Planet Architect Unplugged

I admire people who are quietly gifted and who put into practice the arts and sciences without questioning the superiority of the one over the other. We cannot be all Leonardo de Vinci or his archetypes; nevertheless, we can envy him for his rare gift of intuition and the use of space.

For some, when they think of the illustrious Florentine, their reflection limits itself to The Mona Lisa, The Last Supper and Vitruvian Man whom we have painfully seen parodied ad nauseam in sleazy restaurants and your aunt’s living room. Far from representing the tremendous scale of de Vinci’s genius, its multidisciplinary approach bequeathed us an immeasurable wealth. He was also known to buy caged birds just to release them. We also say that he would have lived with extraterrestrials and that he was vegetarian. All this to say, that these details have nothing to do with architecture, but I lingered because it is the image which I had of the architect. One of the Vinci inheritors who mastered the art and the science to build, while freeing caged ideas, and living on a different asteroid than ours something akin to Saint-Exupéry’s Little Prince standing on his planet. You must admit, that is quite an organic approach. It would be necessary to add also that physically, I caricatured architects as Andy Warhol clones dressed in black. I had also convinced myself  that only the well-to-do could buy themselves an architect because it is silly spending money for someone else’s take on what kind of house you should have. This is a myth. Yes, I grant it, there are still some architects who dress in basic black, but I ask you the following question. We would not hesitate one minute to pay a real estate broker a percentage for the sale of our house but, when  comes the time to consider the multidisciplinary services of a professional architect, some of us would think that their fees are not worth it. Make no mistake. The next post of this blog will guide you through Planet Architect or rather, living the dream of your future home without it becoming a nightmare. However, let us let us return cheerfully to past and learn from other people’s mistakes regarding architecture and its minions.

The first architect was Imhotep, whose name according to Wikipedia, means the wise person who enters the peace. Not only was he the first architect, but also a Vizier of ancient Egypt where he built the oldest pyramid in the world. He is also considered as the founder of Egyptian medicine. No wonder this guy is a deified character. All this and it seems that he was not dressed in black.

Another reference brings us to Astérix and Obélix in Mission Cléopâtre who, to challenge Caesar, wishes to build in three months a luxurious palace in the remote desert. Cleo calls on  another famous architect, Numérobis, recognized for his avant-garde view of architecture. If he succeeds, Cleo will cover him with gold. If he fails, she will cast him to the sacred crocodiles. Not bad for a gig even if he has Panoramix on his side.

At the end of the day, if you really want to seize the importance of having an architect to build your house, I humbly ask you to ponder Ancient Babylon where no architect's name is recognized. Does Ancient Babylon still exist? No. The Egyptian pyramids? Yes. I rest my case as corny as it sounds.

So closes this post on Planet Architect. As promised, the next post on this blog will guide you through their planet from top to bottom and as the Petit Prince poetically stated: you will see that the all too important essential is invisible to the eyes. It was the fox, in Saint-Exupéry's tale  who wisely replied to the Little Prince:  if you tame me, we shall need each other.

 

Building our Ecohouse in Charlevoix QC: It's Champlain's Fault

Building our Ecohouse in Charlevoix QC: It's Champlain's Fault: Making a wise land purchase for your future dream home involves more than a view that pulls at your heart strings. The land's topo...

It's Champlain's Fault

Making a wise land purchase for your future dream home involves more than a view that pulls at your heart strings. The land's topography is one of the main determinants that influences the kind of home and lifestyle you envision. When in self-building mode, especially for green horns, we are sometimes inclined to be influenced by our emotions rather than reason things out. Our gut instincts tell us that we don't want to admit that buying land is a scary commitment. We wonder about our technical knowledge and the simple logic behind our choice. Let’s face it; once you have signed on the dotted line, you are locked in. Needless to say, it is strongly advised to acquire the land before the house plans. Topography affects everything.

When we were considering our purchase, we enquired with the Regional Municipality of Charlevoix-Est about specific bylaws. Better to have that naive look than feel like an idiot when you make a bad call. Once informed, you quickly lose your naiveté, but once the error is done you can stay stupid for a long time. Remember, one day you will be paying taxes to that municipality. It's time to see the kind of services you will have for the tax money you will be dishing out.

