Edmonton Architecture | Net Zero Home

{3rd May 2013}

All our clients find out that FO Photography is a Photography business with the aspiration to have the lowest possible carbon footprint. Adrian & I struggle with how to express this on our website without sounding like we’re tree-hugging over do-gooders. The design of our website and branding really incorporated our environmentally-friendly ideas as our Designer, Melissa Love, can confirm. A few of the ways that we “practice what we preach” include our choice of a hybrid car and public chariots (AKA public transport) as main modes of transport, electronic and completely legal Contract and correspondences (don’t worry, we still send lovely sustainable or recycled paper cards to friends, family & Clients), our online delivery of all our clients’ images instead of CDs or USBs. We’re working on ensuring that a larger percentage of what we eat & drink is from local sustainable sources & free range animals. Our biggest dream is to live in a carbon neutral house, also known as Net Zero Home, here in Canada.

So when we found out that 2 of our friends had designed & built such a home, we were so excited to go and check it out. Mike, who works for Manasc Isaac Architects, and Juliana, a Geo-Environmental Engineer, were just as thrilled to see their home from another person’s perspective. Manasc Isaac Architects is a company that “remains at the forefront of this ambitious global architecture and building initiative to reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from buildings through the design of new and renovation of existing buildings” and boy, did I see this so clearly myself in Juliana & Mike’s home.

This home includes reclaimed wooden floor boards as ceilings, beautiful re-upholstered antique furniture, re-purposed (previously unwanted by others) items, more solar panels than you could shake a stick at as even the garage roof has solar panels on it, a reduction in lighting fixtures needed due to structural openings in the main floor to illuminate the basement, grey water harvesting system, stunning joinery on all the woodwork (who knew you could glue wood together in such intricate zigzag patterns?!), wood frame for the whole building and many more features that Juliana & Mike would be best placed to explain.

 

Thanks Juliana & Mike for a wonderful afternoon!