Building Green
In the quaint Village of Madoc, 25 Fleming College students are hard at work building a performing arts centre in a community park. On a sunny and hot summer day the students are laying floors, plastering the exterior, and stacking stones. The students aren’t just creating a theatre here, they are erecting one of the most sustainable buildings in Canada as part of their 20-week Sustainable Building Design and Construction certificate program. “There’s nothing like this in the world – it’s unique,” says Program Coordinator Chris Magwood, on site in work boots and a hard hat. Taking the hands-on approach literally, the students spend most of their time in the program building the facility. Guiding the students through the process, Magwood, a renowned sustainable builder and author, is leading the program’s fourth project. Previous projects include the 4Cs Food Bank in Haliburton, the Kinark Outdoor Centre near Minden and R.D. Lawrence Place in Minden. Branching out further south to Madoc, part of the Municipality of Centre Hastings, the students are providing the community with a new venue to highlight local culture. The Madoc Performing Arts Centre is located at the corner of Seymour and Durham streets, adjacent to a skate park and soon-to-be-finished splash pad. While work continues on the structure, children climb and swing on a playground nearby, illustrating the benefits the centre will have for the community. The facility uses completely sustainable or recyclable materials. Once finished it will emit no pollution and will use no fossil fuels – significant considering the rapidity of climate change and the exponential growth in oil prices over the last few months. The centre will include an outdoor stage at the front of the building as well as an indoor stage and seating for 90. The building also includes a canteen, washrooms, a green room and a storage/utility room. The performing arts centre is a hexagon shape. Supporting the structure at each corner are round bale columns – round bales flipped on their side and stacked on top of each other. This is the first time Magwood has used round bales in construction, something he has been hoping to do for a while now, he says. The round bales and straw square bales make up the walls of the theatre. The walls are then covered with a plaster mix of mud/clay, sand and straw. Insulation comes from a few different sources – wool, as well as denim scraps – cast-offs from a denim factory.Magwood said he likes to use a variety of materials so the students get used to working with as many different substances as possible. The roof trusses come from local mills and are Forestry Standard Council certified ensuring they come from a sustainable source. The roof is made of galvanized steel, durable and completely recyclable. The building uses a geothermal heating and cooling system and a photovoltaic power system – energy is collected through solar panels and stored in batteries for future use. And as for the busy hive of workers on site?“ The students are great,” says Magwood. “We always have 25 pleasant, hard-working individuals.” The students range in age from their 20s to late 50s and come from a variety of backgrounds and careers. There are house painters, mining engineers, artists and biologists that make up the mix. The students form teams within three categories – administration, construction, and mechanical systems. Each student leads one team and assists on two others. Student Kayla Wilkins, 26, said she is enjoying the program.“ It’s great – I’m learning a lot and it’s definitely fun,” she said. Wilkins is heading up the electrical team and is working with an electrician to install the wiring. She has been assisting on the flooring team as well. The day we visit, she hard at work plastering the floor with a mixture of clay, sand, water, hemp and rice paste. The building is on schedule to be completed on August 22. The Sustainable Building Design and Construction program is based out of the Haliburton Campus of Fleming College. Next year the program hopes to open two sections of the program and complete two projects. – 30 –