Renovating and ‘re-using’ older homes may be one of thegreenest forms of construction. But fixing up an old house tends to bea highly individual endeavor, and the lessons learned whileretrofitting a single home are difficult to adapt to larger-scaleapplications.In spite of this, Lorraine Gauthier, co-founder of the socially-conscious Toronto design studio Work Worth Doing,has identified a housing type which offers a high degree of consistencyacross a large number of homes: post-war housing. Post-war homes, builtto accommodate returning WWII veterans, are still a part of thelandscape throughout Canada and the United States, and many of theseaging homes have poor energy performance. By assembling a team ofdesigners and other sustainable building experts to retrofit a singlehome in the Toronto area {as part of an undertaking known as the NowHouse™ project}, it is hoped that a formula can be created and thenapplied to literally millions of homes.The goal of the first Now House is to create a near zero energyhome, one that reduces greenhouse gas emissions by more than half. Keyadditions to the home include:Better insulationIncreased daylightingEnergy-efficient windowsLow-flow fixturesCFL lightbulbsEnergy-Star AppliancesA gray-water heat-recovery systemSolar powerThe first Now House is located in Topham Park, Toronto, andconstruction began on Earth Day of 2008. Homeowners in thatneighborhood were invited to participate in a collaborative effort torenovate their homes, and currently 200 homes in the community areslated for refurbishment. It is hoped that the model established inTopham Park will proceed to a national rollout. According to the Now House website,it is estimated that there are one million wartime houses in Canadawhich are similar to one another in structure, and an additional 4.5million located in the United states.To view progress on construction of the first Now House, watch: http://nowhouseproject.com/forum/The Now House Project received major funding by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and RBC Royal Bank.Image Credit: The Now House™ Project
greenbuildingelements.com/2008/06/03/the-now-house-project-providing-a-model-for-recycling-wwii-era-houses/