SIREWALL was developed from one of the oldest building techniques used by man – rammed earth. It is an insulated; rebar reinforced upgrade to a 9 000 year old technique. Instead of using wood frame, it uses a careful balance of clay, sand, aggregate and a touch of concrete to produce a healthy, eco-friendly and earthequake resistant construction while also providing an aesthetically pleasing appearance.

The ease at which SIREWALL can achieve environmental comfort is surprising – its high thermal mass means that temperature fluctuations are rare. The products used are non-organic so they are naturally resistant to rot, mould and pests.

It has recently been used in the VanDusen Botanical Garden as the predominant structure to the visitor centre. It’s an amazing structure that uses natural lighting, stacked ventilation and a beautifully organic design to really ear-mark Vancouver’s entry into the new ‘Green’ Era.

With environmental concerns spreading and resources dwindling – is it worth sacrificing our future for an immediate comfort? What was the Native American saying?… we don’t inherit from our parents but borrow from our children! Maybe it’s worth spending that little, for well, that little more.

Come and talk to us, and SIREWALL and Synthesis may well be able to design you the first SIREWALL dwelling on the North Shore or even in Vancouver – ‘Green’ design is not the future, it’s here now!

In Vancouver, we have possibly the best natural environment in the whole world. From the cool summer breeze to the mild winter rain; we really have all these benefits for free. We should take advantage of this and embrace our outdoors.

There are so many different ways of creating outdoor living spaces, including patios, pergolas, trellises, gazebos, balconies and sundecks. The covered sundecks, however, are my favourite. They provide everything we need for the West Coast outdoor living. They shed the rain in winter; block the harsh sunlight in summer. They are fairly simple to construct and are versatile; they can be designed to blend with many different architectural styles. They can be built on concrete patios or wood framed sundecks.

In the summer, the covered provide us with a cool, shaded area, and allow us to feel the cool ocean breeze. They can become the most usable and enjoyable space of the whole house by bringing the outside in and the inside out. Built-in kitchens, BBQs, beverage fridges and sound systems are excellent features and bring the focus outside.  Select outdoor furiture can make the covered deck area versatile and comfortable.

When the weather turns cold and wet, we can still enjoy the covered deck, as long as they are equipped with outdoor heating. Grab a blanket and your favourite spot on the outdoor furniture in front of a fire. Outdoor fireplaces, fire pits and outdoor heaters make them warm and cozy. The addition of a T-bar skylights can bring in natural light even on the darkest of rainy Vancouver days. The scent of fresh rain water in the air always smells nice, too.

Living in Vancouver, the most liveable city in the world, is fantastic. Let’s spend more time outside and enjoy the luxury.

My past experience in Russian residential design was based primarily on houses built from brick, concrete block, and log wood. During that time I had a general knowledge of wood frame construction from my University studies. I had never met a client who wanted to build their residence in wood frame, as I think they associated it with cheap wood frame technologies used mostly in construction of poor insulated summer homes in the past Soviet period. Also in the mentality of Russian clients, their house has to be solid, strong and durable like a castle; therefore I did not have a chance to design any wood frame houses.

Since I moved to Canada five years ago, I have been exploring all the advantages of wood frame construction. It is more economical and timeless compared to other building types; it does not require a massive foundation, houses are more energy efficient (an 8″ thick insulated wall is equal to a 3′-0″ brick wall) and one of my favourites is the flexibility of the design and structural solutions, as well as the ability for transformation.

Wood frame construction allows us to transform existing houses into an absolutely different home suited for your current lifestyle, because of the freedom in the design. Keeping the same footprint, the house can be enlarged, stretched, built up, or have its character changed through the use of new materials or creating exterior details that is expressive of the type of home one desires. Because each house is an unique as its owner, I found that there are endless amounts of housing types and styles, as well as many ways to change these homes.

