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Surrealplaces said:
Interesting video on the passive house. I'm not surprised that proper insulation, etc... can support the heating of a house. Even in my older drafty house, with older windows, the house warms a lot just from the sun. The two rooms where we have computers and other electronic equipment tend to get too hot actually. One of those rooms is in the room in the basement and has some servers and other IT gear. It's gets heated fairly easily if the door to the room is closed.
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It's really amazing how seemingly small things make a huge difference. Direct sun with thoughtfully located windows that actually consider the fact the sun's angle changes throughout the year makes an enormous difference on their own. Add in all the other layers of insulation, thermal bridging, sharing a wall with another property etc. and it's a completely different home with a vastly reduced energy profile.

Same applies for gardening and outdoor spaces. Thoughtful location of wind-breaks, consideration for windows and reflected light extend patio season and growing season by several months in many situations even in Calgary's climates. Lots of yards could probably grow plants a several growing zones further south with the slightest bit of attention to this type of thing.
 
BellaArt said:
I know we've posted on this previously (and I apologize for the self promotion), but Passive House multi-family is finally coming to Calgary! Altadore specifically. It's shocking how difficult this approval was considering we're in a "climate emergency" as a city, but here we are... In any case, hope nobody minds us sharing. We'd love your feedback on the final building. June construction is our target.


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Incredible news - you're doing God's work as far as I'm concerned, and the project is beautiful. Industry isn't adapting passive standards because of build cost, but build cost won't improve until someone advances that new frontier. Chicken and egg problem. Tesla solved this through high-cost, low-volume proof of concept based product (Roadster) and shifted over time to low-cost, high-volume production (Model 3) as the technology could scale. Only way to increase adaptation that I've found - it takes talented and brave people to push that envelope, so I tip my hat.

Are you pursuing certification, or is it just performance equivalent? For sale or PBR? Do you have socials/website for folks to follow along?
 
bgarneau said:
Incredible news - you're doing God's work as far as I'm concerned, and the project is beautiful. Industry isn't adapting passive standards because of build cost, but build cost won't improve until someone advances that new frontier. Chicken and egg problem. Tesla solved this through high-cost, low-volume proof of concept based product (Roadster) and shifted over time to low-cost, high-volume production (Model 3) as the technology could scale. Only way to increase adaptation that I've found - it takes talented and brave people to push that envelope, so I tip my hat.

Are you pursuing certification, or is it just performance equivalent? For sale or PBR? Do you have socials/website for folks to follow along?
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We are actually pursuing certification. We're fortunate that our architect is also the prez of Passive House Alberta and this is his/our dream here in town.

We are selling them and will have a website, youtube, etc etc. For now, the best place is probably our insta: instagram.com/belladevelopments

Surreal --- the bigger challenge with passive in Calgary is cooling, not heating. Go figure.
 
A couple more infill projects similar to the Eaglecrest ones we have seen recently have their land uses going to CPC next week, both in Mount Pleasant.
7.2.3, located at 424 17th Ave NW: Report, Background Info, Applicant Submission, CA letter (opposition), Proposed DC bylaw, DP Summary
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7.2.4, located at 725 and 729 20th Avenue NW (bit bigger scale, as it is two lots): Report, Background, Applicant Submission, CA letter (opposition), Proposed DC bylaw, DP Summary
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In contrast to those designs that we have been seeing a lot of recently, another 5-unit infill application has their land use going to CPC next week as well, however it does not appear to have the basement/micro-suites, so is actually 5 units, not what would equate to 10. However, I am not sure if the basement suites could be added in after the fact (honestly, haven't read all materials in detail).
7.2.2, located in Highland Park at 3404 3rd Street NW: Report, Background, DP Summary, CA Letter
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What appears to be high-quality bicycle storage that imagines a world in which people actually have their bikes accessible for daily use - rather than tucked into an awkward storage area or bicycle room. Each of the larger unit also has this feature. Perfect ✅

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These infill formats are awesome to see. I am happy so many of them appear to be coming all over the place. They are real density and vibrancy builders while giving many family sized options that are relatively affordable - at least compared to all the SFH in the same area which are both too expensive and often obsoletely designed to what families really need today.

Over time the scale of these infill developments is a material change in the housing stock which will help long-run affordability and give real diversity in lifestyle choice in tons of areas. Plus the secondary suites built-in from day one offer another option in many areas where the words rental, small, and affordable were non-existent in any housing option.

Keep it up! We need a hundreds of these developments everywhere!
 
CBBarnett said:
What appears to be high-quality bicycle storage that imagines a world in which people actually have their bikes accessible for daily use - rather than tucked into an awkward storage area or bicycle room. Each of the larger unit also has this feature. Perfect ✅

View attachment 381029

These infill formats are awesome to see. I am happy so many of them appear to be coming all over the place. They are real density and vibrancy builders while giving many family sized options that are relatively affordable - at least compared to all the SFH in the same area which are both too expensive and often obsoletely designed to what families really need today.

Over time the scale of these infill developments is a material change in the housing stock which will help long-run affordability and give real diversity in lifestyle choice in tons of areas. Plus the secondary suites built-in from day one offer another option in many areas where the words rental, small, and affordable were non-existent in any housing option.

Keep it up! We need a hundreds of these developments everywhere!
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Now we just need a dedicated bike lane on 20th Ave, lower speed limit to 40k, and add on-street parking on 4th between 16th Ave and 22nd Ave where the road already narrows to single lane. Heck there should be a dedicated bike lane on 4th all the way to the Superstore - to think a direct route for bikers where you don't have a bunch of stop signs and roundabouts like on 2nd that actually goes past lots of places people would want to stop and spend money at.
 
CBBarnett said:
All this is solved by removing parking requirements for development (1) and charging proper, market rate for using street parking (2). Add some additional nuance to round out any kinks (if you have off-street parking already, you can't park on the street at all etc.)

In such a scenario, developers are free to build as much parking as they think their future residents want, car owners are free to rent as much car storage from the public as they want.

If you are tired of renting parking from the public street or the price gets too high for you due to market factors, you are welcome to change modes of transportation to something more affordable or build an off-street stall for yourself at whatever cost that is.
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Couldn't agree more...on the nuance side I think it could be as simple as incremental cost increases for each vehicle beyond the 'base' for each residence. It would also be nice to see some cost modifiers based on vehicle length...its asinine that a 106 inch smart car is charged the same as a 254 inch F350.

Guest parking always throws a wrench into this, but managing enforcement hours can mitigate most of that.

Of course this topic is a political football so we'll never see a common sense approach, no matter how much sense it makes (especially financially). This will also be a big lever to incentivize the future utopian ideas of car sharing.
 
Col du Edworthy said:
Now we just need a dedicated bike lane on 20th Ave, lower speed limit to 40k, and add on-street parking on 4th between 16th Ave and 22nd Ave where the road already narrows to single lane. Heck there should be a dedicated bike lane on 4th all the way to the Superstore - to think a direct route for bikers where you don't have a bunch of stop signs and roundabouts like on 2nd that actually goes past lots of places people would want to stop and spend money at.
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Agreed. The 2nd street route is not really that effective for the most part. It's nice that there are a couple of sections blocked for vehicle traffic, but really it's not a proper bike trail, especially since it cuts off at 32nd ave. Would be so nice to have a dedicated cycle lane along 4th.
 
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