Building the Yukon's First Double Green-Certified Home

Today we broke ground on what we hope will be a the Yukon's most sustainable home. It is a duplex project that myself and two partners have started in the Takhini North infill area. I'll try to setup construction progress photos in the next few days, so check back soon. Here is what the building is going to look like:



Project Description: 38 & 40 Nijmegan Rd. is a privately developed residential duplex project. The project principals are based on bringing truly sustainable housing to the community. The building is based on a classic duplex from the turn of the last century—therefore is a classically lovable building. Each half is two bedrooms and relatively small at 960 ft² plus a 480 ft² unfinished basement. The size of the building is to fill a void in the Whitehorse housing market: high quality, smaller homes. The building site is centrally located in Whitehorse, Yukon in a residential infill development project called “Takhini North”. The building is designed with three major themes: Super energy efficient, Durable and Healthy.

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Project Objective: To build a truly Sustainable home: A home that is an asset to future generations, not a liability. A Sustainable home project means:

	Building Owner/Occupant	Building Team
Financially Sustainable	Affordable to buy, own, operate & maintain (Simple, compact design; Energy efficient & Durable)	Financially successful project for team members.
Environmentally Sustainable	Reduced environmental impact of construction & operation (Energy efficient). Healthy for occupants.	Healthy & safe for building team during construction.
Socially Sustainable	· Occupant: Lovable house, pride in ownership, dignity in housing, promote social interactions. · Community: Lovable house, contribute to streetscape / tribute to community, promote social interactions.	Happy Team: enjoyable project to work on; Pride in work & being part of a great project.

Key Themes:

1. Super Energy Efficient	Super insulated house; well sealed. Annual heating cost to be <$400 / year.
2. Durable	Comprehensive building Durability Plan. Building is planned to last for more than 100years. Design includes adaptability elements to allow the building to be easily modified over time.
3. Healthy Indoor Environment	Ventilation plan & verification; Use of healthy / low emission materials inside.

Demonstrating Sustainability:

Two “green” certifications are being sought for this project:

4. Yukon Housing’s Super GreenHome Certification: This will be one of the Yukon’s first privately built Super Green homes.

5. Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED)[1] for Homes Certification: If achieved, this will be the first LEED Certified home in the Yukon.

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[1] Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED is a consensus-based system for rating the design, construction, operation, and certification of the green buildings administered in Canada by the Canada Green Building Council

The “LEED Canada for Homes Logo” is a registered trademark owned by the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) and is used by permission. The logo signified that Old Way of Seeing Sustainable Building Services is actively participating in CaGBC’s LEED Canada for Homes Program; the CaGBC does not guarantee the products or services offered by its participants

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