Making an environmentally-friendly house a home
May 29, 2000 - A U of A experiment in sustainable living is well underway and ready for the next stage of developing a healthy and environmentally-friendly home. That's what a Congress 2000 audience heard Monday during a symposium on environmental studies.
"We're getting ready to start the first construction phase, which means reducing carbon dioxide emissions, but the house will continue to undergo refurbishment in the next two years," said Megan Strickfaden, an industrial design graduate student and kitchen designer of the Human Ecology Theme House.
"We wanted to synthesize good design and environmentally-sound materials in the house."
The Department of Human Ecology took over a three-bedroom house on Saskatchewan Drive more than a year ago, with plans to implement a sustainable and energy-efficient lifestyle. All materials used in the renovations are allergen- and toxin-free. Ideas include setting up an indoor worm composter and replacing grass with thyme so that no mowing or pesticides are required. Three students live in the home, amid recent renovations to the basement.
"We were striving to have no more than one bag of garbage leave the house in redoing the basement, so we reused the drywall and other materials and ended up having half a bag of garbage leave," said Strickfaden. "We were pretty excited about that."
Strickfaden is looking forward to starting work on the kitchen, which she says is the most important room in any house.
"The kitchen is always the centre of activity and a kitchen is where it's at," she said, adding one of the best features is a "flex counter," which can be used for eating, preparing meals or as a serving board.
The undergraduate students living in the home are receiving credit for their stay. Dr. Sandra Niessen created the project for her senior human ecology students, who will track the environmentally-friendly life and study the holistic approach to sustainable living.
Workshops will also be held throughout the summer to give the community a chance to visit the home, which was originally built in the 1920s.
"There is a disconnection between the people and this process, so in these open workshops the community can come and learn and have a better understanding," said Strickfaden. "It's not only exciting for us but for the community as well."
