Nancy Morris introduced the speakers – both from Prairie Architects Inc.
Alara Matsyk, employed by Prairie Architects Inc since 2014, is the company’s Sustainable Buildings Coordinator. She has a Bachelor of Environmental Studies in Sustainable Building and LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design - the most widely-used green building rating system in the world, available for virtually all building, community, and home-project types) credentials in Building Design, Interior Design and Construction. Having been in the Green building industry for over 8 years, Alara is proud to be helping reduce carbon emissions and improve building occupant health while building on best practices of sustainable construction in Manitoba.
Laura Tyler (originally from the Maritimes, with an MBA from Ryerson in 2010 and a background in film studies), has made her mark on Manitoba as a volunteer for Manitoba Energy Justice Coalition and as Executive Director for Sustainable Building Manitoba.
The presentation began with a definition of “Green building” as described by the Canadian Green Building Council – the practice of designing, constructing and operating buildings to maximize occupant health and productivity, use fewer resources, reduce waste and negative environmental impacts, and decrease life cycle costs.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 67% of a building occupant’s health is affected by their physical and social environment and to a smaller extent by medical care, lifestyle and genetics. In addition, according to the 2018 Global Status Report, building construction and operations accounted for 36% of global final energy use and 40% of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2017. Given the impacts on human health, environment and climate change that buildings have, a case can be made for finding more sustainable methods for building design and construction.
Furthermore, the number of hot days (where the temperatures exceed 30°C) is expected to rise from 17 days in the period of 1976-2005 to 31 days in the period of 2021-2050, with serious repercussions in areas like agriculture and human health.
Although there are a number of different ways to quantify and verify sustainable development, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a 3rd Party Certification system that compares sustainable building initiatives globally at 4 levels – Platinum, Gold, Silver & Certified. There are more than 130 LEED Certified buildings in Manitoba.
There are several reasons for building “Green”
● Occupant health & well being
● Save money / economic
● Lower carbon footprint
● Climate change resiliency
● Embodied carbon / reduced environmental impact
● Durability
● Best management practices
There are advantages to building on previously developed sites - protecting green areas, reduced vehicle dependency when building near public transit and protected bike lanes, more green and pedestrian oriented spaces, reduced light pollution.
Sustainable building includes
- Water efficiency by planting species that are drought resistant, capturing rainwater, re-using greywater, treating blackwater, using low flow toilets, showers and sinks.
- Energy efficiency by using efficient systems and renewable energy sources
- Construction material efficiency by reusing materials from demolitions or from surrounding construction projects
- Improving occupant health and well-being by monitoring of outdoor air and increased ventilation, controlling tobacco smoke & e-cig use and using low-emitting paints, coatings, floor, ceiling, and wall materials, offering natural daylight and views of outdoor green spaces (flora, fauna & sky).
Sustainable Building Manitoba’s Top 10 Tips for Sustainability
- Minimize heating and cooling costs
- Conserve water through efficient plumbing fixtures
- Purchase efficient appliances
- Make use of local/recycled/sustainable materials
- Choose energy efficient lighting
- Make use of renewable energy
- Practice sustainable landscaping
- Choose efficient windows and doors
- Maximize air quality
- Install environmentally friendly roofing
Nancy asked about the cost of Sustainable Building compared with traditional building – answer was that it may be more expensive to begin with but there are savings in the long run. A discussion on geothermal heating appeared to suggest that early projects may have been technically deficient but that recent technology appears to be working well, as demonstrated by the geothermal system in Paul’s new home.
Paul thanked Alara and Laura and indicated that the club would be making a donation to ShelterBox in honour of their presentation.
