Thorsten Chlupp, founder of Arctic Sun LLC in Fairbanks, Alaska is a building science consultant, educator, designer, and builder with an expertise in super-efficient and zero energy design for cold climates. He is the developer of cutting edge methods of superinsulation, thermal storage, and integrated renewable energy systems which have enabled his projects to achieve unprecedented levels of performance. From zero net energy and zero fossil-fuel residences and passive house commercial projects in Alaska’s interior (an area with among the highest temperature swings in the developed world: from -40 to 90 Degrees F) to Living Building Challenge homes among the Aleutian Islands, his work re-defines what sustainable building can be in even the most challenging climates. Thorsten works closely with the Cold Climate Housing Research Center in Fairbanks and is a founding member of the Passive House Institute US Technical Committee. He lectures regularly on Passive House, Zero Energy Design, and Sustainable Building approaches throughout the United States and overseas. He is currently Karuna’s technical advisor on the ground in Bhutan.

Yuki Bowman is a designer at Holst architecture, where she brings a foundation in design writing and Japanese craft to a practice of Architecture focused on material and spatial clarity. Through her experience managing award-winning projects, she has worked closely with consultant, contractor, supplier, and client teams to maintain design rigor throughout the detailing and construction process. She also enjoys teaching design seminars and studios and believes design education is an important part of design practice. Her traveling habits were supported by the Branner Traveling Fellowship while at UC Berkeley, and more recently, by the opportunity to visit the JSWL Law Library construction site in Paro, Bhutan, which she has been working on from afar.