Our latest affordable housing initiative is introducing solar energy to our Westmount development. The new buildings will incorporate environmentally responsible design while solar energy is a major focus. These town homes will be Canada’s very first net zero multi-family residential development of this size. Habitat Studio, a locally owned, award winning home builder, will be overseeing construction.
We continue to involve the community in our progress with solar energy, including the Canadian Home Builders Association:
“We recently gave a tour of the project to group of builders taking a building science course sponsored by the Canadian Home Builders Association. Andy Oding from Ontario and Tyler Hermanson from Calgary lead the course’s instruction. Both instructors are highly regarded Canadian architecture science and energy efficiency experts. Students attending the course were top-notch Alberta home-builders learning how to build net zero energy houses.
The students were able to witness real world examples of the exceptional energy efficiency required for net zero energy building. It was a perfect opportunity, with the church and the town homes in the framing stage where the solar panel development is currently exposed.
Bernie Schaloske and myself of Habitat Studio were on hand to walk them through the insulation details in addition to air tightness techniques. Andy and Tyler also pointed out the advanced framing techniques. Such execution reduces thermal bridging (heat loss through the structure) and also saves lumber. The instructors appreciated that these state of the art buildings were close enough to the course venue; therefore, classroom discussion was reinforced with real world examples. “
-Peter Amerongen, Habitat Studio
Right at Home Housing Society is excited about the future of affordable housing options. We are grateful to Habitat Studio for taking the initiative to include our community members and showcase a relatively new design. Future tenants will benefit with our net zero energy model. We also hope to become pioneers for affordable housing developments in Edmonton.
