MOSS SUND inc

CISTA Links and Articles

CISTA featured in the following links and articles:

Download CISTA in Globe and Mail May 29 2009

Download CISTA in Canadian Gardening May 2009

Inhabitat

MoCo Loco

Style at Home

Download CISTA in Azure May 2009 

CISTA

Rain Water Harvesting Concept featured at the 2009 Interior Design Show in Toronto, February 6-8, 2009.

EAST/WEST Homes Articles

The Fletcher residence and Woodside-Hamilton residence featured in the following publications:

Download Globe and Mail article 30Jan09

Download Toronto Star Mar 14 2009

Download Living Plus+ (Korean) Mar 6&13 2009

Green Roof Workshop

On March 1, 2008, Carolyn was pleased to join forces with Terry McGlade of Gardens in the Sky to present a workshop on green roofs as part of Everdale Environmental Learning Centre's winter Everdale in the City program. 

Thanks to Jenna for a great review on Treehugger   

Green Power Your Home

The Toronto Green Community and MPP Mike Colle hosted an event aimed at helping home owners better understand what they can do with their homes to make the more "green".   After presentations by the Toronto Green Community and SolSmart Energy Solutions, Carolyn gave a short talk about "Green Design" which highlighted some recent projects the firm has been working on.  We were pleased with the great turn out and enjoyed meeting the attendees after the event. 

Thanks to Franca Di Giovanni for organising the evening.

Please feel free to contact Carolyn if you have any questions: carolyn@mosssund.com

Download flyer_size_colle_green_power_2006_8.5x11.pdf

10 ways to have a Greener Christmas!

Green Home living magazine has provided 10 ways to have a greener Christmas.  This is the first we've heard of this magazine - but it looks like it's worth another look! 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!  from MOSS SUND inc.

"Making Green Roofs Happen" - City of Toronto Initiative

The City of Toronto's Round Table on the Environment met last week to present their report "Making Green Roofs Happen".   As the council pointed out - it is very rare to have the chambers full with a crowd overwhelmingly in support of a City proposal!  I t was a really inspiring evening that demonstrated how far green roofs have come.  Those who gave deputations were very well informed and had constructive crticism to help the City go forward with this initiative.

The City has been working with Ryerson University to prepare a very comprehensive report on green roofs and their benefits.  For the first time, many of the known benefits like stormwater management, heat island reduction, biodiversity etc have been quantified.  The result reinforced what those of us working in the field already knew: that although green roofs provide some added benefits to building owners like prolonged membrane life, cooling and aesthetics, the real benefits are far more wide reaching.  Reduced stormwater run off, cleaner run off, better air quality, biodiversity etc etc.. the benefits are for everyone.  As a result the City has made some policy decisions - including education and incentive programs - that should help to "Make Green Roofs Happen" in the City of Toronto!  More information is available on the City of Toronto Green Roof web site.  Implementation is scheduled for April 2006.  We look forward to seeing it happen!

Oh no! We missed it... Festive light exchange program by Toronto Hydro

It's generally cheaper to save energy than make it...  Toronto Hydro knows this well.  To get the ball rolling, they offered "Deck the Halls with LED", a free exchange program... bring in 2 strings of your old Christmas lights and receive 1 of the LED variety.  LED can contribute 80-90% energy savings over conventional Christmas lighting.  Unfortunately we missed the boat for the free offer (exchange programs ran in various Toronto communities November 16th to 19th)   

For energy efficiency reasons, we've never really had a lot of Christmas lights...  but, like the idea that adding a little festive colour can now be done with a lot less electricity.  The question is: What do we do with the old ones?  We'll look into into some creative options this week.

Toronto Hydro has some great information for homeowners on conservation and energy efficiency on their web site.

Hugh Garner Green Roof

Carolyn has been working on the Hugh Garner Green Roof with Monica E Kuhn Archtiect.  The planning part of the project has taken several years and we are excited that Phase 1 is about to start construction.  From what we can find, it's the largest retrofit green roof, and the largest residential green roof in North America.

Solar Decathlon

It's been a while since I've done a post because I've been spending all my time looking at the exciting goings on in Washington DC right now!  It's Solar Decathlon time - a competition put on by the US Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.  Multi-disciplinary teams from Universities across the States, and 1 from Canada, 1 from Puerto Rico and 1 from Madrid have spent the last 2 years developing and building the ultimate Solar House.  The results are impressive!  This is the entry from Cornell - it's stunning - but how well does it work?  We'll find out this week as the houses are run through a series (10 in fact) of tests ranging from architectural design and liveability to how far the team's electric car can go on the excess power produced by the home.  Stay tuned!