Sustainable addition. Cedar in Three Textures.

Canadian architect Omar Gandhi designed the project to renovate and extend a single-family home in Nova Scotia, characterised by choices to improve energy efficiency and in particular to respect the surroundings.



Why build something new when you can adapt an existing building, particularly if it dates back to the early 1900s?



Canadian architect, Omar Gandhi took up this challenge in Nova Scotia, Canada, focusing on sustainability and the use of local materials. Which lead to the renovation project for “Cedar in Three Textures”.



The name itself reveals the main timber used - Thuja occidentalis – untreated Eastern White cedar shingles to re-clad the existing house and the same timber boards to clad the new portion.



The interior space was also redesigned to make the most of natural light, while safeguarding the family’s privacy.



A heat pump and an air exchanger replace the traditional heating system. Both the existing section and the addition have been insulated and highly efficient windows have been installed. To set off all this efficiency, automatic heat dimmers are used to reduce energy consumption.



All the birch and maple used in the interior joinery as well as the cladding for the outside is locally sourced.
The results are clear: the extended house not only gives the inhabitants more room, it is also more eco-friendly than before.

Clients: Dr. Lynda Earle and Dr. Andy Blackadar
Location: Liverpool, Nova Scotia, Canada
Architect (Intern): OMAR GANDHI, http://www.omargandhi.com
Contractor: Trunnells and Tenons Construction Ltd. (Deborah Herman-Spartinelli), http://www.trunnellsandtenonsconstruction.com/
Structural: Andrea Doncaster
Completed: Spring 2011
Area: 1000 sq.ft addition (92,9 m2)
Renderings: Omar Gandhi
Model: Peter Braithwaite, Dalton Kaun, Omar Gandhi
Photography: Greg Richardson Photography, http://www.gregrichardsonphotography.ca/