[GSBN] Our new building project

Tue Jan 24 14:57:30 UTC 2012

Congratulations, Chris!  I have no doubt you'll do great things, and  
look forward to sending truthseekers and balebuilders your way!

Thanks,

Bruce King
bruce at bruce-king.com
(415) 987-7271
Twitter: @brucekinggreen
blog: bruceking.posterous.com
Skype: brucekingokok

On Jan 24, 2012, at 6:13 AM, Chris Magwood wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
> I wanted to write in to let you all know about the first major  
> project we're undertaking with The Endeavour Centre, our new not-for- 
> profit sustainable building school here in Ontario. It's an urban  
> infill project in Peterborough, Ontario, and it's going to use  
> prefabricated straw bale walls as the exterior, load-bearing walls  
> for a two-story home. We're also designing and building to meet the  
> Living Building Challenge, so it's an all-round exciting project.
>
> I'm sending it to this list for two reasons. First, it's a cool  
> project and I thought you might want to know. Secondly, and more  
> importantly, Endeavour was started in part because our program at  
> Fleming College was not able to accept students from outside Canada.  
> We are keen to open our program to students from around the world,  
> and are hoping that you might direct anybody you know who's looking  
> for a well-rounded sustainable building education to the program and  
> this project.
>
> I hope that's not too "promote-y" for this list!
>
> The announcement for the project is below...
>
> Cheers,
>
> Chris
> January 18, 2012
>
>
>
> Canada’s Greenest Home to Be Built by Students
>
> <clip_image002.png>What does it take to build the greenest, most  
> sustainable home in Canada? That is what 20 students enrolled in The  
> Endeavour Centre’s Sustainable New Construction: Building a New  
> Future program will learn this summer, as they take on the role of  
> lead builders on a single family residence in downtown Peterborough,  
> Ontario.
>
> Interest in green building has been increasing exponentially over  
> the past decade, but the training of new builders to design,  
> contract and build highly sustainable homes has not kept pace. The 5- 
> month, full-time certificate program offered at the not-for-profit  
> Endeavour Centre is one of the few offerings in the world that allow  
> students a thorough, hands-on opportunity to learn what goes into  
> meeting and exceeding the highest standards of green building.
>
> The 2,000 square foot, two-story home will be built on an infill lot  
> in an older neighbourhood in central Peterborough. It will meet LEED  
> Platinum requirements and go beyond this high standard by attempting  
> to become the first Canadian home to fully meet the Living Building  
> Challenge.
>
> Chris Magwood, Executive Director of The Endeavour Centre, says the  
> Living Building Challenge is the most thorough sustainable building  
> standard in the world. “We’re excited to be able to undertake the  
> Living Building Challenge,” he says. “It represents the meeting of  
> high ideals with practical, achievable solutions that the whole  
> staff at Endeavour have always tried to realize.”
>
> When completed, the home will use a fraction of the energy of a  
> conventional home and have met stringent requirements for  
> sustainable building materials, indoor air quality and construction  
> waste management. “Simply put,” says Magwood, “our goal with  
> Canada’s Greenest Home is to make substantial improvements in every  
> measurable aspect of this home’s performance, including net zero  
> energy use, while keeping it affordable, accessible and beautiful.”
>
> Students at Endeavour work with a team of instructors who are  
> experts in the use of natural building materials, renewable energy  
> systems, water collection and treatment, healthy finishes and all  
> aspects creating a truly green home. Students are
>
> Canada’s Greenest Home to Be Built by Students, cont’d
>
> on site each day throughout the construction and perform the  
> majority of the work on the home. In class, they learn the building  
> science theory and construction business know-how that will allow  
> them to reproduce the level of performance achieved on this project.
>
> Their five month experience will include experience installing  
> energy efficient foundations, prefabricated straw bale walls, grid- 
> tied photovoltaics, solar hot water, rainwater collection,  
> composting toilets, natural paints and finishes and much more.
>
> The home built by the students will be put on the market at the end  
> of the program, and proceeds from the sale of the home will help to  
> offset tuition costs. Privately funded with no government grants or  
> public assistance, Magwood hopes “that the sale of this house on the  
> open market will be an indication to other builders that there are  
> buyers hungry for this level of environmental performance in a new  
> home purchase.”
>
> During construction, the students will contribute to the Canada’s  
> Greenest Home blog, where they will document the complete  
> construction process online. Part of the educational component of  
> the project will be tracking and documenting the real environmental  
> impacts of the construction of this home, and making the findings  
> public. This transparency will make Canada’s Greenest Home a unique  
> project, with clear environmental goals established at the onset of  
> the building and accurate accounting of how the finished house  
> measures up to the targets.
>
> “We hope to generate a lot of interest in Canada’s Greenest Home,”  
> Magwood enthuses. “A lot of people think we’re far from being able  
> to live lightly, and comfortably, on the planet. We’d like this  
> project to show that it’s a goal well within reach.”
>
> The Canada’s Greenest Home blog can be followed at www.endeavourcentre.org 
> .
>
> For more information, contact Chris Magwood at 705-876-0569 or chris at endeavourcentre.org 
> .
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -- 
> www.chrismagwood.ca
> www.endeavourcentre.org
> _______________________________________________
> GSBN mailing list
> GSBN at sustainablesources.com
> http://sustainablesources.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/GSBN

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.sustainablesources.com/pipermail/gsbn/attachments/20120124/b1df4413/attachment.htm>