Vancouver's eco-friendly home

 All the new stadiums built, aspired for high LEED certification and there was even a club powered by the dancers’ footsteps.

Not surprisingly, a display home was built, which was part of a commitment to make all housing in Vancouver conscious of the carbon footprints they left behind. This sustainable ‘Laneway House,’ moved to its permanent home from its Olympic Home and welcomed its first tenants Ura Jones and Mike Higgins in the first week of March.

The house was designed and built entirely in Vancouver and attempts to incorporate environmentally friendly practices into everyday life.  West House, as it is called has Solar Panels, an electric-car charger and a kitchen light display that varies with water-use. The 600 square feet (about 56 sq m) house has an open main floor, an artistic Loft Bedroom, and a single-car garage. Lyn Bartram and Robert Woodbury, who are professors at the local Simon Fraser University (SFU) thought up this idea in conjunction with David Ramslie who is the city of Vancouver’s Sustainable Development Program Manager. The sustainability will be ensured by monitoring the “aware living interface system,” designed by SFU Researchers and Students.  Panels display in real-time how much electricity, gas, and water are used. This allows residents to fine-tune their usage.  A 600-square-feet house, is by Vancouver Standards, indeed very tiny but Ura and Mike remain unfazed.