Wo-Built to redefine Green Building with Peapod Life at Green Living Show

Screenshot: Green Living Guide: PeaPod Life Green Home Additions
Credit: greenlivingonline.com

The 6th Annual Green Living Show
North America’s largest green consumer show dedicated to educating the public about easy and workable solutions for leading a sustainable lifestyle.
The three-day event offers innovative products, demonstrations and ideas to help fuel the green economy.
Health, wellness, home, automotive, business, décor, fashion and food are all showcased at the Green Living Show.

Where: Direct Energy Centre / Exhibition Place Toronto

When: Friday, April 13 – 10 AM – 9 PM
Saturday, April 14 - 10 AM – 9 PM
Sunday, April 15 – 10 AM – 6 PM

PeaPod Life Booth: 211
#gls12
@GreenLivingPage

Visit Wo-Built Inc. at the Green Living Show April 13th through 15th, and discover Peapod Life, the world’s first fully integrated indoor garden living space.

Wo-Built Inc., creators of Peapod Life, is excited at the prospect of introducing its revolutionary integration of useable living space with viable vertical garden space, solar power and rainwater recovery system that waters plants.

“We launched Peapod Life at the National Home Show and the response from the general public was overwhelmingly positive,” Martina Ernst, President of Wo-Built said. “We are now looking forward to introducing Peapod Life to like-minded individuals and organizations on the cutting edge of eco-conscious living.”

The fact that Peapod Life is suitable for growing organic fruits, vegetables, herbs, teas, medicinal, floral and/or decorative plants is significant, as individuals take more interest in eating organic, local produce. What could be more organic and local than that grown in your own home?

Integration of ultra-high efficiency SeriousWindows, solar power and rainwater capture for watering plants rounds out Peapod Life and minimizes its overall environmental footprint.

Speaking of footprint, the unique all-glass design and use of living walls and living windows means a standard 18' x 15' Peapod provides 222 sq. ft. of useable all-season living space and 230+ sq. ft. of viable vertical garden space. Such combined space utilization is currently unattainable in any standard greenhouse or typical solarium.

The cost of Peapod Life is roughly the same as a standard addition, with the added benefits of comfortable, useable living space and organic indoor garden.

But Peapod Life doesn't stop there. Glass extensions are just the tip of the iceberg. In the coming weeks leading up to the Green Living Show, Peapod Life will introduce commercial applications for Peapod Life and reveal the extent to which it is reinventing buildings for the 21st century.

Until now, buildings have been dead structures providing shelter to living things inside. Wo-Built, the Vision Builder, envisions the future of building with Peapod Life: living structures that support living things inside and outside.

Attila Lendvai
VP of Strategic Development
Wo-Built Inc. - Innovative Design and Build

World Water Day 2012: Wo-Built Pays Tribute to H2O with Peapod Life

youtube.com: World Water Day 2012 official video,
focusing on the theme of the campaign "Water and Food Security".
Uploaded by UNWaterWorldWaterDay on Mar 9, 2012
Produced by kf@kantfish.com and featuring a soundtrack by DDG Project.
Download your animation on: http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday
ONEDROP How much water is on your plate

"Water is H2O, hydrogen two parts, oxygen one, but there is also a third thing, that makes water and nobody knows what that is."
- D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930), Pansies, 1929; Source: Quotes and Facts about Water

"In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong nothing can surpass it. "
- Lao Tzu, philosopher of ancient China; Source: Brainy Quote

On this 22nd of March, 2012, Wo-Built Inc. contemplates the above two quotes on water.

In many ways, the second quote by Lao Tzu answers the question posed by D.H. Lawrence. Water is a magical substance that appears weak, meek. Were it a living creature we would say “it has no backbone.”

And yet, as Lao Tzu points out, water has by far been the most instrumental force in the shaping of our planet’s geography: that patient power that wears mountains down to dust and builds continents from magma flows.

