Mar 2, 2016 | Thoughts on Building
After almost a decade of working with the “objective based” building code (introduced nationally in 2006), we have had many opportunities to explore the alternative compliance pathways offered by the code. A big part of doing this work is becoming familiar...
Sep 23, 2015 | Building Product Reviews, Natural building materials and techniques, Thoughts on Building
The Green Glut The past 10 years have seen an explosion of building products being marketed to designers and builders as “green.” As the immense impacts buildings have on our planet’s ecosystem started to become clear to the mainstream building...
Mar 15, 2015 | Construction Blogs, Natural building materials and techniques, Sustainable Building & Design program, Teachers' Union offices
Passive House is a building certification program that focuses on dramatically improving the energy efficiency of new and renovated buildings. Overseen in this country by the Canadian Passive House Institute (CanPHI), the standard originated in Germany in the late...
Mar 5, 2015 | Canada's Greenest Home, Construction Blogs
In 2012, we had a vision of creating a spec-home on an urban infill lot in central Peterborough, a home that would aspire to the very highest standards of sustainable building while also achieving a modern aesthetic that would appeal to a wide range of potential...
Jan 12, 2015 | Canada's Greenest Home, Construction Blogs, Sustainable Building Projects
In an Endeavour post about a year ago, I examined the concept of embodied energy in buildings. You can see that post here. To quote the summary of that article: “Choosing high EE materials is willfully neglectful, and in my experience the choice is often due to...