While looking at the possible building sites, maps in hand, Pierre and I walked along the wide fields sometimes battling with native vegetation. Unfortunately, we had not received the memo to wear long pants. After an hour of walking through the brush, our legs got scarred beyond recognition. When scouting out a building site in a rural area, the tourist in you comes out instinctively. Again, the eyes have it. We are influenced by what we see and how we feel when seeing it. Even though you may be enthralled by the view, you still need to play detective when looking at a field for the first time. It is hard to read the terrain especially when the markers are hidden under thick vegetation. In addition, the soil does not reveal its secrets although in our case, we saw the bare rock formations in some places. Another question mark is who owns the field next to yours? Your neighbors may have bought that piece of land as an investment and have no plans to build or it could be the opposite. You are buying your neighbors and their lifestyle sight unseen. Basically, you never know who you will end up with and also what they will build. Now is the time to be grateful for all those bylaws and limitations. You know there will never be a high-rise next to your humble abode. In our case, we are in a resort area and bylaws of the Regional Municipality of Charlevoix and Les Domaines du Ruisseau-Jureux ensure harmonized colors, noble building materials and any characteristic that may affect the construction of private homes. We chose to live in Saint. Irénée not only for the breathtaking scenery and friendly people, the arts, flora and fauna, but also for the Charlevoix cachet. We must preserve it. Finally, Mother Nature is an intrinsic issue. It is a privilege to live on the banks of the St. Lawrence River. Once you have seen the whales, seals and marine birds, one does not have to think twice. It's not everyone who can say they have whales in their back yard!

 When Pierre and I were looking at our property, we were imagining our home and lifestyle, but nothing can begin until the surveyor establishes the boundaries of your lot. Surveying is an essential part of the design and construction process. Despite the clearing we had done in the past year, and snowshoeing in the winter with our Garmin with topo software to find the relief of the terrain, the latter refused to release its secrets. Although we could consult the plans included with the purchase agreement and go to Google Earth to see satellite shots, we just had a vague idea of ​​the terrain. This is where topography counts especially when there are multiple levels and challenges in the technical design of the house. In addition, there are the rules of the municipality and the developer. That said, to get anywhere, you must get out the big guns. Our paltry knowledge of geomatics necessitates a surveyor who will find the best location of the house so that it is ecologically sound, energy-efficient and your stunning river views are ensured. Surveying is a cornerstone of our investment because the information has archival value. So it was the next important step for us. But first, speaking of archival value, we must go back in time. It’s all because of Champlain.

Why talk about Champlain? In 1626 he was the first surveyor of Canada. Just thinking about it, he has my deepest respect because I can visualize him taking out his sabre to cut through the alders from hell like we did.  His job was to divide the lands of New France on large tracts of land along the banks of the St. Lawrence. Looking at our little piece of land in Saint-Irénée, Pierre and I sympathized with him, but as Champlain, we survived to tell the tale. We hired Dave Tremblay A.G. Tremblay & Fortin, Land Surveyors in Baie-Saint-Paul. They also have an office in La Malbaie. We chose Dave Tremblay because he had impressed us personally. We met him last year, in the dead of winter when we were scouting out property. Having found an estate lot to our taste, we wanted to make an offer, but we had to have photocopies. Not knowing where to go, we saw Dave Tremblay's office in Baie-Saint-Paul, and simply inquired about making copies. He could have refused. Not only did he allow us to make copies, but the welcome was warm. He even told us what we should look for in the specific area of interest. Consequently, we came out of his office, photocopies in hand and above all knowledgeable. Later that day, our tender offer was not accepted and as my mother would say, it was a blessing in disguise. A few days later we found an incredible piece of property. We had not forgotten Dave and for all these reasons, we opted to hire him for the surveying job knowing he would be a valuable member of our team.


Our first meeting on the field with Dave and his team was productive and informative. His explanations helped us visualize where the house could be located, the septic tank, and especially where the property limits were.  He would also make a soil percolation test for the well. Dave took the time to discuss with our architects Bruno Verge and Anabel Arsenault from TergosArchitectural firm and Normand Duchesne, a local contractor who came to visit the field. Dave answered all our questions.

In all, we had everything in hand we needed to start the next stage of our project. Not only did we have all the documentation, but also a 3D representation of the topography that would serve the architects to locate our house in 3D too. This exercise would show the play of sunlight during the equinox and solstice through the windows of our house. Going back to Champlain, I can imagine him with a Garmin to emit a 3D image of all the land he was allocating while sitting with his laptop just placing the land tracts while the settlers were lining up, caps in hand.

Meanwhile, Pierre and I will be returning with our chainsaws and our weed wakers to free the beautiful rustic apple trees, lilacs and wild roses from all that insane brush. From time to time, we stop to watch the freighters go silently down the river imagining that one day soon we will be sitting on our beautiful terrace enjoying the view.