Water is the humble hero: the strong silent type… until it roars. Calm and still it reflects perfectly the awe of the heavens. Stirred by motion and whipped by winds it thunders the sound and fury of nature’s wrath. It gives life, shapes it, takes it, and renews the remains.

Water is very much alive. It deserves our respect, care… yes, even love. Without its gifts, humanity is nothing… a ghostly apparition reflected in a desert mirage; a dusty legend of faerie folk songs.

No wonder, then, when Wo-Built set-out to revolutionize green building with its affordable green addition — Peapod Life — it included a rainwater recovery system.

But what good is harnessing rainwater if it just stagnates in a rain barrel? That’s why your Peapod Life will also auto-water your plants.

Of course, too much water (in the air — humidity) can be a problem, so automatic climate control comes standard, powered by built-in solar cells.

More than a sunroom; better than any old greenhouse, Peapod Life recognizes the value of water and respects the crucial role it must play in any truly green addition and any so-called eco-living space. In this case: the world’s first indoor garden living space.

Truly green space. Living. Peapod Life.

Attila Lendvai
VP of Strategic Development
Wo-Built Inc. - Innovative Design and Build

Screenshot: Peapod Life - The World's First
Integrated Indoor Garden Living Space
The future of sustainable living is here,
green living and living green all in one space.
Do you want a new way of living?
Do you want to thrive instead of survive?
Meet Peapod Life
Learn more about Peapod Life™ on Facebook!
2012 @ wobuilt.com

Peapod Life a big hit at the National Home Show

Photo-Collage: Wo-Built's Green Commitment at the National Home Show
Peapod Life™ - an affordable sustainable home addition
March 16-25, 2012 at Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place;
Photos: Olga Goubar @ wobuilt.com

Attendees of the National Home Show in Toronto are being wowed by Peapod Life, Wo-Built Inc.’s vision of a fully integrated indoor garden living space.

People are simply loving the idea of integrating organic food, solar power and smart water recovery into their lives, in an affordable glass addition that creates a beautiful and practical space perfect for both plants and people.

“Deciding to unveil Peapod Life at the National Home Show has proven to be a great success,” Martina Ernst, President and CEO of Wo-Built, Inc., said. “The response is overwhelmingly positive.”

Peapod Life is the world’s first living space that incorporates green technologies with active Biodesign and Biocare. The result is a living structure which is so much more than the sum of its parts: a self-contained, self-sustaining space truly alive and life-giving.

Located in booth 154 in the East Annex, Wo-Built Inc. will be featuring Peapod Life at the National Home Show through the week and weekend.

Attendees of the National Home Show can speak directly with Wo-Built experts and enjoy the living wall. Fill out a survey and enter the contest to win a living wall for your home or condo.

Don’t miss this opportunity to get to know Peapod Life and get in on the ground floor of the future of sustainable food, water and energy security.

Come see the future of green building and discover how affordable a Peapod Life glass addition can be!

The National Home Show closes at Sunday March 25th at 5pm.

Attila Lendvai
VP of Strategic Development
Wo-Built Inc. - Innovative Design and Build

Wo-Built Offers Livegreen Toronto Members Home Show Special on Peapod Life™

Photo Montage: Peapod Life™ helps Livegreen Toronto
Members save more than just money.
2012 @ wobuilt.com
Image Credits: Young plants + Plants
+ Potted plants sitting on a windowsill getting sun light
+ Live Green Toronto Membership Card

“Living green is all about making smart choices about how you live, travel, shop, eat and play.”
– Livegreen Toronto

At this year’s National Home Show Wo-Built Inc. will be offering Livegreen Toronto members substantial savings on its new line of affordable green home additions – Peapod Life™.

Much more than any greenhouse, Wo-Built's new Peapod Life™ combines the convenience of an in-home edible botanical garden; the comforts of real, useable living space; and the benefits of green solar power and rainwater recovery solutions; all integrated into one affordable sustainable home addition.

