading VSJF make her one of the most influential Vermont voices on sustainable economic development and workforce advancement. “Building anything well, whether it’s a building or a business, takes good leadership, clear communication, a healthy organizational culture, and strong teamwork,” Kahler said in an address focused on affordability and resilience in an uncertain market. “You can’t control global or national markets … taking care of what you can control will enable you to navigate the uncertainty that will always be there.”

Additional information on the ten “Best of the Best” Award winners:

• Innovation in Workforce Development: Vermont Adult Learning (VAL) Energy Works Program. VAL’s Energy Works Program has a multidisciplinary team that provides personalized education, language acquisition, and career readiness support for adult learners facing barriers such as unemployment, underemployment, poverty, and language access. Launched in Rutland four years ago, the Energy Works Program has since expanded into a statewide workforce development model. Through its integrated support services, employer-driven curriculum, and credentialed training, the Energy Works Program represents a forward-thinking, inclusive, and impactful approach to workforce development.
  
  
• Efficiency Excellence Network – Partner of the Year: Lamos Electric in Franklin. Founded in 2017 by Vermont native Mike Lamos, Lamos Electric expanded in 2022 when Tyler Murphy joined the company, broadening the team’s capacity and reach. The team has delivered high-quality electrical installations, from homes to industrial and agricultural operations. Their reputation is built on trust, working closely with customers to scope projects and providing guidance with incentives and financing options. Lamos Electric has also been a key partner in two unique Efficiency Vermont programs, including the Low-Income Fuel Switch (LIFS) program installing ductless heat pumps for participants across hard-to-reach areas of the state.
  
  
• Efficiency Excellence Network – Leadership Award: Johnstone Supply in Williston. Joining the EEN in 2022, Johnstone Supply quickly established itself as a high-volume supplier of energy efficient technology, including being among the first suppliers in Vermont to sell heat pumps with new and more environmentally -friendly A2L refrigerants. Johnstone is committed to sponsoring trainings and related opportunities, often hosting events at their supply house. Last year, Johnstone sold over 1,200 pieces of incentivized equipment, resulting in over $800,000 in rebates issued. The Johnstone team regularly engages with Efficiency Vermont to provide accurate rebate information, moving the needle on electrification across residential and commercial projects.
  
  
• Residential New Construction – Affordable Housing Innovation for Multi-Family Homes: Champlain Housing Trust & Evernorth for the 10th Cavalry Apartments in Colchester. Transforming three National Register-listed buildings into 65 mixed-income affordable homes in the Fort Ethan Allen Historic District required navigating complex historic preservation and environmental challenges. Working with the National Park Service, the project restored tin ceilings, slate roofs, and historic windows—all while adding insulation and removing contaminants like asbestos and lead. Conforming to historic restrictions required installing high-efficiency gas boilers for heat and hot water. The team also added high-efficiency lighting, appliances, and EV chargers. This project preserves the legacy of the 10th Cavalry Regiment of Buffalo Soldiers housed there from 1909 to 1913, while also delivering permanently affordable and energy- efficient homes.
  
  
• Residential New Construction – Performance Excellence for Multi-Family Homes: Cathedral Square for Reid Commons in St. Albans. A 33-unit affordable apartment building serving mixed-income older adults, Reid Commons is Cathedral Square’s first fossil fuel-free building—and one that marks 16 years of effort to redevelop a brownfield that once housed a manufacturing facility. Heated and cooled using energy harnessed from a closed-loop geothermal system made up of eight 700-foot wells, the building also uses a geothermal system that provides hot water for the kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry in the facility. The building’s comprehensive insulation and air sealing exceed the requirements of Efficiency Vermont’s High Performance program, while a floor-by-floor Energy Recovery Ventilation system provides a consistent flow of fresh air.
  
