Home 2000 Designed for West Coast Living

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, February 22, 2000 — As soon as you walk through the doorway, you realize Home 2000 is very special place to call home. Home 2000 incorporates the latest in housing research from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Canada's housing experts. It was designed and constructed using off-the-shelf building products and materials to create an affordable, flexible and healthy interior environment that adapts to a family's needs and lifestyle as it changes over time. Home 2000 is the featured attraction at the B.C. Home and Garden Show (February 23-27) at BC Place Stadium.

Healthy Indoor Air

When the quality of air breathed indoors is less healthy than the air we breathe outside, CMHC's Healthy Housing features can make a world of difference. Healthy Housing features ensure the air in your home is safe to breathe for you and your family. When you enter Home 2000 take a deep breath. What you won't smell are industrial chemicals or stale air. An energy efficient ventilation system, combined with the use of low VOC paints and primers, low emission plywood and finishes, hardwood and ceramic flooring, solid wood cabinets and trim mouldings reduce and minimize potential off-gassing, which helps to protect children and adults with environmental sensitivities and respiratory conditions.

Be Prepared with Earthquake Resistant Design

In a disaster, your home is your refuge. Special precautions were taken when building Home 2000 to make the structure more resistant to the damaging effects of an earthquake. The exterior walls were reinforced with plywood sheathing, metal ties were used to attach the floors and walls, and an ample quantity of nails where used during construction. In addition, the gas appliances are attached by flexible metal gas lines and all the appliances are secured to stop them from shifting. These same techniques and features can be integrated into a renovation of an existing home.

Walls that Won't Leak

Your home's building envelop is all that stands between you and the elements. Special attention was given to Home 2000 during its design and construction to ensure it will be comfortable all year round, use less energy and be durable in a BC's West Coast climate.

A Home For Life

Need a mortgage helper? One of Home 2000's most exciting features is its creative floor plan -- it can easily convert from a four bedroom, single family home to a code compliant duplex with two bed rooms each. It's an adaptable design that allows home owners to continue living in and enjoy long after their retirement.

A Canadian First

Home 2000 is the first demonstration project in Canada that incorporates. all these features and more, under the roof of a family home.

"A demonstration home like Home 2000 is a very unique project," said Mark Salerno, Senior Consultant Research and Technology Transfer CMHC. "It provides home buyers, the do-it-yourself homeowner and renovators a rare opportunity to tour and experience the latest in building technology and design all in one place at one time."

Home 2000 is an affordable housing demonstration project involving the participation of the Greater Vancouver Home Builder's Association (GVHBA), UBC School of Architecture, British Columbia Institute of Technology, CanPly (Canadian Plywood Association), Forest Renewal BC, and The Home Depot Canada. At the conclusion of the Home and Garden Show, Home 2000 will be permanently relocated to BCIT where it will serve as a demonstration project.