Livegreen Toronto Members will be able to save 30% off the cost of plants built into their Peapod Life™ indoor organic garden living space (including vegetables, fruits and herbs; minimum savings of $1500).

This show special can be combined with Wo-Built’s existing offer for Livegreen Toronto Members: 5% savings off the retail cost of green roofs, solar, geothermal or heat recovery measures with any Wo-Built renovation.

Wo-Built invites everyone to come visit us at the National Home Show and Canada Blooms, Livegreen Toronto Pavilion, Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place between March 16th to the 25th.

Be among the first in the City to embrace Wo-Built’s vision for local food and energy security—Peapod Life™.

Attila Lendvai
VP of Strategic Development
Wo-Built Inc. - Innovative Design and Build

Wo-Built's Green Commitment at the National Home Show
Peapod Life™ - an affordable sustainable home addition
Visit us at Booth # E154

Off-Grid Living doesn't have to be a Shock

Image Collage: Solar over-powers Grid
2012 @ wobuilt.com
Image Credits: Microsoft Office Clipart:
smiling sun and smokestacks; powers

“We are now comfortable with it and we’ve had to make some adjustments to our lifestyle, but after last winter we all said ‘yes, this is do-able.’”

-- Derek Zoldy, in the February 9th edition of
the Toronto Star, Shocking: Living without hydro

Embrace solar power: achieve off-grid freedom and save money.

In the above quoted Toronto Star article, the Zoldy’s tell their story about embracing off-grid living. Building in Haliburton, they chose a combination of modern technology (like solar power, LED lighting and efficient appliances) and contemporary sustainable updates to old-world technologies (like sustainable timber construction, tankless water heater, efficient wood burning stoves, and propane).

Thanks to their efforts, they have a beautiful chalet in ski country, and have embraced the freedom and personal satisfaction that comes with living off-grid.

We can learn a few things from the Zoldy’s experience.

First, they spent years researching the possibilities before making a commitment to build.

Too often, people rush construction projects, believing that builders are all the same and that the lowest price is the best option. The Zoldy’s scrutinized their green builder carefully, making sure they would work with them to deliver a finished product suited to their needs. They did the smart thing.

Second, they made a concerted effort as a household to adapt their lifestyle to fit with the off-grid approach, but this didn’t mean compromising on amenities. It simply meant making sensible choices and being more mindful about how they use (and misuse) energy.

Many people are afraid of going solar or severing their connection to the grid, likely because we’ve been conditioned to feel reliance and fear independence. Change can be scary, especially if you believe you must sacrifice comfort on one hand to embrace a better way of living on the other.

Wo-Built believes the better way of living — with greater independence and confidence — is worth making some minor lifestyle adjustments for. The key is to work with a green design and build contractor who will work with you to envision a better life and be your advocate as you make the shift.

This way, you can embrace the new dawn without feeling the shock.

Attila Lendvai
VP of Strategic Development
Wo-Built Inc. - Innovative Design and Build

links:
thestar.com: Shocking! Living without hydro
by Tracy Hanes

treehugger.com: The future of off grid homes in Toronto
by Collin Dunn

wikipedia.org: Off-the-grid

off-grid.net: Living Off the Grid: Free Yourself

cmhc.ca: CMHC Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation: Energy Use Patterns in Off-Grid Houses: Research Highlights

Doors Open Toronto – Humber College Arboretum

Photos: Doors Open Toronto – Humber Arboretum
May 28, 2011 @ wobuilt.com

Humber Arboretum Centre for Urban Ecology
205 Humber College Blvd, Toronto, ON M9W 5L7
Event information: Visit the Humber Arboretum & Centre for Urban Ecology - a favorite location for photographers interested in modern architecture and nature alike. This site is where many Humber College photography, landscape, design, and media arts students learn their craft. Accordingly, student and staff work will be on display in the Centre with building and landscape tours scheduled throughout the day.
Architect and year: Taylor/Hazell Architects, 2007

This was a bit of a busman’s holiday, personally my first Doors Open Toronto. We had heard a lot about the Arboretum, LEED award winner, so we were interested. Granted it is a bit off the beaten path (427 and Finch), but once we found it, well worth the visit. Tucked behind the main college building, the Arboretum is located in the middle of a lovely garden park, nestling within the terrain. We were told that the park had oodles of wildlife (we saw geese and ducks), and we did enjoy sitting outside and talking to some of the visitors.