  
• Residential New Construction – Affordable Housing Innovation for Single-Family Homes: Central Vermont Habitat for Humanity for 41 Central Street in Randolph. Two 1,400-square-foot homes in this duplex used precision- manufactured panelized walls assembled on-site. This not only achieved exceptional air tightness and durability, but reduced material waste, improved the duplex’s thermal performance, and accelerated the building schedule—all while maintaining high build quality and craftsmanship. Developed through Central Vermont Habitat for Humanity’s affordable homeownership program, the two homes are fully electric and heat and cool with heat pumps. The homes are also ENERGY STAR® certified and meet the high standards of Efficiency Vermont’s Certified Homes 3.0 standards, ensuring long-term affordability through low energy bills for years to come.
  
  
• Residential New Construction – Performance Excellence for Single-Family Homes: Bellwether Craftsmen and New Frameworks for Rose Hill Lane in Shelburne.  This custom home was designed and constructed to prioritize high performance, energy efficiency, carbon sequestration, and natural building materials. The home uses New Frameworks' straw panel—sourced locally from an organic grower—as both the vertical structure and insulative assembly. The wall panel system was paired with Bellwether’s extremely airtight and energy efficient building envelope techniques. The home’s geothermal heat pump system uses both radiant heating and ducted air for heating and cooling—all using electricity generated from the home’s roof-mounted solar panels.
  
  
• Commercial New Construction – Commercial Resilience Champion: Geobarns, LLC, for Farmer and the Bell in Woodstock. Redeveloping a brownfield into a new restaurant and retail space, Geobarns designed the building to use its characteristic modified timber frame structure. The result is an open floor plan that celebrates structural timbers, natural materials, and an open kitchen. Emphasizing reduced embodied carbon in all aspects of the building’s design, the structure is insulated with recycled cellulose and wood fiber insulation board (as opposed to petroleum-based materials). The facility’s walk-in cooler implements an extremely environmentally friendly refrigerant and uses ENERGY STAR® kitchen equipment and heat pumps for heating and cooling.
  
  
• Commercial New Construction – Small Business Innovation: Duncan Wisniewski Architecture for the Alburgh Family Clubhouse in Alburgh. Offering full-time and after-school childcare for more than 60 children, the Alburgh Family Clubhouse was designed with space for meetings in the evening to ensure the childcare center truly serves its community. The clubhouse has a wood-framed structure with both cavity and exterior continuous insulation, with raised-heel roof trusses creating room for additional attic insulation. The all-electric building uses heat pumps to meet the facility’s heating, cooling, and hot water needs.
  
  
• Commercial New Construction – Large Business Innovation: Studio III Architecture, Scott + Partners Architecture, for the BETA Technologies Production Facility in South Burlington. A first-of-its-kind facility designed for scaled manufacturing of electric airplanes, BETA’s 188,500-square-foot production facility uses over 250 geothermal wells that provide energy for all of the facility’s heating and cooling needs. With 100% electrified systems, the building incorporates sustainability into its foundation with a 99% recycled glass aggregate that replaced nearly 100,000 cubic feet of Styrofoam insulation that would be used in similar builds. Overall, the building uses 50% less energy than a typical building of the same size—optimizing for both energy efficiency and the comfort of those working inside.

About Better Building by Design

Hosted by Efficiency Vermont, the annual Better Building by Design (BBD) conference provides building professionals with a variety of continuing education opportunities to increase their knowledge in energy efficiency best practices and technologies to better serve their customers. Each year BBD gathers participants from among Vermont’s 18,300 person-strong clean energy and climate workforce, along with other professionals from around New England, for training sessions and workshops at the two-day conference. Learn more at https://www.efficiencyvermont.com/bbd  

About Efficiency Vermont

As the nation's first Energy Efficiency Utility, Efficiency Vermont has helped Vermont save $3.7 billion in lifetime savings and avoid more than 14.8 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions since 2000. Operated by clean energy nonprofit VEIC, Efficiency Vermont has received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR^® program Partner of the Year - Sustained Excellence award over eight consecutive years. Efficiency Vermont works with partners to help our state transition to more affordable, low-carbon energy use through education, rebates and incentives, and support for our clean energy workforce. Learn more at www.efficiencyvermont.com.

Efficiency Vermont Press Contact
Matthew Smith
Phone: (802) 540-7662
[email protected]