Build the house of tomorrow, today!
The first Active House in Canada, the ‘Great Gulf Active House’ situated in Thorold (Ontario), brought the Active House concept – keeping the inhabitant first in mind – to this country in 2013. It has been the result of a collaboration between architects, engineers and building manufacturers that worked together towards more sustainable and innovative homebuilding as part of the global Active House Alliance.
Since then the Active House vision has been slowly gaining ground in the country and the second Active House in Canada is currently underway, this time in Etobicoke.
“We want to build buildings of tomorrow, today”, says Tad Putyra, Founding Partner of the Active House Canada branch on behalf of Great Gulf and Member of the international Active House Alliance’s Board of Advisory Committee. However, the list of challenges are still long. According to him one of the biggest obstacles for prototyping next-generation homes relies in organising the project as a group, given the fragmentation of the housing industry. Another factor to bear in mind is that on average hundreds of houses are built on a project-by-project basis, making it difficult to have an idea implemented and to be kept improving. Still, the ultimate challenge for the Canadian Active House Alliance will be scaling these innovative projects and making them attractive to homeowners.
The growing housing needs in the region that is rapidly expanding will nevertheless bring an opportunity for the Active House vision of energy efficient buildings that create more comfortable lives for their inhabitants without impacting negatively on the environment. In this respect, Active House can play an important role in showcasing an innovative and sustainable housing choice for newhome buyers of future communities in the country.
For more information on the activities of the Canadian Active House Alliance see here.
