Our Story
At OPAL Architecture, we remove the risks and additional costs for our clients when they design and build the next generation of sustainable buildings. OPAL was founded in 2008, as the architecture half of a groundbreaking design/build company, and launched as an independent architecture firm in 2019. Based in Belfast, on the coast of Maine, we maintain an unwavering focus on design excellence while continually striving to achieve the highest standards of building performance and occupant comfort and well-being.
Alone among our professional peers, we design buildings exclusively following Passive House principals. We established our leadership role in the Passive House movement in North America with a string of landmark projects, including the first Passive House certified residence in Maine, the first Passive House certified college residence hall (for Unity College, in Unity, ME), and the first Passive House certified research laboratory (for the University of Chicago). OPAL is currently one of only fifteen firms nationwide to meet AIA’s 2030 Challenge which requires a 80% reduction of operational carbon from baseline across all projects.
OPAL’s national standing has enabled us to attract top design talent from around the United States, and beyond, architecture professionals who share a vision of buildings that improve the world. Our architectural team is poised to take that vision to new levels, applying our expertise in design and building performance to institutional, commercial, and residential projects of every scope and scale.
As our geographical range expands, however, our identity remains deeply shaped by our roots on the coast of Maine. Our home state’s rural character and outdoor heritage heighten our relationship with the environment. It’s demanding climate shapes our understanding of building performance. The remote location and traditions of craft and independent thinking inform our professional practice and culture. We apply our creative energies with an appreciation of limits and maintain a keen focus on utility. We are good at doing more with less.
Perhaps also reflecting our rural heritage, we define a role for OPAL that transcends the conventional limits of architectural practice, encompassing not only design, but also innovation. We developed and patented a frost protect slab-on-grade foundation system. In 2017, we launched Timber HP to manufacture and market a full line of sustainable, carbon-sequestering wood fiber insulations that will soon provide a cost-effective alternative to the non-recyclable, fossil fuel-based insulation products that currently dominate the market. In 2021, we launched OPAL Build to combine this wood fiber insulation with cross-laminated timber to create carbon storing, highly insulated building panels – pushing the boundaries of offsite construction systems.
And we regularly take our message outside of the studio, delivering lectures, presenting at national and international conferences, and teaching courses. OPAL partners and associates also volunteer their expertise to local nonprofits, municipal boards and advisory committees, and state policymakers, exercising leadership in both our profession and our community.
