NotchSB is the culmination of a series of design, construction and materials manufacturing companies
It started with an idea for a greener future of housing. After over a decade of research, development, and project experience, we designed the all-wood panelized building system for housing today.
2008
Matthew O’Malia Co-founds Belfast, Maine based Design/Build Firm GO Logic focusing on bringing the Passive House Standard stateside
2008
First Certified Passive House in Maine
The GO Home was the first Passive House building in Maine, and only the 12th constructed in the U.S. GoLogic developed the 1,500-square-foot, 3-bedroom house to demonstrate that zero-energy single-family housing could be delivered at a cost comparable to that of standard residential construction, even in a cold northern climate.
Meeting both Passive House and LEED Platinum standards, the GO Home provides a healthy, comfortable environment while reducing energy demand by approximately 90 percent from that of an equivalent code-compliant building.
Photovoltaic and solar thermal arrays result in net-zero energy consumption on an annual basis
2011 LEED for Homes Project of the Year
2012 Treehugger The Best of Green Award
2011 US Green Building Council Project of the Year
Architecture Credit: GOLogic
Photography Credit: Trent Bell
2014
36-Unit Net-Zero Housing Development
Designed with the goals of preserving farmland and providing owner-developed, cooperative housing, it serves as a demonstration model for a new type of development: one combining smart growth principles with the highest level of building energy efficiency, at a cost comparable to that of standard residential development.
Because GO Logic produced both the site plan and the building designs, we were able to integrate the new development fully with the landscape, optimizing solar orientation, walkability, and the site’s panoramic rural views.
2016 AIA New England Honor Award
Architecture Credit: GOLogic
Photography Credit: Trent Bell
2014
First Panelized CLT Prototype
Our first panelized CLT structure, located on a remote and fragile island site in Maine
Prefabricated, cross-laminated timber panels milled and precisely precut in Quebec, the panels were delivered to the site via truck and ferry and assembled to form the entire enclosure—floor, walls, and roof.
2016 AIA Maine Honor Award
2015 AIA New England Honor Award
2015 Custom Home Magazine Grand Award
Architecture Credit: GOLogic
Photography Credit: Trent Bell
2016
Patented Slab on Grade Foundation
In high performance buildings, slab foundations make sense from a number of standpoints. Compared with frost wall foundations, they use less concrete, which has an extremely large carbon footprint. They cost less, involve less digging, and avoid the thankless task of keeping water out of a New England basement. The result is a foundation that installs quickly and cleanly, supports virtually any residential-scale framed structure, and meets the stringent Passive House energy efficiency standard. The 50 percent savings in labor required for our slab system more than offsets the cost of the additional thickness of insulation, making it less expensive to construct than a conventionally built slab, and the insulation lowers operating costs for the life of the building.
2017
Timber HP co-founded by Matthew O’Malia & Joshua Henry to Manufacture Wood Fiber Insulation in America
2017
Wood Fiber Insulation Manufactured in America
TimberHP by GO Lab, a privately-held, building products company, was founded in 2017 with one purpose—to manufacture high-performance, wood fiber insulation for the first time in North America. Our boards, batts and loose fill, building on wood fiber’s two-decade legacy of proven market success in Europe, offer best-in-class insulation solutions—safe, cost competitive, sustainable. TimberHP is a value-added, innovative product line for Maine’s new forest economy.
2018
Matthew O’Malia & GO Logic on Architect Magazine’s Architect 50 list
2019
OPAL launched as standalone architecture practice by Matthew O’Malia with partners Timothy Lock and Riley Pratt
Timothy Lock AIA
Riley Pratt
2020
Panelized Prototype House using CLT & WFI
The house’s complex geometry presented a challenging test case for CLT construction, but careful detailing allowed us to specify prefabricated, solid-lumber panels for the building’s structural walls, ceilings, and roof. Left exposed on the interior, the panels also constitute the finish surfaces at the walls and ceilings. This solid CLT building shell is encased with rigid wood fiber insulation boards—yielding a Passive House level of energy efficiency—and sheathed in prefinished ash siding and exterior trim. Because the shell has no conventional stud or rafter cavities, utility runs were affixed to the exterior of the CLT panels and the insulation boards carved and fitted around them. To minimize dependency on the power grid, the project incorporates Tesla’s Solar Roof and Powerwall technology to generate and store electricity.
Architecture Credit: OPAL
Photography Credit: Trent Bell
2021 AIA New England Citation Award
2022 AIA Maine Honor Award
2020
Matthew O’Malia Receives Lewis Family CEO Environmental Responsibility Award from the Alnoba Foundation
2021
Replicable Modular Design Concept Development & Prototype
The core of the Replicable CLT construction system is an innovative all-wood panel made from cross-laminated timber (CLT), which for this project was manufactured in Quebec by Nordic Structures. The structural CLT panels were assembled quickly - in house-of-cards - fashion into a solid-wood building shell.
Architecture Credit: OPAL
Photography Credit: Trent Bell
2023 AIA Maine Citation Award
2023 AIA New England Merit Award
2021
OPAL Build founded
Dave Miller named Head of Construction
2021
Prototype: CLT School
This new freestanding 1,000-square-foot building is part of a site master plan OPAL Architecture developed for Cornerspring Montessori School in Belfast, Maine.
Employs Passive House-level energy performance
Includes cross-laminated timber and wood fiber insulation in prefabricated, all-wood panels that are quickly assembled to provide the structure, thermal insulation, and interior finish for an entire building envelope.
To execute the project, the all-wood panels were fabricated at our Madison, ME facility, loaded onto trucks, and assembled onsite in just two days using a crane and our in-house installation crew.
In partnership with building science graduate students at the University of Maine, we outfitted the building envelope with over 50 sensors to be able to measure moisture and temperature performance through time. As a data driven company, this information will provide valuable build performance feedback.
2022
OPAL Build secures Manufacturing Space in Belfast, Maine
The Belfast Armory, built in the 1940s for the National Guard becomes OPAL Build’s new home. The space is used for the panelization process, combining large CNC cut CLT panels with wood fiber insulation and windows and doors.
OPAL Build begins collaboration with consultant Ed Hansen on production and lean manufacturing concept
2022
Developer Jefrey DuBard joins OPAL Build as first Network Partner
Jefrey and OPAL Build collaborate on a collection of repeatable building designs to be constructed as a test case on Martha’s Vineyard.
Nicholas Farmer joins team as Director of Development, Finance & Strategy
2023
Mass Timber Installation: Three Story Student Housing
OPAL Build installs Mass Timber & CLT structure for a 3-story, 12,000 SF 46-bed student dormitory at College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, ME.
Designed by OPAL Architecture, this project includes a biogenic mass timber structure, paired with wood infill walls and wood fiber insulation. The all-wood assembly sequesters biogenic carbon while performing at Passive House energy levels, upholding the highest standards of sustainability.
Photo: Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership2023
Remote Island Lab Building CLT Panel Manufacturing & Installation
Designed by OPAL Architecture, the Hurricane Island Field Research Station is located on a remote island in Penobscot Bay and houses laboratory space for the island’s research programming.
The passive-house envelope is designed to minimize power consumption for the solar micro-grid that powers the campus, keeping emission and environmental impact to a minimum.
“When you take the wood fiber insulation and the cross-laminated timber, you’re talking about an all-wood construction system which is renewable, recyclable and carbon storing with a negative carbon footprint..”
- Matt O'Malia
