A year of cutting-edge sustainable design

Sustainable design is a lifestyle and approach to architecture and design that attempts to reduce the use of Earth’s natural resources. Though sustainable housing is not yet the norm, many architects, designers, and engineers are working to reduce our carbon footprint and change the way we build homes and cities.

It’s time to focus on building structures that complement rather than control the natural landscape. 2015 was a big year for sustainable design, so we’ve rounded up some of our favourite achievements to get you up to speed!

Reid's Heritage Homes opening Canada's first Net Zero home

1) Building Canada’s first Net Zero Home

This year, Reid’s Heritage Homes completed Canada’s first Net Zero Energy Home, a house designed to produce more energy than it consumes. The groundbreaking project in Guelph, Ontario uses photovoltaic solar panels to power appliances and lighting, an airtight design to increase heating and cooling efficiency, a Rheem hot water tank to increase water delivery efficiency, an energy recovery ventilator to help circulate clean air, and Electrolux appliances that surpass the efficiency of ENERGY STAR.

According to Andy Goyda, Canadian Builder Lead and Marketing Development Manager of Owens Corning Canada, the project “will change the way homes are built and will allow more homeowners across the country to help insulate themselves from rising energy costs.” The project is an important step in proving that sustainable design is possible at the community level and can be affordable for the average homebuyer.

The Canary District in Toronto

2) Reducing Toronto’s carbon footprint during the Pan Am Games

Toronto not only hosted the Pan Am Games, but also used the event to push the boundaries of sustainable construction and set new standards for energy-efficient construction in Canada.

Six of the official facilities earned Silver and Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for their use of green roofs, diversion of site waste from landfills and incineration, use of geothermal energy, and incorporation of irrigation systems that rely on stored rainwater. The buildings are part of the Pan Am vision to transform communities and “leave a Games legacy of sustainable excellence.”

This was an especially difficult task as many of the athletics facilities pose unique challenges for LEED certification. The  CIBC Pan Am/Parapan Am Aquatics Centre and Field House required architects to find a way to responsibly heat and cool large bodies of water - an issue that many homes and office towers don’t need to contend with to achieve LEED certification. These environmentally sustainable venues and will establish the foundation of a green legacy for the City of Toronto.

In addition to this, the Athlete’s Village (Canary District) is built to LEED Gold Standard and the City of Toronto has labelled it a Tier 2 design, which is the highest level of sustainability granted by the City.

Artwork by Dan Saunders - via Bioglow

3) Lighting the streetscape with bioluminescent light

Imagine a cityscape lit by the gentle glow of a bioluminescent plant. Though this sounds like a scene from a sci-fi film, it may soon be a reality as designers, biologists, and engineers work to harness the power of bioluminescent light.  

Biomimicry is the method of using nature’s patterns and strategies to create sustainable solutions and a new way of living that is well-adapted to life on Earth in the long-term. Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde has been working with the State University of New York (SUNY) and Dr. Alexander Krichevsky to create a genetically modified glow-in-the-dark plant.

Dr. Krichevsky spliced DNA from marine bacteria into the genome of a house plant to create Bioglow, a bioluminescent plant that emits a soft ambient light after several minutes in the dark. Bioglow is a prototype of the plants and trees that Roosegaarde hopes will one day light our homes and streetscapes, reducing the need for wasteful street lamps.

“What can we learn from nature and apply to the built environment, to roads, to public spaces, to our urban landscape?” asks Daan Roosegaarde during an interview at SXSW. Roosegaarde's bioluminescent vision seeks to create a symbiotic relationship between the built and natural environment, and envisions a cityscape that is both sustainable and poetic.

Farmscape Towers - via ArchDaily.com

4) Reimagining Paris as a sustainable garden

Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut unveiled his vision of Paris as an “eco-utopian” landscape dominated by bio-materials and skyscrapers covered in lush greenery. His futuristic smart city aims to solve some of the world’s environmental issues through creative design inspired by nature.  

Callebaut’s Smart City is a response to Paris’ Region, Climate, Air, and Energy Plan, which aims to reduce emissions and implement more sustainable strategies. Callebaut designed eight prototypes of energy-efficient structures that would fit into the existing landscape and address the city’s growing environmental issues as well as housing and population density issues.

Callebaut’s structures seek to emulate nature, not control it. Though the towers would be scattered throughout Paris they are intended to work together, like a real ecosystem, to create a more sustainable city.

Geothermal at Harmony Village

5) Changing the way we heat our towers

City Core Developments set their sights on achieving LEED Platinum Certification, the highest LEED rating possible, for their master-planned community Harmony Village Sheppard.

The project incorporates a number of environmentally-friendly features, but the most impressive is the building’s Geothermal Energy System. The development uses Geothermal technology, which, dramatically reduces the condominium’s energy costs and carbon emissions.

Geothermal energy taps underground reservoirs of heat generated at the Earth’s centre, and transfers this heat into the building during cooler months. This is not only cost effective, but also reliable and sustainable.       

For Jack Pong, CEO and President of City Core Developments, the decision to invest in Geothermal technology isn’t just a marketing play, it’s an opportunity to get other developers thinking about the benefits of Geothermal energy and to set a new standard for condominium development.

These are just a few of our favourite sustainability topics from the past year. Do you have any other groundbreaking sustainability ideas to share with us? If so, get in touch @NewHomeBuyers or on Facebook!