The building makes use of the slightly hilly terrain, a part of the energy efficient set-up. A teaching and research facility it packed almost all the known “green” systems into a small space and expressing them architecturally. The most visible systems of course are the sun shading slats on the south facing wall, reducing the high sun angles and the ventilation shaft in the center of the building, that extends 1 storey above the main floor and that facilitates the natural ventilation. Form follows function, making for interesting architecture. Rain water tanks for plant watering are buried into the hillside; behind the building are grey water recycling tanks, also used for plant irrigation. Other elements include green roofs, daylight and motion sensors, triple gazing, radiant heating, dual flush toilets and more. My favorite: large amount of daylight in the space.

The most interesting aspect of the building for me was the natural cooling system. Outside air is drawn into the building, directed into the basement which is several degrees cooler and then distributed to the warmer spaces where the air differential will have a cooling effect.

We were given an informative tour around the building and were assured that the environmental conditions are great and working there is a pleasure. As it is a small building all these systems are bound to be very effective as they can be finely tuned. They also would work very well for any other centrally controlled building (residential or non residential) provided there is enough space available to implement the measures. In multi-unit dwellings the implementation would become more complicated. Some measure such as green roofs, triple glazing, radiant heating, grey and rain water recycling, sun shading will all work as they are not part of individual choice. Ventilation and cooling is however a more personal matter. How much control would the individual units have to relinquish to make the natural ventilation and cooling work?

The Arboretum is an example and showcase on how any of these systems work. We need more examples accessible to the public to increase awareness of what can be done. We are committed to incorporate as many of these systems as possible in all our buildings. It is not necessary to incorporate all systems in each building. Even just one or two measures will make an impact over time. Going “green” is a valid way to reduce our footprint on the environment we live in, and we encourage anyone to take baby steps.

Martina Ernst
Wo-Built Inc. - Innovative Design and Build

link:
Doors Open Toronto 2011 Featuring City in Focus: Architecture + Photography

Wobuilteco Is Our Eco Green Building Blog

Screenshot: Eco Green Building Blog
Wo-Built Inc's commitment on Being Green, Designing
and Building Green and Sharing our Knowledge
2010 © Wo-Built Inc.

"This forum will showcase designs, innovative ideas, opinions, green construction and eco-friendly information.

Enjoy!"

Announcing Wo-Built's Eco Blog,
by Martina Ernst, CEO - Wo-Built Inc

Our mission statement did not specifically mention "Green Construction" however we want to be known for our innovative design and construction. This includes of course looking at sustainability of buildings, their environmental footprints and their energy effectiveness. Green design can take many forms and there is no fixed template. Every situation is different, but we look in our designs for green possibilities.

We at Wo-Built are dedicated to being environmentally conscious and have embraced "Green Construction" in all our projects. As such, we have decided to start a blog devoted to all environmental issues. We will explore topics that have to do with conservation, energy efficiency, green products, green building and much more. We are also interested in how design can impact on "green living".

So tune in and view our blog at wobuilteco.blogspot.com to get up on the latest in green living!

Happy green reading!

Can Renovation Help You to Refresh Your Branding?

