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Design for Density
PLANNING COMMUNITY FUTURES
» Thursday 24 July 2008 | 5 pm (please note new time)
» The Bohemian Café, 524 Bernard Avenue
An informal afternoon hour showcasing the people and ideas featured in Okanagan Home. Join us as four experts explore growth, affordable housing and sustainable development in the Okanagan and how smart design informs and impacts the future. Our featured speakers are:
» Brad Clements Okanagan Partnership
» Robert MacDonald Okanagan Institute
» Douglas MacLeod Okanagan Science & Technology Council
» Angela Reid BC Sustainable Energy Association
» This is a free event. Refreshments will be available at a modest cost.
» Seating is limited, please reserve yours HERE
The Role of Design in Smart Housing Solutions
Skyrocketing housing prices in the Okanagan has turned the phrase "affordable housing" into an impossible dream for many people. Recent statistics show that since 2002, housing prices have gone up anywhere from 115% to 150%, while income has clocked in with an average increase of 7 per cent.
The numbers don't compute, and it means policy makers and innovators are looking for new ways to not only attract more affordable homes, but make changes in the way we design those homes from the inside out.
On Thursday July 24 Okanagan Institute Express - now being held at its new time of 5 pm at the Bohemian Café - brings four experts in the fields of economic development, design, architecture and sustainability together to present Design for Density: Planning Community Futures, and examine the role of design in how we construct individual homes and developments.
 Brad Clements is the executive director of the Okanagan Partnership. As a consultant and facilitator with Performance Decisions he has over 10 years experience assisting Canadian and International businesses and organizations with strategic planning and execution.
"We must protect the current inventory of lower-priced houses and rental units, increase density, and actively seek ways to reduce the construction costs of each housing unit," says Clements. The Okanagan Partnership has just released its report on sustainable housing.
 Douglas MacLeod is the executive director of the Okanagan Science and Technology Council. He is also a registered architect and a contributing editor to The Canadian Architect magazine. Before joining OSTEC he was the executive director of the Canadian Design Research Network - a pan-Canadian network of architecture and design schools. For the past fifteen years, MacLeod has led innovative research projects across Canada in areas such as e-learning, virtual reality and computer-aided design. Most recently he led the Canada-British Columbia Green Building Mission to Seoul and Beijing.
"New approaches to design can lead to housing that is both sustainable and affordable," says MacLeod. "Properly designed sustainable communities can reduce vehicle travel, energy consumption, air pollution, water pollution and greenhouse gas emission by as much as 40 per cent," he says, noting even changes such as using timber construction, recycled materials and altering the orientation of a house on a lot can make a huge difference.
 Robert MacDonald is the founding director of the Okanagan Institute. He was the director of the Publishing Workshops at the University of Toronto and the Banff Centre for fifteen years, has been a founding director of nonprofit housing cooperatives in Toronto and New York, and is the publisher of Okanagan Home and Saskatoon Home magazines.
One way to achieve affordable and sustainable housing is through the use of advanced manufacturing principles in the construction of homes, MacDonald argues. Prefabricated homes not only reduce the impact on the environment, but can be beautifully designed and customized to suit individual needs. "The Okanagan is a perfect place to launch a premium prefab housing industry that could also be a showcase for quality design," MacDonald says, pointing to the outstanding work being done in Canada and the United States by a new generation of prefab architects and builders, including those currently taking part in the Museum of Modern Art's Home Delivering exhibition.
 Angela Reid sits on the board of directors for the BC Sustainable Energy Association, the steering committee for the Coalition for a GE Free BC, and the federal council for the Green Party of Canada. Through her company she has managed large projects with government agencies, private corporations and NGOs, including managing engineering contracts with GEOtivity Inc., an international company specializing in wastewater infrastructure performance monitoring.
Efficient use of energy is another cornerstone of smart housing, and the Okanagan's climate makes it a strong candidate for the use of solar and other environmentally-friendly solutions. Recently, Reid's company Tigress Ventures helped secure $470,000 from the federal government's ecoENERGY renewable heat program for the Okanagan Shuswap Solar Project, which will install solar water heating in 470 new homes at the Fintry Housing Development.
Design for Density: Planning Community Futures is a free event, and takes place at the Bohemian Café. This marks the 50th event the Okanagan Institute has held since the Express series got underway in July 2007. Since that time, the series has played host to many Okanagan luminaries, including former deputy secretary general of Amnesty International Derek Evans, artists Lee Claremont and Gary Pearson, BC Book Award nominee Don Gayton, CBC Literary prize winner poet Harold Rhenisch, distinguished editor and author Jim Taylor, animator and filmmaker Jim Cliffe, architect Jim Meiklejohn, and others from a variety of creative fields.
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER ONLINE CLICK HERE
Where Enquiring Minds Gather. Okanagan Institute at the Bohemian Café A hearty feast of lectures, presentations, workshops and showcases celebrating our culture and community. Produced by the Okanagan Institute in association with Wheat King Publishing magazines: Okanagan Arts and Okanagan Home. Express is sponsored in part by the Arts Council of the Central Okanagan, Wood Lake Publishing, UBCO-FCCS, and in support of Project Literacy Kelowna.
The Okanagan Institute is a group of creative professionals that have gathered around the goal of providing events, publications and services of interest to enquiring minds in the Okanagan. We partner with individuals, organizations, institutions and businesses to achieve optimal creative and social impact.
Our mission is to ignite cultural transformation, catalyze collaborative action, build networks and foster sustainable creative enterprises. We invite the participation by all members of the creative community.
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