Excerpts <strong>from</strong> <strong>the</strong> ensuing discussion in <strong>The</strong> <strong>Tyee</strong>’s comment section:Resolving B.C.’s ongoing decades-old ‘leaky condosyndrome’ BESTposted by “ASKBiblitz.com” on April 1, 2011Taxpayers shouldn’t even LISTEN to <strong>the</strong>se selfappointedmo’feshnuls wax bafflegab on experimentalbuilding technologies when <strong>the</strong> truth is that B.C.architects/engineers/homebuilders cannot yet reliablykeep out <strong>the</strong> dribble of wea<strong>the</strong>r we get on <strong>the</strong> LeftCoast!Are <strong>the</strong>y paying you for <strong>the</strong>se stories, <strong>Tyee</strong>?It sure looks like it. No journalist with eyes to see<strong>the</strong> tarps still going <strong>up</strong> all over <strong>the</strong> Lower Mainlandwould accept anything <strong>the</strong> industry said at face value.<strong>The</strong> real story: WHY are 62 buyers at <strong>the</strong> experimental,green, sustainable Athlete’s Village/MillenniumWater joined in a class action to get <strong>the</strong> heck out of<strong>the</strong>ir condos?First, let’s stop <strong>the</strong> waste of resources and moneyon ‘repairing/reconstructing’ fundamentally flawedproduct. We need housing <strong>the</strong> meets CSA durabilityguidelines as a matter of law.To protect <strong>the</strong> environment and consumers, we shouldmake <strong>the</strong> construction of housing that fails before atleast 25 years a strict liability offence! At <strong>the</strong> moment<strong>the</strong>re is NO incentive to construct quality housing - nopenalty for infecting <strong>the</strong> environment with toxic, unstablegarbage still under tarps regardless of age. Newstuff leaks just like <strong>the</strong> old stuff <strong>from</strong> <strong>the</strong> ‘70s whenCanada on <strong>the</strong> advice of National Research Council(NRC) scientists enacted energy-saving provisions.How much energy have we wasted repairing experimentsintended to save energy?How long will we allow it to go on?And you are being generous at that!posted by “RickW” on April 1, 2011Quote:In Canada, <strong>the</strong> federal government policies aroundenergy efficiency and conservation have been spotty,at bestASKBiblitz: Excellent point! <strong>The</strong> condo tents are soubiquitous that no one sees <strong>the</strong>m anymore. It was as<strong>up</strong>erb PR move, getting <strong>the</strong> owners to shoulder <strong>the</strong>blame for <strong>the</strong> deficient construction - and getting <strong>the</strong>mto pay for <strong>the</strong> (temprorary) repairs as well!Don’t ya just love <strong>the</strong> free market!leaky condos aren’t <strong>the</strong> whole storyposted by “jnewcomb” on April 1, 2011While BC’s leaky condo crisis has certainly resultedin massive, multi-billion-dollar multiplication ofeconomic development, it isn’t exactly a poster-childfor good conservation. I think <strong>the</strong> Barrett Commissiontried to place all <strong>the</strong> blame on shoddy real estatedevelopers, builders, architects, and municipal inspectors.However, as bad as <strong>the</strong> leaky condo crisishas been for so many BCers who thought <strong>the</strong>y werebuying <strong>the</strong>ir retirement haven - and just got deeper indebt - residential energy conservation is much morethan that.If we can reduce electrical energy going into homes,<strong>the</strong> energy saved can be used for industry, export - oreven just to delay <strong>the</strong> need to build ano<strong>the</strong>r dam. If itsoil or natgas heating, BC will be reducing its greenhousegas emissions - thats good too.I don’t think that Bev Van Ruyven can easily respondbecause policies with such financial implications likeBC Hydro loans would probably have to be vetted byBC Utilities Commission first.80
CASE STUDY #8: <strong>The</strong> Okanagan College Centre of Excellencegreen<strong>from</strong><strong>the</strong><strong>ground</strong><strong>up</strong>Photo by Justin Langille<strong>The</strong> Okanagan College Centre of ExcellencePentictonCompleted: 2011Use: Trade school/laboratoryDistinction: Built for ‘Net-Zero’ impactPlucking heat and power out of <strong>the</strong> air, <strong>the</strong> Okanagan College Centre of Excellence in Sustainable BuildingTechnologies is vying with UBC’s CIRS to become Canada’s first certified ‘Living Building’. Already a ‘livinglaboratory’ for green building trades, <strong>the</strong> $27.6 million, 7,085-square-foot Penticton Centre features <strong>the</strong> largestarray of photovoltaic solar panels in Western Canada. Despite its sunny and (in summer) hot locale, it has no airconditioning;ra<strong>the</strong>r, it relies on operable windows to cool and ventilate, while ‘solar chimneys’ draw warm air<strong>up</strong> and out of <strong>the</strong> building. Those and o<strong>the</strong>r features meet <strong>the</strong> Living Building criterion of net-zero energy use.In a touch of its own though, <strong>the</strong> Centre’s mechanical and electrical systems are left exposed wherever possible,so its building-trade students can see how <strong>the</strong> technology works.81
Change language