Building for Climate Resiliency and Cultural Preservation
We’re in the midst of an affordable housing crisis. This is in part due to the lack of housing supply. So how can we build enough housing to decrease rent and house prices, as well as homelessness? The answer could be in sustainability.
With the volatile markets and supply chain for building materials, the two words least expected to appear in a potential solution would be sustainability and affordability. But believe it or not, a leading edge way to address the affordable housing crisis is to combine rapid housing with affordability, sustainability, and resiliency.
We have the answers to these concerns in our latest blog: The Sustainability Factor in Affordable Housing & Remote Communities.
Click the button below to read more about how prefabricated, and low carbon panels aren’t only sustainable—they’re affordable. In other words, they really are the building material of the affordable housing future.
Trico Communities Adopts ZS2 TechClad
ZS2’s largest project to date is underway in Calgary, Albert with Trico Communities at their Shawnessy Station development.
Trico chose ZS2’s new TechClad panels to complete the exterior envelope of the first of 10 mixed-use buildings. Installation progress has been rapid with a crew of only two! TechClad will provide a durable exterior, provide additional R-value to reduce operating costs, and reduce both the embodied and lifecycle carbon footprint of the building.
Cambridge Bay Build Team Training
ZS2 is excited to be partnering with the SAIT’s Green Building Technologies group to set a new standard for construction in the far north.
In early June the project team from SAIT and Cambridge Bay, Nunavut arrived at the ZS2 TechCentre to finalize the design and learn how to build with ZS2 TechPanels for the Pitquhirnikkut Ilihautiniq/Kitikmeot Heritage Society’s new cultural centre, which will be built later this year.
This groundbreaking design will create a highly efficient, durable, and resilient building for the Society to continue allowing the Inuinnait community to keep their language and culture in Cambridge Bay. It will also be used to set the bar for future buildings in Canada’s arctic.
Founded in 1996, the Pitquhirnikkut Ilihautiniq / Kitikmeot Heritage Society is guided by an Inuinnaq Executive Director and Inuinnait Board, and is one of the territory’s longest established heritage organizations.
They address projects of importance to the revival of Inuit culture, language and history and focus on the critical needs of Inuinnait—a distinct regional group of Inuit living in the Central Canadian Arctic.
The Inuinnaqtun language—the foundation of Inuinnait culture—has less than 600 fluent speakers remaining.
By most estimates, it is a language that will be extinct in less than two generations.
Faced with an urgent timeline, they have made an unwavering commitment to support the renewal of Inuinnait culture and the revitalization of Inuinnaqtun, and ZS2 is excited to provide them with a new facility to pursue this goal.
ZS2 Top 3 - What You Need to Know
Our TechTalk digest this month will help you get up to speed on what’s important. Here are our top picks for June.
Growing TechCrew: VP of Finance
Joel Douglas has joined ZS2 as our new VP of Finance.
Joel is all about the numbers.
His two designations, Chartered Accountant and Chartered Financial Analyst, and nearly 20 years of leadership, accounting, finance and capital markets experience are guiding ZS2’s rapid growth.
Joel’s experience includes:
• Controller and Manager, Financial Reporting, Strathcona Resources Ltd.
• Investment Banking, RBC Capital Markets
• Equity Research, TD Securities
Welcome to the TechCrew Joel!
What's Trending: Designing for Disasters in 2022
“Wildfires caused $1.46 billion in property damage to 4,101 homes, including damage from fire, smoke and ash. The Dixie Fire became the second-largest wildfire in California’s history, scorching nearly 1 million acres and leveling more than 1,300 structures.
The cost to rebuild after a disaster increased because of supply chain issues during the coronavirus pandemic. In particular, reconstruction costs spiked between March and June as the manufacture of building materials was hit hard by supply chain disruptions.”
Source: Weather disasters affected 1 in 10 homes in the country last year – Washington Post.
As we look towards the second half of 2022, let’s consider the events of 2021 that are shaping our viewpoint for the importance of reaching our climate objectives. Events such as the Dixie Fire, or the blistering heat wave that roasted British Columbia in June of 2021 are just the beginning.
BC had more than 1,600 fires burning nearly 8,700 square kilometers of land last year.
Calgary was pelted with a brief 20-minute hail storm last June that resulted in property insurers paying out more than $1 billion for insurance claims
These aren’t one-off events, this is called the What’s Trending section for a reason and the trend to look forward to in 2022 is: climate disasters are happening more frequently and this means higher costs for average people as a result.
That’s why at ZS2 we’re staying ahead of the curve and Building for a Changing Climate.
Adapting to a more volatile climate means traditional ways of building are not just inadequate. They’re also irresponsible.
When you build for a changing climate, you unlock benefits such as:
- 1-hour fire rating for increased fire security
- Non combustible sheathing and cladding
- Impermeable to water; offering protection to flood damage
- Average of 50% reduction in energy consumption
- 1/3 the CO2 of traditional cement
- 85% reduction in transportation cost and volume
- And more.
In the face of changing climates, technology is the key to the future of sustainable building solutions. Click the button below to learn more about how ZS2 is capable of making a stronger and more reliable building solution
Kanaka Bar Resilient Housing Initiative
On May 27th the Kanaka Bar Indian Band officially broke ground on their Climate Resilient Housing initiative, and announced ZS2 Technologies as one of the building envelope suppliers.
The initiative is a partnership between Kanaka Bar, SAIT, Foresight, Okanagan College, and Seko Construction to provide leading edge construction technologies to help the community rebuild after last year’s devastating wildfire that also destroyed Lytton, BC.
We’re excited to get to work in providing sustainable and resilient houses for the community that can also be built rapidly to get families back into their homes as soon as possible.
Design Inspiration: Kuugalak Cultural Workspace
ZS2 is excited to provide TechPanel’s for the future Kuugalak cultural workspace in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut.
This partnership with SAIT’s Green Building Technologies department will set a new standard for construction in Canada’s far north.
Closing Thoughts
Have you published an article that you’d like our thoughts on? Forward us news articles that you’d like us to read and share with our TechInsider community.
Feel free to reach out with any questions or to learn more about how ZS2 is building a better planet with our innovative construction technologies.
If you’ve been keeping up with us so far we just want to say thank you for your support. We have big plans in store for the second half of 2022. We’ve already achieved so much in our first year as a company, and can’t wait to show what we’re truly capable of.
Come back again next month for July’s TechInsider, because we’re just getting started!
Scott Jenkins & The ZS2 TechCrew
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