How will we live in the future? In houses that think for themselves? Well, maybe! This fascinating article from the Vancouver Sun describes a new house called EcoTerra, in Quebec, which uses a series of automated systems to adjust its own energy use - taking advantage of the outside environment and maximising energy efficiency (and lowering costs). Very clever. The article also outlines a number of other environmentally-sound construction projects in Canada, but what really attracts me to the EcoTerra demonstration house is that the public can tour it, to get ideas about how to conserve resources in their home NOW. It's another great example of innovation stimulating the public's imagination when it comes to the environment - and with very little government encouragement... (have we heard that before?).
Saturday, November 10, 2007
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3 comments:
I have been thinking about eco show homes for a few weeks now... also thinking about an initiative to create open-source modular housing designs that can be used as a blue-print for self-builders in the UK... the tangents are too numerous to type here! There are lots of funds around at the moment for green social enterprise initiatives...
My old head of course at uni used to talk about people literally growing their own houses (Roy Ascott), and in the days of carbon threat - that idea has never been more appealing!
I think too much, and don''t do enough.
The intelligent house sounds like a great advance. A double hit: labour saving and energy saving. Such innovations are often bedevilled by the fact that installation costs take years to recoup from the economies they bring – but this could well be offset if they are part of the original construction.
An earlier eco-friendly building is the underground house in Cumberland (http://www.theundergroundhouse.org.uk/) which is build into the side of a disused quarry. Of course this is basic eco friendliness, lacking the sophistications of EcoTerra. I’m sure before long the latter will include options to auto-clean the oven and put the cat out. The Chinese version would have to be programmed to attend to the toilet seat, as appropriate.
Harry - I like the 'house that puts the cat out' concept. Very Wallace and Gromit. E
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