architecture / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

The high performance almost ZNE Warburg house by bioi - built for under $100,00
Efficient home design

A High Performance Home on a Shoe String Budget (Almost ZNE!)

...architecture as well as construction, bioi seeks to further what we currently accept as typical in standard building practice. With over 35 years of experience in architecture, construction, industrial and graphic design, bioi is a collaborative studio under its principals Jordan Allen and Ryan Trefz.

Construction of a 3D printed concrete home © all3dep.com
Architecture and plan design

3D Printed Homes: Is this the Future of Residential Construction?

We've seen more and more headlines calling 3D Printed homes, "the way of the future," with their "construction in less than 24 hours!" Billed as the ideal solution to counter the global housing crisis and more resistant than traditional homes, the answer to the climate emergency according to many media reports is 3D pr...

Affordable green prefab homes - contemporary rancher style - Abri 1850 BV
Architecture and plan design

Prefab Homes for Sale - Beautiful & Sustainable - Available Now

...Architecture & Design, and manufactured by Batiment Prefab Inc of Quebec, these homes are exceptional value for money being priced in $CAD, especially at this level of specification, sustainability and internal air quality. To confirm pricing for the size and type of prefab home most suitable, including delivery to...

Shipping container homes, Good or Bad?
Architecture and plan design

Are shipping container houses environmentally friendly & good or bad to live in?

Shipping container homes are gaining popularity globally, especially as Tiny Houses, as they can be seductively attractive with their modern looking lines, colours and shape - but one question we've been asked consistently is: "Are shipping containers Good or Bad as homes - and for the Environment?"  Like many great id...

LEED Silver mid-rise in Gatineau, QC.
Lifestyle, location and commuting

Sustainable building practices create prosperous communities

This post is courtesy of Hutchinson Builders Sustainable building practices are doing more than just helping the environment - they are also helping to create stronger and more prosperous communities. This is according to the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), with its chief executive Romilly Madew explaining ...

Green homes climate change
Lifestyle and environment

Green buildings are better situated to handle climate extremes

...Architecture and Urban Planning released a landmark report Feb. 29 that describes how green buildings advance resiliency in disasters. “Green Building and Climate Resilience: Understanding Impacts and Preparing for Changing Conditions” describes potential adaptive strategies available to green building practitioners. T...

The Otis mobile tiny house
Tiny house

The Tiny House Movement may have gotten tinier with the arrival of Otis

Three years ago, professor Lucas Brown’s students in Green Mountain College’s Renewable Energy and Ecological Design (REED) class built a custom-designed tiny house, a 96-square-foot structure with a sleeping loft “upstairs” and a 300-watt solar powered electrical system. This semester, his class went one better, con...

Built to ENDURE: the Net Zero Heat Kenogami House
Efficient home design

The Kenogami House: designed to ENDURE

Alex Wilson is the founder of the journal Environmental Building News, Green Building, GreenSpec and recently the Resilient Design Institute. The following is a brief description of his vision, and the steps our team took as designers, builders and homeowners to meet that criteria for the Kenogami House.  The acronym: ...