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BCIT demonstrates what a sustainable home is: AFRESH

Posted on 09. Jun, 2009 by Bernice Paul in Living

A good friend of mine, Alex, recently landed an exciting position at BCIT as the Energy and Sustainability Manager. Being just across the way from where I toil, I had the pleasure of visiting him at his office: the very cool and innovative AFRESH Home. Yep, that’s where he works.

AFRESH Home is a collaborative project of BCIT School of Construction and the Environment, the CMHC, UBC School of Architecture, the Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association and the Canadian Plywood Association. The letters of AFRESH stand for Accessible and Affordable, Flexible, Resilient, Energy Efficient, Sustainable and Healthy.

But does all this sound like a bit of a stretch? While I can certainly wrap my head around most of these adjectives with respect to housing (I’d expect the generally accepted concepts of green design to be utilized, and they are: energy efficient appliances, photovoltaic panels, ground source heat pumps, wider hallways for wheelchair-accessibility, low- or no-VOC paint, to name a few), it took a tour around AFRESH Home to understand what flexible housing feels like.

The house has been designed and constructed with the issues faced by modern homeowners in mind; specifically, families in flux. The result: floor plans are mindfully flexible to accommodate the possibility of converting homes from single-family units to vertical duplexes, and thinking ahed regarding the family life cycle and future needs plus the use of durable and resilient building materials have made this concept home one of the best examples of sustainable design I’ve come across.

The AFRESH Home considers not only the environmental impact of the home, but the health and changing needs of those dwelling within it. Rather than pushing homeowners to participate in B.C.’s infamous housing spin cycle, the AFRESH Home also encourages longevity in residency. Downsizing for mature families need not equate to a ‘buy-sell’ equation; rather, a simpler conversion could suffice. And the affordability of the home comes from long-term savings on operating costs.

So what’s the best thing about working in AFRESH Home? Despite the “intelligent design,” says Alex, “the house is simple, real and accessible, not super high-tech or Star Trek-like.” Also, its air quality is excellent because all materials were chosen with the health of the occupants in mind. “It’s inspiring to do intelligent work in an intelligent environment.”

Hmm. Perhaps the “efficiency” of the cubicle farm should be revisited…

Lead image courtesy of BCIT School of Construction and the Environment (PDF).

Tags: Sustainability