OUR PROJECTS
SUSTAINABLE, CARBON CONSCIOUS BUILDINGS
Every project we undertake meets the highest performance and ecological standards. Along the way, we do a lot of innovating!
Most of our zero carbon building projects are undertaken as student learning opportunities, with our team of instructors and participants performing most of the work on each building.
Our mandate is to be open-source about our green buildings. To that end, every one of our projects is documented in our free project e-books, which you’ll find on each project page.
Geneva Park Duplex Family Cabin
2019 Sustainable Building & Design project- Small, affordable, healthy, climate-positive… this is what the Geneva Park YMCA wanted for their new duplex family cabin. Our answer to these needs is a sweet little two-unit cottage that blends the best conventional materials with some great natural building innovations…
Refacing an Addition
2018 Sustainable Building & Design project- When the City of Peterborough allowed accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on downtown lots to increase density, the owner of this empty, 100 year old concrete block garage envisioned a new living space…
Ecology Park Building
2018 Natural Building Intensive project- The Ecology Park is a five acre showcase of sustainable landscape ideas and resources operated by Peterborough GreenUP. When they needed a programming hub to provide shelter…
Zero House
2017 Sustainable Building & Design project- A lot of zeros add up to an amazing little house: zero net energy, zero carbon footprint, zero toxins, zero waste. Oh, and the whole building needed to be prefabricated and modular so it could be put up and taken down multiple…
Teachers’ Union Offices
2014 Sustainable Building & Design project- The Trillium-Lakelands Elementary Teachers’ Union wanted a new office and meeting hall that reflected the high environmental standards they teach to their students. We used the Passive House standard to set our energy efficiency…
Farm Hub and Root Cellar
2013 Sustainable Building & Design project- Circle Organics grows amazing vegetables, and they needed an amazing place to wash, process and store those vegetables, as well as accommodations and meeting space for farm workers…
Root Cellar Seasoned Spoon
The Seasoned Spoon is a cafe at Trent University offering vegetarian and vegan meals on campus made mainly from locally grown food. To extend the amount of time they can use local produce, they wanted a subterranean root cellar that could store vegetables with minimal energy input.
The 400 square foot building is…
Canada’s Greenest Home
2012 Sustainable Building & Design project – An urban infill lot in downtown Peterborough provided the inspiration for Canada’s Greenest Home. We wanted to set ourselves the highest possible standards for ecological building and meet them using local natural materials and finishes. We also wanted…
Habitat for Humanity House
The Peterborough affiliate of Habitat for Humanity was in need of a fully accessible home design and wanted to meet the LEED Platinum standard for an infill project in a Peterborough subdivision. Combining high-performance with local, natural building materials, the low-key exterior masks a highly innovative building.
Environment Centre
2009 Sustainable Building & Design project- Camp Kawartha was given the use of a plot on the Trent University nature preserve to provide a space for environmental education for school children and the Trent University students who are learning to teach them. This amazing community space is well-used and well-loved …
Performing Arts Centre
2008 Sustainable Building & Design project- The municipality of Centre Hastings had an old baseball diamond in a corner of a downtown park that was quickly becoming a revitalized community hub featuring a skate park, playground and splash pad. The community wanted to add a performing arts space featuring indoor and outdoor stages to provide a cultural…
R.D. Lawrence Place
2007 Sustainable Building & Design project- In the middle of the municipal complex in Minden, Ontario sits Nature’s Place, a museum focused on the natural heritage of the area.
The museum display area is built around a replica of an old log cabin, and incorporates trees, natural finishes and even animal footprints…
Kinark Sustainable Living Centre
2006 Sustainable Building & Design project – For Kinark’s Sustainable Living Centre, we set out to create a beautiful, functional and comfortable space using materials and methods that have the least possible effect on the environment during construction. Nearly all the materials were harvested on site or locally, using…
4C’s Food Bank and Thrift Store
2005 Sustainable Building & Design project – In downtown Haliburton, Ontario, the 4Cs charity runs a food bank that is supported by sales from the attached Lily Ann thrift store. Fronting onto a commercial street, it’s hard to tell that this unassuming storefront is a remarkable natural building! From it’s rubble foundation…