[GSBN] Our new building project

[martin hammer]

Very well done and well stated Chris.  An ideal-real project, students
benefiting during the process and at the saleable end, openly sharing it
all, and some lucky individuals will get a great house.  Great work.
Promote away.

Martin


On 1/24/12 6:13 AM, "Chris Magwood" <chris at chrismagwood.ca> 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 
>  
>  
>  
> Canada¹s Greenest Home to Be Built by Students
>  
> What does it take to build the greenest, most sustainable home in Canada? That
> is what 20 students enrolled in The Endeavour Centre¹s 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. ³We¹re excited to be able to undertake the Living Building Challenge,²
> he says. ³It represents the meeting of high ideals with practical, achievable
> solutions that the whole staff at Endeavour have always tried to realize.²
>  
> 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. ³Simply put,² says
> Magwood, ³our goal with Canada¹s Greenest Home is to make substantial
> improvements in every measurable aspect of this home¹s performance, including
> net zero energy use, while keeping it affordable, accessible and beautiful.²
>  
> 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 
>  
> Canada¹s Greenest Home to Be Built by Students, cont¹d
>  
> 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 ³that 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.²
>  
> During construction, the students will contribute to the Canada¹s 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 Canada¹s 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.
>  
> ³We hope to generate a lot of interest in Canada¹s Greenest Home,² Magwood
> enthuses. ³A lot of people think we¹re far from being able to live lightly,
> and comfortably, on the planet. We¹d like this project to show that it¹s a
> goal well within reach.²
>  
> The Canada¹s Greenest Home blog can be followed at www.endeavourcentre.org
> <http://www.endeavourcentre.org> .
>  
> For more information, contact Chris Magwood at 705-876-0569 or
> chris at endeavourcentre.org.
>  
>  
>  
>  
>          
>  

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