 

To Hell and Back

It was during one of those crazy heat waves in July 2014 that we decided naively to clear a section of our land in order to have a better idea where to locate the house's footprint. We had spotted a surveyor's marker between us and the neighboring property which gave us a vague idea of ​​the real extent of the width. On the plans supplied with the purchasing contract, and Google Earth, you could see the property.  However, in the real world, when you walk on land still uncultivated, it is not obvious at all. In addition, Pierre was already designing the house and had to explore the possibilities of applying for an international accreditation system according to an eco point allocation. The house's position in regards to the sun and winter winds was crucial since this was to be a sustainable ecohouse. In addition, we wanted to maximize our view of the St-Lawrence River. In other words, the egg had to come before the chicken. What we did not know was that we would have to go to hell and back to find that chicken.
 
Armed with new toys like our chainsaw for which we viewed the training video, brushcutters and our lunch, we began cutting where it seemed logical to locate the house. After several hours of hard work and accomplishing very little, we rationalized as the intellectuals we are, that viewing chainsaw videos did not make us instant experts and neither all the Youtube videos in the world. It was obvious that we had underestimated the task. First, it was not the best time to engage in brush clearing as the heat waves were overwhelming. Second, despite our best efforts, we had never seen so many Alders in all our lives. It seemed as though they were regenerating as soon as we cut them down. Needless to say, our famous cutters were too small for the job. We needed Big Bertha. Third, as we thought we were making progress, we realized that the area cleared was tiny. Every night, like the stubborn people we are, we headed back to our hotel with our heads hanging pretty low. After a well-deserved shower, we would crash into bed before the cows came home to soothe our real and imaginary aches.

We repeated this exercise for two weeks except on weekends when we returned to Gatineau to refuel physically and psychologically. The third week, while cutting wood and moaning to the high heavens, we heard the hum of a powerful engine. Finally! A sign of civilization among the Alders of hell! The noise of the excavator came from our neighbor who was digging her well. I have no need to elaborate, but in a flash, we had hired Claude Tremblay of TB Excavation who, after inspecting the field we had cleared, announced that he would take the contract and clear the desired area in addition to stacking the trees that would be good for firewood. At last, the planets had just alligned.

 A few weeks later, as promised, Claude cleared the area and the possible building site miraculously appeared in front of us. For the first time, you could see approximately where the house would be located. As the cold winds coming up from the St-Lawrence reminded us that autumn would soon vanish, we decided to return when the first snow would come to burn the huge pile of debris that Claude had thoughtfully packed for us in the center of the area.

November, the first snow had just fallen and we returned to the lot with our game plan to burn our famous mountain of trees. I remembered having seen farmers burn trees in their fields and it all seemed pretty simple. Call the municipality to warn them you will be burning and all would be well. To add to our strategy, I watched videos on YouTube to see how others did a safe burn. Ah the joys of the self taught woodsperson.Armed with all our gear, we lit the fire at 9am. The wind was calm and the fire was tame. The municipality had been informed and when neighbors came to check where the smoke was coming from, we nodded back at them giving the impression that we knew exactly what we were doing and that everything was fine. Around noon, while eating our sandwiches, we could see that bulk carriers on the St-Lawrence followed the coast a little closer than usual. No doubt they watched the fire. We waved at them with a big smile as if they could see us. I could imagine the master of the bulk carrier watching us with binoculars and just shrug in amazement..
 By 4.30 pm, it was obvious that the saga of big pile would go on forever. Night fall was coming and the fire was still burning. Considering that we would spend the evening to watch the fire, I went to get supplies at the Metro in La Malbaie. I knew that I smelt like smoke, however, if I had cast a glance in the rearview mirror before leaving the car to buy our supper, I would have noticed much more. I could see that children in the grocery store were afraid of me and their parents were speechless. Nevertheless, I finished my shopping and went back to join Pierre at the fire. It was not necessarily dinner by the warm glow of candlelight, still we ate by the fire that would not die. I must say that it was rather beautiful. It was a starry night typical of Charlevoix. The skies here are impressive in their nightly displays. There is even an astronomical observatory in La Malbaie.

