Sustainable Beauty : Edelweiss House by Ecohome

The house is visually stunning. As you go down the tree canopied drive, the pure simple lines of Edelweiss House feel like it was always meant to be there. Nestled in a pristine woodland lot in Wakefield Québec, about half an hour from Ottawa, this home represents the cumulative research and building efforts of Emmanuel Cosgrove, Mike Reynolds and Yanni Milon as well as the expertise of Denis Boyer in the energy efficiency field. This passionate team set out to build the first LEED V4 house in Canada and to join the elusive Platinum Club Certification. Not only did they succeed in obtaining this prestigious award, but they are also on the books for being the second LEED v4 Platinum certified home in the world. The Canada Green Building Council lauds Edelweiss House as a phenomenal achievement. This comes to no surprise since Ecohome sets the benchmark for sustainable building practices while reducing the environmental impact which, in itself is no small feat. Not only has Ecohome proven its leadership in this area, it fervently backs up what it says by building the demo house giving a hands on experience for neophytes to professionals interested in building green.

Car charging station

We attended a one day workshop and tour at Edelweiss House given by Emmanuel Cosgrove who covered design and concept as well as construction. The concept is innovative itself. Edelweiss House is a demo house giving you a firsthand look at the ins and outs of building a hyper-performing house that won’t break your budget. Furthermore, when you start to crunch the numbers, you realize that this spacious open concept house will run on the cost of your morning coffee at Timmies. You can’t beat that. And if you drive an electric car to commute to Ottawa and back, it will cost you less than that morning coffee and bagel. So if you are worried about the initial cost of green building, the outcome is that it will pay for itself once you put the key into the door.


Hands on models and examplars

Ecohome is like a test drive. You can touch, see, experiment, ask questions and share concerns with the other participants. Edelweiss House not only looks great but I imagine it feels good to live there. An ecohome is not a force fit. One tipoff is the landscaping. If it is minimalistic and most of the building site has not disturbed the natural landscape, then that indicates that some consideration has been taken into account about minimizing the house’s footprint. That house becomes part of nature and not vice versa. Edelweiss House sits well in the densely treed lot with wild flowers and minimal landscaping to accommodate outdoor living.



Break time in the great room

Another tipoff is the new house smell. Edelweiss House is brand new and does not have a new house smell. It wouldn’t be green if it did. If your new home has a new house smell, that means that chemical particles are being released into the air you breathe such as COVs. This toxic smell comes from building material and could linger in your house for the next several years.   

When you walk into Edelweiss House and enter the great room, the extensive use of windows literally let the outdoors in. Ample natural light filters in through the canopied trees that are so close; you feel you could actually touch them. This has a soothing effect adding to the house’s serene aura. We could easily see ourselves living there. We are Baby Boomers and sometimes these abodes are not senior friendly especially for access if you wish to live as autonomously as possible. It is also a great dwelling for couples or families as a permanent residence or vacation home.

 In all, this 1,386 square foot house was built with an accessible budget for the average home buyer. It is by far a good investment in all respects and easy to maintain. Sometimes having a green home is a long term commitment. This house started performing from day one and it will keep on paying for itself for years to come.



Antique accents add charm

Then there is the Cosgrove Effect. Emmanuel likes to incorporate architectural salvage and reclaimed materials in his sustainable designs such as antique doors that complement the sleek design of this house. The contrast between the roughhewn doors and the minimalistic lines of the house interiors incorporate a beautiful message about keeping elements from the past towards future builds. The quartz kitchen counter is made of recycled glass and mirrors. Participants that day were impressed by its feel and the look of the counter’s finish. Of special interest also was the reclaimed lumber from the bottom of the Ottawa River used to make the vaulted ceiling from Logs End. The wood has been preserved under water for decades and is part of the area’s cultural heritage since it was felled generations ago. The grain work in this wood is unparalleled.  The great room ceiling and some millwork were custom made with the reclaimed lumber. There is also extensive use of slate in the bathrooms giving a rich dark texture to the walls and floors.  

Emmanuel Cosgrove leading the tour

The outdoor design is sleek with its horizontal lines. The charcoal gray Riopel siding accentuated with black trim and the burgundy door give the house a rich look.  But what will surely get your attention is the green roof which is not only energy saving and improves air quality and biodiversity, but also retains storm water and acts as acoustic insulation. Green roofs are not new. They have been doing it for over seven hundred years in Europe and we are in awe when we see one in our own neighbourhood. When you think of it, it only makes sense to start greening our roofs. Environment Canada states that if there were more green roofs, for example in Toronto that the temperature in the summer would come down by 2 degrees because of the cooling effect of green roofs.

Prep work for the green roof

Overall, our day at Edelweiss House was thought provoking. We went back home and poured over our own house plans to rethink some of the major components before having them run through energy modelling simulations. Edelweiss House gives you the best of both worlds: hands on knowledge and expert advice backed up with real experience. This is not theory, it’s hard work that has paid off. Ecohome is not only leadership through reliable demonstration, it is also trend setting that can be measured, assessed and evaluated because it is there with all the data to back it up. You can’t ask for anything better. The only question remains is, where will Ecohome take us next?

All this to say, that genuine sustainable ecobuilding is a conscious approach to energy and ecological conservation and if it is beautifully designed, then it looks like Edelweiss House. To find out more about Edelweiss House and Ecohome, a visit to their website is well worth the effort at www.ecohome.net.