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THE COST TO BUILD

January 27, 2020 By Danica 1 Comment

In recent months, we’ve encountered a few situations in which a client approved a preliminary design, only to find that estimated costs to build were greater than expected. In some cases, this entailed an overhaul of the design; in others, the project was put on hold or abandoned completely. This led us to assemble a few thoughts on how to build a new home in this time of escalating costs.

Let’s look at the reasons that costs are higher than they used to be. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Blog, home building, Miscellany, Sustainable Design

Take A Deep Breath — If You Can

April 3, 2018 By Danica 1 Comment

April is finally here! Now that we’re putting away our woolly scarves and getting back into the garden, many of us are preparing to turn off our furnaces and put our wood-burning stoves to bed until next fall. And as those stoves go dormant, it’s a great time to think about upgrading to an appliance that burns more efficiently.

Some pretty heated arguments (no pun intended) have been made for and against wood stoves in letters to the editor. Many people see wood as a cheap and renewable energy source — although it could be argued that firewood prices around here are gaspingly high (about double what’s charged in rural Quebec, for example). Some Valley residents are gasping for another reason: wood burning has a seriously detrimental effect on air quality, which in turn, threatens our well-being and impacts health care costs. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Blog, Energy Efficiency, home building, Miscellany, resilient home, Sustainable Design, Sustainable Lifestyles

Building blocks of sustainability

August 14, 2017 By John Gower Leave a Comment

(CV Collective is a beautifully-produced magazine that features people and places around the Comox Valley — you can view it online at https://cvcollective.ca/. In their most recent issue, I got to share my personal journey toward a more sustainable life and work practice. The article below was published in Volume 11 of the magazine.)

Picture a small boy sitting on a tall drafting stool, drawing rocket ships, submarines, and houses ­– sculptural, impossible, fantastical houses. That was me almost 50 years ago, enjoying the drafting board that my architect father kept at home. In the cozy living room below, my parents entertained friends from all walks of life. Among them were folks who had moved from California to B.C. to experiment with living closer to the earth and each other. It was the end of the 1960s, a time of creativity and chaos, and a time of growing awareness of the fragility of the world and our social systems. My parents felt this, and bought a quarter section of land out of town as a place to go should things get out of hand. In me a seed was planted.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Blog, Energy Efficiency, Future-Proofing, home building, Miscellany, resilient home, Sustainable Design, Sustainable Lifestyles

Living More Lightly at Work – A final word

May 1, 2017 By Danica 2 Comments

Having examined the ways that we’ve already saved energy in our workplace, we’ve come to the hard part – looking at our remaining carbon footprint. Calculating this hasn’t been easy. There have been frustrations along the way, and some lessons learned. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Blog, Energy Efficiency, Future-Proofing, Miscellany, Sustainable Design, Sustainable Lifestyles

A Greener Shore: creating a more sustainable waterfront

December 6, 2016 By John Gower 1 Comment

As a coastal community, we’re fortunate to live in one of the most beautiful and ecologically diverse regions on the planet. The question is: how to inhabit the waterfront in a way that respects and preserves it? [Read more…]

Filed Under: Blog, Future-Proofing, home building, Miscellany, Permaculture, resilient home, Sustainable Design, Sustainable Lifestyles, Uncategorized

ALL IN A DAY’S WORK, Part 4: The Energy Costs of Comfort

July 26, 2016 By Danica Leave a Comment

For a few months now, we’ve been chronicling our efforts to ‘green’ the office with the goal of achieving net-zero energy consumption. One of our first big items was the switch to LED lights, since lighting accounts for 30% of total energy use in the typical office building. Now it was time to look at the cost of staying comfortable. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Blog, Energy Efficiency, Future-Proofing, Miscellany, resilient home, Sustainable Design

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Our Clients Say…

Thank you for the final drawings. I must tell you they look really nice. We are very happy with the outcome. I will certainly recommend your services with other people.
Alex G.Puebla, Mexico
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We hired John Gower Design to design an energy efficient Arts & Crafts style home for us. Working with John was an enjoyable and productive experience. He took our ideas and made them a reality. We found John’s strengths to be his sense of space and proportion and his willingness to listen to our ideas. We have lived in the house for two years and are continually amazed at how well the house works and its comfort and beauty.
Ross N.Victoria, BC
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The house has become such a place of healing and retreat for us, we love every bit of it… Everything about the function of the house is working just as we had hoped- the indoor and the outdoor spaces seem to easily accommodate the extra people and we lived on the covered part of the patio all summer… I am so grateful for your creative genius in bringing our partly formed hopes and dreams into such a beautiful reality.
Linda F.Courtenay, BC
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Thank you again for a fabulous job on our home design. We absolutely love it! You were definitely able to merge our wish list with the reality of our budget. We love the space configuration.
Anni v.M-BNelson, BC
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Everything is the way it should be.  You designed us an amazing, perfect house which nestles into the landscape and gives us endless opportunities to enjoy this special piece of the world. Thank you!!!!
Mark S. & Laura M.Duncan, BC
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Every time someone asks me about the design for our house, I tell them how great you were to work with and how you took my attempts to change things and made them happen on paper. Thanks so much!
Constance and Lee
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We have been absolutely showered with complements on the outside look of the house and the clever use of space on the inside.  Even the carpenters were constantly praising the design in its efficient use of materials and space.  They offered many times to purchase the house from us (only partly in jest).  And everyone asks who designed the place.
John W. and Traudi G.Jasper, AB
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I am thrilled with your work. I think the drawings look perfect.  I am very satisfied. It is, to me, a fantastic floor plan, and the exterior well achieves all of my design directives re: simplicity etc. Well done! All in all, I think the whole package is entirely excellent. Thank you for the great work.
Brian N.Procter, BC
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John Gower provided the designs for a renovation to our 70 year old house. He designed a home that is energy efficient, durable, safe and beautiful. We cherish its simplicity, the connection it allows us to maintain with our community and the heritage feel that we were able to preserve. He made the process fun, thoughtful and productive. The sustainability of the design work that he provided will allow the house to be enjoyed for many more years.
Suzanne W.Comox, BC
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I can only say that I was very content. John is a very professional fellow.
Miro M.Bowser, BC
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212 - 2459 Cousins Avenue | Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada | V9N 3N6

Tel: 250.871.8765 | Toll-free: 1.877.366.2502

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