Using Green Roofs to Grow Food

Last week members of Coolearth visited Ryerson’s  Rye’s HomeGrown, a roof top farm located on an Engineering building in downtown Toronto.     The roof top farm was implemented in 2011 after an existing green roof became a pile of weeds and scrub.  The students and administrators at Ryerson saw this as an opportunity to …

Tiny Homes: An Architects Perspective

  Tiny Homes is a movement sweeping North America.  It consists of people who build and live in homes around 200 square feet.  Considering that the average American household is over 2,000 square feet, the Tiny House movement is seeking to building houses only 10% the average size.   Are tiny houses comfortable to live …

Permaculture, or Working with Nature

Architects are tasked with designing and supervising the construction of buildings.  The landscape surrounding the building is integral to the building, and therefore we make a site plan which details all of this.  The surrounding landscape can have a big impact on the climate inside and around the building, as well as the quality of …

Queens Quay Re-opens with Beautiful Bike Lanes, Sidewalks and Trees

Yesterday afternoon I had the pleasure to cycle on Queen’s Quay bike lanes before they were officially opened later that evening. The joy of riding down the street without dodging and diving across and between construction barriers, street car tracks, and confused (and rightly-so) pedestrians and motorists cannot be overstated.   All this seems a …

Call for Proposals for Passive Building Show August-September 2015

Coolearth Architecture is calling for proposals for their storefront Gallery space that explore passive buildings.  Selected entries will be displayed in August and September at 386 Pacific Avenue, in Toronto’s Junction.   Proposal Statement: Much is made in the media of “smart” buildings which are wired and connected throughout, which move and twist in response …