Screenshot: The Globe and Mail: Eaton Centre to get $120-million makeover
by Cigdem Iltan
Image: The Eaton Centre renovation will include environmentally friendly dining areas.
by Giannone Petricone Associates
Published Jun. 18, 2010
Credit: theglobeandmail.com

In April we posted Can Renovation Give You Good ROI? Ask Kijiji in which we stated that your commercial space is part of your company's image and a coherent branding will help persuade your customers to hire you or buy from you.

In the news on Friday June 18th the Globe and Mail published a story about the Eaton Centre getting a $120-million makeover. The reason for this renovation project: "to make the building bright, clean and inviting" to meet the "shoppers’ increasing expectations" and to compete in "a changing retail landscape", in other words to improve the Eaton Centre’s appeal and branding.

Analyzing the article it seems that the owners Cadillac Fairview have not only included art (artistic light fixtures by UnitedVisual Artists, new ambient lighting and interesting tiling patterns) but have also included a very important element: being more energy and green conscious. As part of the makeover the Centre will include "environmentally friendly dining areas equipped to reduce waste" and to produce "savings in electricity and water".

Talking in general terms, being environmentally conscious and green is important to many potential customers in all areas of business. Any new branding projects and renovations will have to include green elements and have to be genuine about them. For us we will always consider reuse, reduce and recycle as a starting point.

We can only hypothesize; according to the article the Eaton Centre is making a substantial investment, the biggest since its opening 33 years ago, but their ROI calculations must have been favourable.

An interesting sidebar comment in the article underscores the importance of renovation for your business. "Nino D’Arena salon manager …said she noticed an increase in business after her salon was recently renovated".

So, can renovation give you good ROI? The article seems to affirm the statement and we encourage all business owners to consider renovations to update their branding efforts.

Martina Ernst
CEO
Wo-Built Inc. - Innovative Design and Build
(416) 402 2679
wobuilt.com
facebook.com/wobuilt
twitter.com/wobuilt

links:
torontolife.com: Shop Talk: How the Eaton Centre is spending its $120 million in make-over money
...Here’s what shoppers can expect from the transformation...
by Carley Fortune

thestar.com: Toronto Eaton Centre set for $120-million upgrade
First major revamp since it opened in 1977
by Dana Flavelle

Green Retrofitting – How Much More Is It Than the Old Energy Retrofitting in the 90s?

Collage: ecoENERGY Retrofit with WO-BUILT

I did an interesting Google search the other day (“what is the difference between green retrofitting and energy efficient retrofitting”) and the obvious conclusion is that energy efficiency is part of green retrofitting. Not really surprising.

But it did not answer the question how it differs.

My first job in Canada in 1993 was working for an Energy Services Company; essentially we went into buildings and retrofitted the lighting, heating/air-conditioning, water consumption and some other systems to make them more energy efficient so that the project could be paid back from the savings. In today’s world this would be considered "green".

Is "green" retrofitting than just a new word for the same thing or does it have another dimension to it?

One aspect is the multitude of new systems which are impacted by new green technologies, solar, green roofs, wind turbines etc. Of course these technologies had been around a long time, but were too expensive or too rare to be used on a larger scale.

But the more interesting aspect is the emotional level that is different. Going green is about quality of life, saving the environment and our planet, about comfort in the home and work place and many more emotional feelings. Energy efficiency on the other hand was mainly about saving money; it is hard to get really excited about this and to be emotionally involved.

So, even though we were on our "green" ways 20 years ago, we have finally created the buzz that was needed to get everyone involved. That’s the difference.

This my take on "green" - What’s yours? We would love to know.

Martina Ernst
CEO
Wo-Built Inc.

links:
Wo-Built: Being Green in Toronto – Everyone Can Participate!
Wo-Built: Going Green in the City: Building and Renovating with "Being Green" in Mind:
Part 1 - Eco-Friendly Home Improvements
Part 2 - Going Green Is Becoming Mainstream
Part 3 - Living Rooftops - An Environmental Alternative for "Green" Building
Wo-Built: Our Green and Eco Tweets to Follow

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