A house in North York has earned its builder and architect special recognition for being the embodiment of the five essentials of healthy housing.
The principles, set out by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (
CMHC), relate to occupant health, energy efficiency, resource efficiency, environmental responsibility and affordability.
"The architect takes full advantage of the passive house standard, building envelope and passive solar gain to create a house that could virtually operate without an active heating system," says Jamie Shipley, a senior research consultant with the CMHC in Toronto. "Then, on top of that is the occupants' detail that was required to make sure the house has healthy air: Everything that goes into that house is low VOC [Volatile Organic Compounds], no off-gassing."
The CMHC recognizes one builder a year who has built either a single family home or a multi-residential building to these standards. It's unusual for an architect to also be recognized, but the CMHC in this instance is acknowledging what it feels were substantial contributions from
Sustainable.TO in its work with
Greenbilt Homes.
The house, a single family dwelling known as the Willowdale Passive Solar House, is at 84 Norton Avenue, just south of Yonge and Finch.
Though the CMHC is a national organization, the healthy Housing Recognition program is only operated in Ontario.
Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Jamie Shipley
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