living-future-institute / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Future-proofing homes for Climate Change:  Anticipating future climatic challenges and constructing resilient buildings to withstand them should be an important consideration when building any new home - but we're often told that "a Green Home costs more", and too many people then decide in the face of resistance from ...

  For those that aren't made for the bustling lifestlyle of cities, small towns can be a dream come true. The nature of small towns is one of community and accessible downtown cores. Essential services like grocery stores, banks and post offices are usually grouped closely together, as are schools, so children can ofte...

Commercial Green Roof Case Study AB Canada Nestled in the Oldman River valley in Lethbridge Alberta, the green roof on the Helen Schuler Nature Centre (HSNC) has been attracting local and international attention from visitors and living roof enthusiasts since its completion in 2013. On the roof of the building, a 200m2...

We often think of the land underneath our feet as fixed and unmoving. On a calm day, if you sit next to the ocean, it seems quite stationary. It does change though - with the shifting of tectonic plates, erosion, wind, super tides and flooding.  These changes are most noticed when we have a large event like a rain, win...

As the effects of climate change become more pronounced every year, it is becoming virtually impossible for the most ardent climate change deniers to dismiss it, despite their valiant efforts. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): "Rising global average temperature is associated with widespread change...

It is not illegal to sell an unbuildable lot, so buyers beware. Any number of roadblocks can prevent you from building the house you want, or any house at all, so before you make a purchase make sure you can proceed with your plans. Issues to consider before making an offer: Zoning: First check that you are allowed to ...

There are probably only two general desires we share when imagining a dream house - we all want the nicest one possible for the least amount of money. And we want both of those things right away, rather than waiting a lifetime to see the 'payback' for noble design choices we might have made to save polar bears, bees, p...

Future-proofing homes: Our society has a collective trust in its commercial building industry to provide us with homes that we assume meet some realistic standard of resilience. They do to an extent, but a very minor extent. Assuming the climate putters along with relative normalcy, your home will keep you warm, dry an...

Design basics for flexible housing: Depending on the stage you are at in your life, you might have kids, they might be gone or you might want to have some in the future. Design floor plans that work for you right now but can be easily adapted to accommodate different family dynamics in the future. Flexible housing star...

It is well-documented that indoor air is filled with contaminants, mostly due to cooking (specifically burning) and improperly vented combustion appliances (woodstoves, gas water heaters, gas ranges, etc.). Following that would be formaldehyde, VOCs and other chemicals in building materials and furnishings. All these f...

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...