658 Briggs is a modern, passive-house–engineered home on 1.25 wooded acres at the foot of the Shawangunk Ridge — designed with the rigor of high-performance building science, and made to feel like home. A Yassin Real Estate development in collaboration with the architects and certified passive house designers at pHdesign, it is the first home from the partnership.
It is built using the same modeling tools required by the Passive House Institute Low Energy Building standard — PHPP energy modeling, Flixo thermal bridge analysis, and WUFI hygrothermal analysis. Not certification-chasing; engineering-led. Continuous exterior wood fiber insulation wraps the home, with wood fiber batts in the wall and roof cavities — a vapor-open, bio-based assembly built to stay dry across decades. ZIP System sheathing forms the structural air barrier, and Intello Plus smart vapor control manages moisture across seasons. The result: no drafts, ever.
Triple-pane windows and doors throughout mean no cold glass and no drafty edges — warm frames in winter, no condensation, and the acoustic calm of a well-sealed envelope. A whole-house ERV delivers filtered fresh air to every room, year-round, maintaining healthy humidity in winter and improving comfort during smoke events. The home is fully electric, with heat pumps for heating and cooling, and is already wired for solar and EV charging — exceeding New York State's upcoming 2026 energy code.
The land itself sits in a mature stand of white pines with protected ledge views to the north. Site-milled pine cladding — sourced from trees cleared on the property — will clad the exterior. The place shapes the house. Minnewaska State Park, Sam's Point, and the Mohonk Preserve are minutes away; New Paltz, Kingston, and Woodstock all within an hour; the George Washington Bridge about two hours south.
Less than half the Passive House Institute Low Energy Building standard target of 1.0 ACH50 — measured before final taping and air-sealing was even complete. The building science isn't theoretical; it's tested and verified on site.
