If you build it, they will come. At least that’s what Lauren Baldwin and Kevin Henshaw are hoping. The couple recently put the finishing touches on their 1,200 square foot “green” home in Hospital Hill and on Sunday (Oct. 26) the pair will put out their welcome mat for anyone who wants to take a peek into the consciously crafted, two-storey house.
The open house of sorts is part of Squamish CAN’s Eco Home Hop taking place from noon until 4 p.m. The brainchild of Baldwin, the tour features five of Squamish’s most ecological and energy efficient homes, and has been in the works for over two years – well before the couple ever broke ground.
“Squamish as a community is growing and so is the environmental conscience here,” said Baldwin, who spent more than two years to find a multi-lot property in the quiet neighbourhood that owners would be willing to divide. “Our hope is that by getting together to showcase our homes we can strengthen the dialogue on innovative design and help propel residents, future builders and developers towards a more sustainable model of construction and design in Squamish.
“This is something we planned to do from the outset of our project, and featuring our home on a green home tour is a benefit in the LEED rating system as well,” the engineer-turned-Waldorf-schoolteacher said, explaining that the LEED is a rating system recognized as the international mark of excellence for green building in 150 countries.
Baldwin’s goal all along has been to build a home that meets the criteria of the Canada Green Building Council which, since 2004, has certified over 1,800 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) buildings in Canada and registered over 5,000 – the second highest number in the world, according to the council’s website.
LEED works because it recognizes that sustainability should be at the heart of all buildings – in their design, construction and operation, states the website.
“We built a small, energy-efficient home with great indoor air quality and through co-operation with our builder we’re aiming to achieve LEED platinum certification,” said Baldwin with obvious exhilaration. “As far as we know, there is only one other LEED home here in Squamish with a gold level certification.”
Henshaw agrees.
“You don’t get this sort of opportunity very often. It’s kind of a one-off,” the civil engineer described. “You want to do it right, make it a special thing, but the LEED certification sort of puts the cherry on top. It’s a special thing.”
Before embarking on their home design and build journey, Baldwin and Henshaw toured a number of custom-built homes in B.C. and Alberta.
“We met some great folks and learned a lot of tips and tricks from taking in open houses, eco home tours and the Vancouver Laneway House Tour. We also met some folks in Squamish who had taken on their own green builds and were open to the idea of participating in a tour too,” she said.
Architect James Tuer of JWT Architecture and Planning said working with Baldwin and Henshaw was inspiring.
“These are the pioneers that will show the community that the first step down the path to sustainability is how to do more with less,“ he said.
At just over 1,200 square feet, space is a premium and every area had to be considered for multiple use. Energy efficiency was achieved through thickened walls (eight inches), insulation choice, an air to water heat pump for heating, HVAC and window design to maximize passive systems. Materials where chosen based on environmental qualities such as having non-volatile compounds, being locally sourced to reduce the transportation carbon footprint and having some level of recycled content.
“It’s an overall ethical, earth-sustainability choice for both of us,” explained Henshaw. “The amount of waste that goes on in the building industry isn’t right. This build was designed to minimize that. It’s not just energy efficient, we used materials that would minimize waste directly, used local materials to reduce transportation – our posts and beams came directly from Squamish Valley, the concrete is local, the windows came from Kamloops. Most, but not all, of our base materials were sourced within 800 kilometres.”
It took one year to source a builder, find their preferred architect and create drawings and line up the contractors. It took another year to build, but the couple plans to live in it for a lifetime.
“We want to be able to live here into our retirement,” said Baldwin, who said she’s been aware of her ecological footprint from a young age. “In the meantime I can walk to work, we can both walk downtown if we choose, and grow food in our yard. It’s the sustainability that we were after.
“Ultimately we’re concerned about the planet. We want to leave enough for the next generation and don’t want to take up more than we need.”
While a little bit nervous about opening the couple’s home to all of Squamish on Sunday, Baldwin said she is eagerly anticipating the event and the connection it will bring.
“I’m really looking forward to meeting more people with similar values and those who are on the same journey as us.”
