Sustainable Information

Sustainable is the partnership of architect Paul Dowsett, real estate investor David Daniels with a team of architects and building scientists. Sustainable has completed over 200 designs, from basic-green renovation to net-zero-energy new builds for typologies including single-family, apartment, office, food service, health and education. Sustainable attains superior, consistent, quantifiable levels of energy efficiency, structural resilience and therefore lifecycle affordability, based on designs that include: - continuous insulation with minimal thermal bridging - high-performance windows and doors - optimal wall-to-window ratios - site orientation and landscaping to optimize the effects of sun, shade and wind - maximum natural solar gain for heating and the reverse for cooling - high thermal mass building materials - balanced heat-and-moisture recovery ventilation and minimal air conditioning systems While the Ontario Building Code maximum allowable HERS measurement (Home Energy Rating System, the North American standard) is 65 on a scale from 0 to 100, Sustainable designs to date have an average HERS rating of 52, with the lowest being 19, on average 20%, and up to 71%, more efficient than the Ontario requirement. Sustainable also consults to architects and developers and has begun developing real estate. Consulting clients include Casey House, The Canadian Film Centre, The National Theatre School, and BRE Innovation Park at The Kortright Centre.