“Swifter, higher, stronger” is the English translation for the original Olympic motto “Citius, Altius, Fortius,” which celebrates the relentless pursuit for improvement in human endeavours, particularly on the athletic field. Rating systems such as LEED recognize achievements in sustainable building. For 72 years the world’s fastest sprinters strove to break the 10-second barrier until 1968, when Jim Hines finally did so; but by 2012 in London seven men ran the final race in under 10 seconds.
“All building projects require passion and commitment from those involved to be successful, but with a sustainable building, these attributes are required in spades,” said Dewson. “Each and every one who participated in 27 Farnham Avenue held fast to their enthusiasm from the beginning to the end.”
The team included Kyle England, who was Dewson’s Team Leader, Eric Adelman and Matt Brooks of South Park Design Build, Philip Drader of Mindscape Innovations who was the Provider QAD, and Kyle Anders of Greenscape Building Consultants who was the Green Technology & Energy Rater.
The project was a 4500 square foot, six bedroom detached home and scored 96.5 LEED Canada for Homes points for Innovation and Design Process (10/11), Location & Linkages (10/10), Sustainable Sites (17/22), Water Efficiency (6/15), Energy & Atmosphere (25/38), Materials & Resources (14.5/16), Indoor Environment Quality
(12/21) and Awareness & Education (2/3).
In other words LED strip lighting; lots of skylights and big Loewen triple glazed operable windows, a reductive cooling system and six ton geothermal ground source system; 25 bifacial solar panels; a white roof; an energy recovery ventilator; HEPA air filtration, an ultra-insulated envelope with exterior walls and structural framing wrapped with polyisocyanurate foil panels to eliminate thermal bridges; window shim and joist cavities filled with spray foam from soy/vegetable oils and polyethylene from recycled plastic bottles; PIC joints, seams, fixture wells, filter housings, electrical and communication boxes and vent ducts all carefully taped and caulked; Energy Star appliances; no or low VOC paints and flooring; low flow plumbing and dual flush toilets; drip edges, sealing and extra membrane to control moisture and water flow; drought-tolerant native landscaping with no invasive species; a dry well and a permeable parking pad; 80% recycling of demolition waste; reclaimed brick, struts and joists; and more.
Congratulations to Bill Dewson and his team for their Olympian achievement with the first LEED Platinum residence in Toronto. A new benchmark has been set. Now let’s smash beyond it!
