TRU has submitted an entry into a tiny house competition out of Nelson BC. The Beetle House design was put together last week by the TRU Team comprised of: Dale Parkes, Geoffrey Bowe, Ashok Mathur, Ron McGivern, Murray Young and Michael Mehta.
Vote online and vote for Entry 35: the TRU Team, “The Beetle House”
Beetle kill pine the primary building material
Why beetle kill pine? As of 2009, the mountain pine beetle has damaged 16.3 million hectares of provincial Crown forest in British Columbia, the equivalent of roughly 675 million cubic metres of timber. This represents 20% of the province’s total timber harvest land base. Recently the Vancouver Architecture firm CEI has employed beetle kill pine in the construction of the Okanagan College Center of Excellence in Sustainable Building Technologies in Penticton.
TRU Beetle House, interior view
CEI received approval from the International Living Building Institute to allow the use of beetle kill pine in lieu of FSC certified lumber. Beetle kill wood has the same quality as FSC lumber if harvested in time and meets the stringent requirements of the Living Building Challenge.
Aesthetic and social considerations
When the beetle bores into trees, it introduces a fungus which causes a dehydrating effect that that turns the wood a shade of denim blue. This effect has the potential for exotic and aesthetically pleasing surface colours, one that is being exploited by local furniture designers and artists. Employment of beetle kill pine speaks to the socioeconomic impact of the pine beetle outbreak on local communities. Consider the social value of a sustainable home that recognizes the gravity and scope of one of our most pressing environmental issues. The Beetle House is both a reminder of, and a response to environmental change, a will to address it, and a promotion of the awareness of it.
Beetle kill pine is the primary material employed in the building structure and foundation, mill-work; interior and exterior finishes are treated with a blue, water based stain with low VOC. In addition, the use of pelletized beetle kill pine in the wood stove provides space heat, water heat, and cooking heat. Furniture and modular units also employ beetle kill pine.
The Beetle House is easily built using standard framing and incorporates the following design elements aiming at space efficiency and eco-friendly design.
- A green roof, which in addition to cooling the building, adds aesthetic appeal, and can be used to cultivate hearty plants such as blueberries.
- An underground cistern for the collection of rainwater from the roof.
- Spray applied cellulose insulation made from recycled newsprint.
- A fold down deck, a sleeping area in the overhead loft, a fold down table and fold-up sofa bed.
- A ceiling mounted media projector and entertainment unit eliminates the need to allot floor space to entertainment units, and LED lighting affords minimal energy use.
