Vert Design

'Passive house' movement could slash energy costs
CTV . February 27, 2011

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Passive House Duplex In Canada A First
Earth Techling . February 20, 2011

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The Green Issue: Not So Passive
Ottawa Citizen . February 19, 2011

"In mid-December, Christopher Straka noticed a fuse for the heating system in his recently completed New Edinburgh home had blown. He forgot to replace it until his fiancée finally asked if he’d lowered the thermostat. That was three days after the heating system had shut down."

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Passive technology gaining acceptance
Journal of Commerce . February 14, 2011

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Point of clarification related to this article:
The certified "passive haus" in Whistler BC was certified by the Passivehaus Institute in Germany under the classification of Leisure Facility. The Whistler building is not a house and was built using primarily Austrian building materials. The Rideau Residences is Canada's first certified Passive House - designed in Canada, built using North American materials and mechanical systems, and used as home.

Canada’s First Passive House
Spaces Places and Faces . CKCU 93.1 FM . February 10, 2011

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Ottawa house gets first “passive home” approval
Ottawa Sun . February 5, 2011

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Payer 210 $ de chauffage par année, ça vous intéresse?
protegez-vous.ca . 3 février 2011

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Canada's First Residential Passivhaus Building
GreenBuildingAdvisor.com . February 1, 2011

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Canada's First Certified Passive House
Light House Newsletter . February 2011

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Passive House . A tour of Canada's first certified Passive House
All In A Day . CBC Ottawa . January 31, 2011

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Ottawa is Home to Canada's First Passive Haus House
Construction Digital . January 28, 2011

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Low-Energy Homes Mean Thousands of New Jobs
The Tyee . January 27, 2011

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Point of clarification related to this article:
The certified "passive haus" in Whistler BC was certified by the Passivehaus Institute in Germany under the classification of Leisure Facility. The Whistler building is not a house and was built using primarily Austrian building materials. The Rideau Residences is Canada's first certified Passive House - designed in Canada, built using North American materials and mechanical systems, and used as home.

Bootup: Canada's first 'passive' House
FPTechDesk (Financial Post blog) . January 26, 2011

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Baby It's cold outside, but not in Canada's first Certified Passive House
market2world Blog . January 25, 2011

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Homesol Building Solutions certifies Canada's first Passive House
International Passive House Magazine IPHM . January 25, 2011

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"Changing Landscape"
New Edinburgh News Ottawa . October, 2010

"Changing Landscape, Crichton St. 2010” - Sketch of project at 279 - 279A Crichton Street.

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"New Green Developments in the Burgh"
New Edinburgh News Ottawa . October, 2009

"Chris Straka is about to embark on the construction of the first officially LEED certified home in the neighbourhood, and among the first in the City to be certified at the LEED Platinum level”

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"Green space goes to work"
Centretown News Ottawa . October 2, 2009

"We’ve seen a significant uptake of the green building attitude... I’d be surprised if any developer in the city today isn’t considering building in a greener way.”

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"Local, green mindset driving home renos"
Metro News Ottawa . March 25, 2009

“People are interested in greener futures,” said Straka. “Green design for individual tastes with communal benefits.”

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"Green Design"
CKCU 93.1 FM . January 15, 2009

Radio inteveiw by David Yazbeck, host of CKCU's Thursday morning show Special Blend.

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"Greening Your House"
Retirement News Today . November 1, 2008

"From the beginning, the two green designers made the commitment to making tomorrow better without compromising the quality of life today. In other words, they made a commitment to sustainable living. They aim at transforming spaces into places that help people better understand themselves and the environment around them."

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"Dazed and Confused"
Ottawa Citizen . August 9 2008

"...the push is now on for not just greener buildings, but more eco-conscious materials. Problem is, there are so many environmental certifications... that the consumer is frequently left dazed and confused."

