Recently in social media the #missingmiddle has become more popular. I must be old because this missing middle was just called “poor planning” when I was in university. What it means is that Toronto and likely many other locations have lots of high rise residential buildings and right behind them single family homes. The missing middle represents the mid density multifamily residential lining our transit routes. These are 5-7 storey buildings with retail at the bottom. T

Image from : 2017 ,Chris Magwood , How I Got Run Over by the Carbon Elephant…or Buildings as This chart shows total carbon emissions created when building a 100m2 homes. Amounts of carbon are taken from The ICE2 database and the ECN Phyllis 2 database. The first bar graph shows code minimum building using common materials: concrete foundation - xps foam insulation –vinyl siding -asphalt shingles The second graph also shows a code minimum building that uses lower carbon mater

Carbon sequestration in existing buildings could save the world

RETHINKING THE BUILDING STOCK – IT’S A CARBON THING What are the steps toward a construction industry that contribute to lowering greenhouse gasses? The problem is multi-pronged and interconnects outside the parameters of the traditional building industry. This 6 part series is my broad mapping of where clean energy, natural materials and designing using natural systems could become the path to a more sustainable future. RENEWABLE ENERGY GRID – THE BIG PICTURE With a dirty