Episode 142: The Benefits of Building a Passive House with Chris Ballard of Passive House Canada3/29/2021
Chris Ballard from Passive House Canada joins Casey Grey for an interview on episode 142 of The Conscious Builder Podcast.
We discuss the current climate crisis, the future of new builds and making existing properties more energy efficient, building to the Passive House standard to reduce energy and environmental impact, and what our role as individuals is in supporting this movement. Chris Ballard has a history of supporting environmental and land use causes, most recently as the Ontario’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change implementing the government’s plan for a clean environment and a sustainable economy. He also served as the Minister of Housing and the Minister responsible for Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy and Member of the Treasury Board. Chris is a past Executive Director of the 60,000 member Consumers’ Association of Canada (Ontario) and a founding board member of the Consumers Council of Canada. His leadership in journalism, communications and public affairs includes terms as President and Board member of the Public Affairs Association of Canada. 
Did you know that 500 million tons of construction and demolition debris is generated annually in the US? Did you know that each year 12.2 million tons of furniture and furnishings end up in landfills?
Those are big numbers! The good news is that the Good Future Design Alliance is developing a solution. Founder, Katie Storey, joins us today for an interview to give us more information. In this conversation we talk about making the shift to a career you love no matter what stage of life you are in, the amount of waste in the design and building industry, the GFDA's mission to reduce waste, and the impacts if we don't change. 
Martin Thornell is a woodworker and one of the co-owners at the Ottawa City Woodshop, a community woodshop located in downtown Ottawa.
Martin shares ways that you can get into woodworking with minimal costs, talks about the programs for all levels at the Ottawa City Woodshop, and shares how he ended up with OCW coming from a different industry. We hope this episode inspires you to try woodworking, to check out their programs, or if you’re in a different city to check out woodshops in your area! 
Hobbyist, skateboarder and builder Andrew Szeto is from Ottawa and he builds things with recycled skateboards. He recently built his first structure (an A Frame in Quebec) and put on youtube. To date it's getting close to about 2 million views! Andrew shares where his inspiration came from for this project with Casey.
Architect Chris Straka joins Casey for a conversation on how we are changing the way we view our personal spaces and work spaces as circumstances have changed over the past few months.
Chris is the President of VERT plan.design.build and has collaborated on many projects with The Conscious Builder. VERT specializes in the creation of custom homes, provides planning approvals, architectural design and construction management services. Chris holds a Masters Degree in Environmental Design from the University of Calgary, which complements his undergraduate degrees in Urban Geography, Education, and Outdoor Recreation Parks and Tourism. Chris has been a member of the Ontario College of Teachers, and is currently a member of the Canadian Institute of Planners. 
Casey Grey interviews Abby Kinney, the co-host of the Upzoned podcast produced by Strong Towns, an international movement dedicated towards making communities across the United States and Canada financially strong and resilient. During her regular work days Abby is an urban design and planning consultant at Gould Evans Studio for City Design in Kansas City, Missouri.
Steven is an expert in the Exterior Home Remodelling Industry. He currently owns and operates Smart Exteriors LLC from his hometown in Kansas City.
Casey is joined by Christine Williamson, creator of the popular Instagram page @BuildingScienceFightClub, an educational project that teaches architects about building science and construction. They discuss why building assemblies is important, finding the sweet spot for owners, the true meaning of "green", and how Christine's popular Instagram page came to be.
Christine Williamson has spent her career in building science forensics, discovering why buildings fail, and working with owners, architects, and builders to remedy the problems. Her new construction consulting helps architects use building science not only to mitigate risk of failure, but also to help them make their projects as energy efficient as they are beautiful. She graduated from Princeton University and studied at Boston Architectural College before completing her Master's of Architecture at NewSchool of Architecture + Design. She is the chair of ASHRAE Technical Committee 1.12, Moisture Management in Buildings. 
In 2017, the Endeavour Centre set out to make a prototype home that would meet several key criteria. First the building needed to be completely modular, able to be constructed on site in less than a week and also be able to taken apart and reassembled multiple time. Secondly, the building needed to have a zero carbon footprint, contain zero toxins and produce zero waste. Casey Grey is joined by Chris Magwood from the Endeavour Centre and Cheryl Atkinson, Architect and Associate Professor of Architectural Science at Ryerson University in Toronto. Together, along with the help of some students, they made this project a reality.
EPISODE LINKS
Instagram: @endeavour_centre Endeavour Centre on LinkedIn Builders For Climate Action Zero House Photos Cheryl Atkinson - Architectural Science Chris Magwood 
Greg Labbé joins Casey from the comfort of his 110 year old home in Toronto where he is in self quarantine with his family. They discuss planning for efficiency, adapting to new processes, Greg's work, and more.
Since 2017, Greg has worked as the Lab Manager for the Graduate Program in Building Science at Ryerson University. He mainly works with students who already have degrees and work experience on their path to either a Master's of PhD degree. Greg's work consists mostly in mentoring students with practical questions about field testing buildings, some tutorials on how to use testing equipment and conduct specific ASTM standard test methods. For students doing physical research, he helps them procure, design, assemble and maintain their testing apparatus.
EPISODE LINKS
Instagram: @ryersondas
Twitter: RyersonDas Ryerson Youtube Ryerson Building Science Program Ryerson Women's Shelter Project |
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