NO dream mansion at this year’s B.C. Home Show: this home demonstration is root- ed in realities facing today’s homeowners.

Each year, visitors see a demonstration of new build- ing technology sponsored by the Greater Vancouver Homebuilders (GVHBA}.

This year’s home addresses hot housing issues: families in flux, concerns about personal health, the environment, affordability, and durability.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) developed their FlexHousing and Healthy Housing concepts in response to just such needs. For years, CMHC has been educating GVHBA = members. about these concepts, and GVHBA members have been putting them into;,practice. Home 2090 showcases the results. It’s an affordable, healthy, durable and environmentally conscious home that . -is designed to change ecasilt as the lifestyle of its occupants

schange. Using off-the-shelf technology, a flexible design, ‘and. health-conscious, high quality building’ practices, Home °2000 . shows con- sumers how to create a home in which they will be com- _ fortable for life. | CMHC. and GVHBA “agreed to provide project management’ and tecknical support for Home 2000, but they needed other partners to "get the project off. the ground. GVHBA canvassed

"ts members for donations of

“materials — _- receiving* ‘tremendous support —.while -. CMHC. ‘approached the

‘British Columbia’ Institute of

-Technology;(BCIT) and the _

: School.of“Architecture at the -Uniyersity: ..of British Columbia (UBC).

- Students in the Masters in Architecture program at

*U.B.C. took on the project of designing the.home. During the fall of 1999 they generat-

“ed numerous design schemes

_ that were eventually assimilat- ed into the manufacturer’s

== HOME AND GARI

final design.

“The students found that the project greatly con: tributed to their understand: ing of dhe complexity of *real lite’ design,” savs Linda Brock, a professor at the School of Architecture.

BCIT = welcomed the opportunity to demonstrate the building-integrated pho- tovoltaic (BIPV) panel tech- nology they'd been working on. The BIPV panels use the

solar ener:

sy to supply,

electricity to” the,

home, and can even feed back electricity to the main

power grid for use by others if”

the panels create more elec- tricity Notes BCIT’s Lou Stamenic, “BIPV clearly has - great potential for house/building applications —‘it can be installed on. a’ wide range of exteriure” surfaces. Using buildings to generate electric- aiity makes sense.” * - As the demo home pro- gressed, the partners can- vassed other groups who inight be willing to provide resources. The Canadian Plywood Association stepped on board. CANPLY con- tributed al! of the plywood products in the home includ- ing wall, floor and roof sheathing, beams, stair treads, risers and countertop sub- strates. FRBC contributed the solid wood products — everything from framing lum- ber to wood moulding.

than the home needs.

Home Depot donated addi- tional building materials from their vast supply to complete the material requirements for the project.

The three-storey, 2,000 sq. ft. home was constructed by Britco at their indoor building site in just over a month. It was built in six dis- crete modules — rwo 12 ft by 45 ff. sections on each floor, The modules were

then taken to the con- struction site and the mechanical

systems

were inter-

connected. As

CMHC project man-

ager Mark Salerno explains, “Buifding in a weather-pro-

.tected factory setting ensures

careful, controlled assembly and a dry building.”

It also means’ that the building site can be prepared

while the home is being built.

— shortening the overail con- steucticn time.

The home is designed to fit a typical urban lot that is 33 ft. by 122 ft. with rear lane access. It has two main living floors, a convertible attic

“Space and an optional base-

ment. One of the most exciting features of the home is its

| SPECIALISTS

With over 20 years of

experience, we pride

ourselves on exceptional

work & service af very” - "reasonable rates.

Flex Housing floor plan — the home can convert from a four-bedrvom, single family heme to a code-compliant duplex with nvo bedrooms per unit. Creative preplan- ning of the air circulation, mechanical and electrical sys- tems means that the air sup- plies to each duplex suite are separate — no odours are exchanged and fires are better contained. It also means that the suites are relatively soundproof.

The house is designed to foilow a family throughaut its entire lifecycle. Young home- owners can rent out one suite as a mortgage helper, then reclaim the house as their family grows. When adult children head to university, they can offer them the suite, and later still, can use it to supplement their retirement income. With FlexHousing there are as many possibilities as there are living arrange- ments.

Other FlexHousing fea- tures include the option of adding ‘a small first-floor office or bedroom at the front

_or back of the house, and a

large first-floor master bed- foom with an ensuite bath- room. If homeowners want a sunny living room, it can be located at the front or the back of the house. .

As you can see, the key to FlexHousing design is to anticipate your future needs and build them into the design so that your home can be easily and inexpensively changed down itheroad. This will save you. time, money and = ~the heartache of feaving a,

neighbourhood you’ve come _

to know and love.

In Home 2000, casy-to- move partitions mean that a large, single bedroom can

RCEDES

EN

nsirates flex housing

Sunday, February 20, 2000 - North Shore News - 35

become two reoms. Wide doorways and hallways make it easy to move furniture in and out, but give the home an open, airy feel, and make it possible tor a wheelchair to manoeuvre should a) family member need one in the furure. fn the kitchen, a sim- ple upgrade to the sink counter makes it accessible to anyone — short or tall.

A_ worry-free, comfort- able, long-term environment is also part of Healthy Housing. A healthy home is affordable, supports your physical health, the health of the environment, and is resource and energy efficient. There ure many ways to accomplish this — in Home 2000 two key features of par- ticular interest 10 B.C. resi- dents are a durable building envelope, which ensures that moisture doesn’t go where it shouldn’t, and e¢arthquake- resistant building practices.

Low-emission _ finishing materials were used to main- tain high indoor air quality and solid wood cabinets and plywood coun- terctops

ensure a formaldehyde-free environment. A heat recovery ventilation system supplies fresh air to all living spaces and exhausts moist, stale air fromthe bathrooms and kitchen —- benefiting people with asthma or other respira- tory conditions. Features such as low-volume toilets and energy-efficient appli- ances and lighting are casv on the environment.

While incorporating FlexHousing and Healthy Housing features slightly increased the capital cost of the building, homeowners can expect to recover the cost and actually begin saving through reduced energy and maintenance costs. Even bet- ter, the house can be turned into a revenue generator if it’s converted to a duplex.

After Home 2000 leaves the B.C. Home Show, it will sit on a specially constructed site at BCIT for five years. BCIT will continue to devel- op its BIPV technology in the laboratory attic, and use the house to teach students about FlexHousing and Healthy Housing design and con-

struction. The home will be open to the pub- fic for tours at designated

times.

troduct

> No cst & PST i> FREE Fabric Upgrade ; (EXLUDING LEATHER) - .. Choose from 150 fabric samples

Hw

Order Now limited time offer

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK

| Heritage Oak & Pine |

997 West ist St., North Van

984-3255