Architecture & Design
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Nexterra LivingHome Revisited
Two years ago I attended the press party for Nexterra LivingHomes. I was pretty excited about the concept of a green modular home that achieved the goals of being lighter on the planet, but was still functional and gorgeous. The house is now ready and, since I was in...
Canada’s Greenest Home to be Built in Peterborough
The Endeavour Centre located in Peterborough, ON is a not-for-profit hands-on education centre that teaches students how to build and renovate homes using more sustainable methods and materials than are currently in use. Students learn about building science in the...
Aerecura Rammed Earth Home Revisited
In October, 2010, I had the very fortunate opportunity to visit with Sylvia Cook, owner of Aerecura Rammed Earth Builders and owner of Ontario's first rammed earth home, just after the beautiful walls had been finished. The roof, windows and main floor had yet to be...
John Bell’s Green Home — Host of World’s Greenest Homes Greens His Own Home
As the host of season 2 of The World's Greenest Homes, John Bell traveled the world touring the world's greenest homes, speaking to the owners, builders and designers about the homes and what made them decide to build more sustainable housing. The homeowners had built...
Earthquake — LEED Platinum Home revisited — A tour with Rolf Baumann of RGB Group
A few weeks ago, while in Ottawa, I contacted Rolf Baumann, owner of RGB Group and builder of the first Earthquake resiliant/LEED Platinum duplex in Canada. He took me on a tour of the building and explained what he was doing to attain the LEED Canada Platinum for...
Rosedale House Revisited
During GreenBuild 2011, there was a tour of three green houses offered, so of course I had to go on it! We saw three homes all in different stages of construction. The last house we saw was none other than The Rosedale House which I covered in July, 2010 during...
3 Bedroom “Green” Chicago Home for sale: $129,900 (and you thought a green home had to be expensive)
Chris McAuliffe is the owner of CM Real Estate Developments, a Chicago-based company. I had the opportunity to speak with him about an interesting project he's just finished: Instead of demolishing this home in Cicero IL, a suburb of Chicago, and starting from...
How to Tell if You’re Working With A Green Kitchen Designer
Kitchen renovations tend to be a first priority when it comes to renovating older homes. There are many reasons for this including colour, design, material use (think terracotta tile flooring from the 80s), and most importantly, functionality. Kitchens are also a...
A Tour of the First “Passive House Certified” Residence in Canada
We went to Ottawa for Family Day weekend to visit my husband's family. A few weeks before this, I received a press notice that an Ottawa house had become the first Passive House certified in Canada. "Say," I thought, "wouldn't it be great if I could arrange for a tour...
Nexterra’s New Eco-Friendly Partners
Nexterra and LivingHomes have partnered to build 4 luxury eco-homes in a quiet setting on a ravine, close to the subway, restaurants and amenities. These homes are greener than your ordinary homes and if you'd like to read more, see an earlier post I wrote about the...
An Interview with Sylvia Cook, Rammed Earth Builder
Why would someone decide to build a rammed earth house? This is an interview with a rammed earth builder and the decisions she made.
A Tour of the First LivingHome or, My Trip to Santa Monica, CA
A tour of the first Living Home, located in Santa Monica, CA.
An Interview with Heather Dubbeldam on Green Architecture and the Importance of Design
Heather Dubbeldam, a Toronto architect, discusses the importance of design when considering building a more environmentally-friendly building.
Nexterra and LivingHomes Establish Eco-Enclave in Toronto
What happens when you put two conscientious real estate developers (no, it is not an oxymoron) together with a prefab homes builder? You get responsible development in an urban setting ...but it feels like the country. Nexterra Developments is a new project...
A Rosedale House Super Renovation — Targeting 90% Reduction in Energy Costs
Turning a leaky old Rosedale heritage home into a tightly sealed, comfortable historic home. Energy efficiency will be 50kwh/m2, three times better than current building code.
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