As bulk carriers continued to roam the coast with all their lights, they looked like floating fortresses. Our big pile of trees had diminished significantly as we diligently watched the blaze continue to glow into the night. The red embers  looked like lava. From time to time we got up to stir the ashes and blow them with the leaf blower to hasten the process. Finally, at 22:30, it was over. Returning to the Domaine Forget where we had rented a studio, we had the surprise of our lives. While undressing, we could see ourselves for the first time in the bathroom mirror. We could not stop laughing. Our faces were black as ebony. That's when I realized why the children were afraid of me at Metro. The next morning we went back to see the result of our fire. The heat had been so intense that the soil Under the fire had baked. Satisfied that all was in order, we went for a stroll on the riverfront, promising to return in the spring to survey the land.

The moral of this story. Although  modern settlers view training videos about chainsaws, the wood is far from being cut. When it takes a big Berta, it really takes one to do the job. Next time, we will make smaller piles to burn and take a good look in the mirror before going to Metro not to scare the local children. The descent into hell lasted more than twelve hours of monitoring. When you first realize you're still stuck with brush that will not burn and that you have run out of munchies or toilet paper, you start to ask yourself what on earth we you thinking. One consolation: at least in November, there are no mosquitoes.

The Cosgrove Effect

When I was teaching at the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa, my students loved to vigorously quote infamous authors in their argumentation to impress whoever was listening at the time. I teased them gently, nodding quietly, warning them not to become so obsessed with counter-culture and social pretensions, that they would lose the ability to think by suppressing any originality even if they did not have any in the first place. I warned them ever so gently that by repressing their personal identity, they would be so hip that they would be just tragic. Secretly, I harbored my own fears. I was afraid this would happen to me by becoming green when building our new abode.

In preparation to building our last house, as we called it, Pierre and I painstakingly attended home shows to source out new housing construction trends. We attended several seminars held by highly specialized representatives in the field of sustainable ecobuilding. One seminar stood out in particular given by a passionate individual who really knew what he was talking about. It was definitely not a sales pitch or marketing mantra. Emmanuel Cosgrove is a green building contractor, co-founder, CEO and spokesman of Ecohome (Écohabitation), a non-profit organization in construction and ecological renovation. Emmanuel has not only impressed us, but he has inspired us as well. This young visionary stands out for his good common sense in the purest form of the how-to. In other words, he practices what he preaches personally and that credibility is important for neophytes like us.

By browsing Ecohome's  web site, the ultimate in Canadian eco-housing resources, we registered for two courses on the principles of green building and environmentally friendly interiors. The quandary is that I'm suspicious in nature and this was not a done deal. As for my spouse, Pierre is quite enthusiastic. Despite Emmanuel's excellent presentation at the Montréal Home Show, I was skeptical. I was convinced that we would spend all day in an ultra organic environment, munching on alfalfa sprouts, being lulled into a slight coma listening to a litany of anti-consumerism, energy crimes and anything green. I really wanted Emmanuel to prove me wrong. Time would tell. Course day was fast approaching and I was brushing up on everything pertaining to green sustainable building.

 

Finally, the day came and while looking for a parking space near the  Ecohome offices, I was already on the lookout. The Bohemian chic neighbourhood had the pre-requisite  organic-vegetarian restaurant. Yet, I still had to watch my cynicism. The neighborhood, the building and the office were so unpretentious that this was becoming antipretentious. It was green branding wall to wall. I immediately began to regret my choice of spending two days of training when I could have browsed for information on the Internet. Seeing Pierre’s enthusiasm, I silently resigned myself muttering something vague about Green Peace picking me up for my dissent. Fortunately I was wrong. Green Peace never came.

Both all-day classes were not only valid for content and for distributed material, but there was a great synergy in the group of entrepreneurs, designers, students, and people like us who were plunging into green building in addition to a rare bird, a real estate broker who was completing her training as a  green realtor.

 Emmanuel knows his business. It's even in his genes, as he quotes his father who is still building eco to this day. The experience of these two men is worth its weight in gold. It is more credible than browsing the Internet or watching YouTube. To learn more, I invite you to check links in this blog. You will not be disappointed.

When lunchtime came, eating my veggie burger with course colleagues, we were still under the Cosgrove Effect. He had delivered the goods. Emmanuel became our guru in green building. It was the same experience during the second training we had with him. My skepticism had evaporated. There remained not even an iota of doubt. Pandora's box was opened. Pierre and I had plunged into it wholeheartedly. It became the basis of our new creed in green building and the source of a serious questioning on the strategies and practices to be followed on our construction site and the final result our ecohome.

The moral of this story: far from being counter-culture or a social pretension when the main players are accountable, ecoresponsible building is not a mere trend. There is a transparency in sustainable construction housing that is refreshing. It has a color and it's green. Green is the new black, the new ready-to-wear ecochic.