"Straka is awaiting the arrival of the Pharos Project certification [that] will evaluate all aspects of a product - from environmental to social impacts... It may turn out to be the best companion to LEED... whose stamp of approval is based on an overall environmental evaluation of construction projects."

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"Free: A Good Home"
CBC News . August 7 2008

We are proud of our clients' decison to pursue their "ultimate recycling project":

"Ashley Mulroney's two-storey, three bedroom Ottawa house isn't for sale — she's giving it away for free. "I'd like to call it my ultimate recycling project. I'd like to see the house get another chance," said Mulroney, who is holding an open house in the Manor Park neighbourhood on Sunday."

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"EVDS Grads Go Green In Ottawa"
archE . July 31 2008

"Straka says Vert Design designs places more than spaces - places that are relevant to individuals. ...Straka and Langevin prefer to work on spaces with the people that inhabit them, as opposed to skyscrapers or airports. They seek to enhance the space not only for the individual, but also for the collective community. And although Vert Design homes include such features as locally-sourced timber, high-efficiency in-floor heating systems and low maintenance landscape design, to Straka and Langevin it is about building more than a green home."

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"A Green House in the Burgh"
New Edinburgh News . April 1 2008

"We hired Vert Design, a green architectural design and planning firm, to design our new home. Because our lot falls within NE's Heritage Conservation District they faced the creative challenge of designing a compact infill home that respects the scale and character of houses in the neighbourhood, while still giviing us adequate floorspace, and integrating modern, efficient and sustainable building materials."

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"Le virage vert de la construction"
Le Droit . March 25 2008

"Patric Langevin et Christopher Straka ont fondé Vert design il y a deux ans. Respectivement architecte et urbaniste, les deux jeunes trentenaires développent des projets de nouvelles constructions et de rénovations écologiques."

"Ils estiment que de penser vert en construction peut se traduire par des augmentations de coût allant en moyenne de 10 % à 15 %. "Mais ces coûts sont amortis en 10 à 15 par les économies réalisées par la suite, notamment en énergie", s'empresse d'ajouter M. Straka."

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"Salon maison et jardins d’Ottawa"
Radio Canada - Le Téléjournal Ottawa/Gatineau . March 24 2008

Interviews featuring green exhibitors at the 2008 Ottawa Home & Garden show featuring Patric Langevin (Partner . VERT design).

(Click here to download the video segment in WMV format)

"Eco-conscious"
Ottawa Citizen . January 26 2008

..."One of the biggest factors in renovation is waste," says Patric Langevin, co-owner of Vert Design, an Ottawa green planning and design firm. "We include a set of notes on the drawings to help the contractor manage waste."

A current Vert Design project calls for an on-site wood chipper to turn lumber scraps into garden mulch.

Make sure your potential renovator factors environmentally responsible waste management costs into his estimate, adds Langevin. Otherwise, the bid to remain competitive might prompt him to ignore the eco-issue. ...

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"Greening One Building at a Time"
Ottawa Citizen . October 13 2007

Patric Langevin and Christopher Straka were driving south of the Greenbelt recently when they spotted a sign for a suburban community that Proclaimed "With Nature in Mind."

"We looked at each other," recalls Langevin, "and said, 'Too bad it's not in practice.'"...

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"Renovated Home Show"
Ottawa Citizen . September 15 2007

...To help wad through the many elements of green design and construction, Chris Straka of Vert Design (vertdesign.ca) will be offering a free one-hour seminar called Gree Design: A primer for the eco-curious and the eco-committed.

"Ultimately, people can do something to make their homes greener. We're going to outline some of the parameters to help them understand what green can mean to them," says Straka....

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"Painting the Town Green: Ottawa's Eco-Friendly Stores"
Trenz - Ottawa's Lifestyle Magazine . May 2007

...there is a growing community of entrepreneurs that provide sound options for people concerned about their carbon footprint...

...as long as stores like these are available in Ottawa, our environment just might be saved....

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