To illustrate one of the ways where the new house meets old:

Pringle Residence Before

One of our current clients, Nicole and Darren Pringle (owners of Kingdom Builders) wanted to transform their existing house by adding an upper story master suite with a large roof deck, office and mudroom, creating an open plan for the living space and giving a new modern face to their non-character house. All the design challenges above were effectively solved and the house had a new contemporary appearance with new roof, new volume and exterior materials, with all of the design decisions based on the existing structure and footprint. Subsequently, once the structural test was completed, a weakness in the existing foundation was discovered, therefore Nicole and Darren decided to tear the house down and rebuild it, but… keeping the same design. I was quite impressed by their decision because even though we had the ability to change the layout of the footprint, there was nothing in the design they wanted to change.

When the client feels comfortable and happy with the design we have accomplished that equates to a successful transformation.

Proposed Pringle Residence

I am quite sure that if we were to design this house as new, it would be quite different from the current design, but the great thing is that the house we call new, actually has an old story, a soul, and years of memories, creating it’s own unique character.

While settling into Synthesis I have been given a project concerning the use of Built Green environmental rating system which is the first of the ‘green’ designed buildings that Synthesis has worked on. This has given me opportunity to explore green design in real life.

During university work, you are given a description of the project and the building’s function – the budget was a much as you like within limits, so no gold toilet. While working on the project, I have been contemplating the cost and effort involved in the construction of an ‘eco’ building. The idea that a building requires a budget is not new news but still a daunting idea when you consider that it is someone else’s hard-earned money. Quite different to university where you only waste your own time and little money is used except for those ‘required’ nights out.

At university, creating an acceptable building is simple; you make what you like while abiding with the criteria outlined in the brief. In a sense, this is very similar to what we have to do now – one difference is that the client is a paying customer and is more inclined to care about what they will be living in rather than giving you 65% on the project.

A daunting task about working in Synthesis is meeting clients, the consultants and individuals who may represent the client. If you present something at university it is generally to your colleagues or lecturers who you know fairly well. University will never teach you the complexities of having to present something to someone who is extremely knowledgeable in their area (consultants and contractors) nor will it teach you the complexities of a human relationship when it comes to a home (client). The contractors and consultants are technically intelligent but the clients are always correct. It is very rare you get both working together but on those occasions, meetings go without incident – otherwise, as the architect, we generally rile things up. Not on purpose mind you, but very much unintentionally. We just know we’re correct.

For the first time in the past four to five years, I am the least experienced CAD technician around the building and almost feel useless in my provision of help. My slight solace is my ability to complete various requests so as to provide Kevin with bits of information here and there. At university, the practical part was always the ‘easy/fun’ part – it gave you the opportunity to test your knowledge without constraints while creating something that you considered pleasing. I never thought that I would be satisfied with doing the research part again.

While working, you never really think about what you used to do and what you should be doing: you just do it. There will always be a difference between academics and the real world – the only way to get into it is to plod along and make yourself available for whatever work comes your way.

While having clients being proactive about green design solutions is getting more mainstream, many municipalities are now offering green pilot programmes mandating that we conform to certain “green” standards when designing certain homes. The District of North Vancouver now requires a minimum ‘Energuide’ rating of 80 (out of a possible 100) facilitated through the Built Green Canada program on certain, selected projects. I must admit, the first time I heard of Built Green Canada was when I read a list of requirements for a subdivision project we were working on. Thankfully our progressive clients embraced the concept and gave us carte blanche to reach a very optimistic goal of Energuide 88, which  will be no small feat. As incentive for residents to strive for a higher than minimum energuide rating, the brain trust at the DNV has offered FSR (additional floor space) bonuses, which are proportionately increased to higher the energuide ratings. While the bonuses are quite conservative, it is a great start to help their tax base create more energy efficient homes.

Homes today (at least on the North Shore) don’t necessarily warrant a higher selling price with a high energuide rating today, but as it becomes more mainstream, I would not be surprised to see the Energuide rating listed as a key attribute when selling a house right below (or above) 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, on a 15 000 square foot lot.

It is the wave of the future.

Ride the wave!