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To Fly, or Not To Fly?

October 16, 2019 By Marusha 3 Comments

Last week I attended a memorial service for an old friend in the Slocan Valley. As many of you know, I’ve maintained a strong anti-flying stance for years in order to minimize my CO2 footprint. As usual, I intended to drive to the service, thinking this to be the most carbon-responsible means of travel.

However, my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to test that assumption. [Read more…]

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

Take A Deep Breath — If You Can

April 3, 2018 By Marusha 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 Marusha 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

Living More Lightly at Work: our net-zero quest, part 2

April 27, 2017 By Marusha Leave a Comment

The data’s been crunched, and we’re nearly done summarizing our 2016 net-zero project. We reported previously that our office saves 1.41 metric tonnes (mT) of CO2e annually by going mostly paperless in our daily operations: sending and receiving electronic invoicing and correspondence, limiting paper subscriptions, eliminating paper consumables in the kitchen, etc. [Read more…]

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

Living More Lightly at Work: reducing our carbon footprint, part 1

March 30, 2017 By Marusha Leave a Comment

In January of last year, inspired by the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, our office took on the challenge of trying to achieve carbon neutrality. We read articles, books and blogs; investigated various carbon footprint calculators available online; examined our own consumption habits; and mulled over possible strategies. It was clear that a perfect tally of our energy use would be impossible, since the carbon footprint of goods and services extends back through infinite steps in the production and transport chain. We agreed to work with best estimates using a variety of reliable sources online and in print, starting with the excellent book “How Bad Are Bananas? The Carbon Footprint of Everything” by Mike Berners-Lee. We also decided to forego hiring a consultant, preferring to hack this thing on our own, thereby deepening our own knowledge in the process. [Read more…]

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

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Our Clients Say…

John designed our lovely home in 2002. We opted for the full package (highly recommended), including interior design and ongoing support throughout the construction process. We can’t say enough about how pleased we are with our home. Every square foot serves a purpose with a harmonious integration into the landscape. John spent much time with us discussing how we spend our time in our home, taking the concept of custom home to a much higher level. We have referred two of our friends to John–ther… Read more
Crosbie & Helen W. Maple Bay, BC
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Your building plans worked fine for us and there were no issues of any size… We moved in here in Dec.2013 and find the house well laid out and easy to live in. Our dealings with your company were straight forward and presented no problems. All in all a good choice for us.
HelmutChilliwack, 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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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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John has a unique ability to combine intricate elements of aesthetics, functional layout, resilience, and purpose into a progressive design package with minimal environmental impact both in construction and ongoing habitation. His designs are both mindful of the future and accommodating to his customers’ desires and lifestyle requirements. Such a complicated balance of considerations is not easy to achieve and John seems to do it time and time again. We have worked with John on several projects … Read more
Island Timber Frame (Builders)Cumberland, BC
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The drawings have exceeded our expectation.  We are very appreciative of the expertise, the professionalism and look forward to building a beautiful well designed Mountain Cabin. Thank You!
JoeNewport, Washington
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John was our house designer for a property on a steep site on the water. We wanted something modern and a bit unusual and he provided that. He was respectful of our needs and our wishes and designed a lovely and functional home. Working with him was a pleasure. He made several site visits and as well we met with him several times at his office. As well he took part in sourcing material that was hard to find. I would recommend him to anyone. We had no problems re deadlines or budget. The house wa… Read more
Kathryn W.Pender Harbour, BC
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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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It’s a beautiful home… We’ve had lots of comments and a few visitors coming to check it out and the feedback has been very positive – everyone loves it!
Brian R. & Anne S.Crescent Valley, 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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