Environment Centre
An Educational wonderland
2009 Sustainable Building & Design project
Camp Kawartha was given the use of a plot on the Trent University nature preserve to provide a space for environmental education for school children and the Trent University students who are learning to teach them. This amazing community space is well-used and well-loved by the whole Peterborough community!
Camp Kawartha asked us to make the most ecologically friendly building possible AND to make all of its materials and systems visible and educational. The result is a learning centre unlike any other.
Prefabricated straw bale walls, hempcrete and straw/clay walls with lime and earth plaster
Locally sourced wood and milk-painted shingles
Rainwater harvesting and treatment with solar hot water heating
Hydronic in-floor heating system with heat recovery ventilation
All natural and healthy plaster and finishes used throughout
View this project from start to finish!
Flip through our project e-book and visit our blog for posts related to this project
Explore our other projects
Root Cellar Seasoned Spoon
The Seasoned Spoon is a cafe at Trent University offering vegetarian and vegan meals on campus made mainly from locally grown food. To extend the amount of time they can use local produce, they wanted a subterranean root cellar that could store vegetables with minimal energy input.
The 400 square foot building is…
Canada’s Greenest Home
2012 Sustainable Building & Design project – An urban infill lot in downtown Peterborough provided the inspiration for Canada’s Greenest Home. We wanted to set ourselves the highest possible standards for ecological building and meet them using local natural materials and finishes. We also wanted…
Habitat for Humanity House
The Peterborough affiliate of Habitat for Humanity was in need of a fully accessible home design and wanted to meet the LEED Platinum standard for an infill project in a Peterborough subdivision. Combining high-performance with local, natural building materials, the low-key exterior masks a highly innovative building.