Michael Sasges
Sun
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With the Vancouver School of Theology’s Iona Building above and ocean and mountain below and beyond, Folio is singularly situated to inspire big questions about how and where we live, if not commensurate answers. If, for example, community or neighbourhood are no longer so obviously bound by values informed by ethnicity and religion or income and vocation, might neighbourhood values informed by our relationship with the natural world be a substitute? Folio asks. Can we on the West Coast ever champion our interiors for their equivalencies to the natural legacy beyond our exteriors? The University of B.C. project is a social interrogative because you (collectively and figuratively) asked Intracorp Development Ltd. for it. More exactly some of you (collectively and figuratively) asked Intracorp for an opportunity to make a profession of your concerns about the length and width and depth of your environmental footfall and of your commitments to ameliorating your footfall. “People are asking our people, at our various locations [projects] around the Lower Mainland, ‘what’s the recycling program here,’ ‘what kinds of material are you using?’ They never used to ask about low-emission paint, but they do now,” Intracorp’s Don Forsgren says of the company’s decision to introduce some components of ”green” living at Folio. “Those are the kinds of questions that get posed to our sales people and, back in the office, get posed to us.” So . . . The toilet technology will be an advance on the ultra-light flush toilet. A Folio toilet will be dual flush, with the heavier flush removing solid waste and the lighter flush liquid waste. Kohler Co., the supplier of the dual-flush Intracorp will install in Folio, says its dual-flush can save 6,000 gallons of water annually.
And . . . The grounds will be watered by rainwater collected off the roof of the Folio building and stored in a reflecting pond that is the building’s centrepiece . . . Further, the grounds will be stocked with drought-tolerant plants. ”We’ve done calculations that suggest we won’t be drawing on the municipal system [for summer watering],” Forsgren says. And . . . Recycling will be expedited by built-in sorting bins in each kitchen and a collection station in the parking garage. And . . . The garage will include two recharging stations for electric cars. And not least for being last (in a list that the sales staff could easily add to) . . . The paints used and carpets installed will emit low(er) levels of organic compounds. Folio is the fourth ”chapter” in a ”book” Intracorp is ”writing” at the intersection of Chancellor Boulevard and Wesbrook Mall and calls Chancellor Place. Chancellor House was the opening chapter; Argyll House and Argyll House East, the second and third chapters. The university and four of its theological schools contributed to the Chancellor Place ”plot” with the three-year-old ”Theological Neighbourhood Plan.” The plan anticipates the Iona Building and the chapels of St. Andrew’s and St. Mark’s and the Chapel of the Epiphany will anchor a neighbourhood of up to 625 new homes constructed over 15 years. Folio will consist of 58 residences over four levels, 53 apartment homes and five townhouses. It is not its predecessors by design. “Part of the positioning of Folio is that the product is about 20-per-cent cheaper than at Argyll House,” Forsgren reports, a decision Intracorp hopes will permit more UBC employees to buy at Chancellor Place. “We weren’t capturing the UBC buyer, the person who works on campus, because the product at Argyll really is targeted to people selling houses on the west side and moving here [to Chancellor Place],” he says. ”A lot of people came and said, ‘we really like this neighbourhood, it’s authentically UBC, it feels like a campus should. A lot of people said, ‘this is where we want to be, professors, people in the hospital, but I can’t afford it.’ So we addressed that by providing product they can afford.” The apartment houses start at less than $259,000. Over-all, 50 per cent of the Folio residences are available for less than $400,000 and 80 per cent for less than $450,000, Forsgren says. People who might be attracted to Folio because of its green attributes have been labelled the ”Cultural Creatives.” They number about 140 million people in Europe and North America, according to the cohort’s creators, sociologist Paul Ray and psychologist Sherry Ruth Anderson. ”Cultural Creatives care deeply about ecology and saving the planet, about relationships, peace, social justice, and about self actualization, spirituality and self-expression,” reads an advertisement for their book, The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World. ”Surprisingly, Cultural Creatives are both inner-directed and socially concerned, they’re activists, volunteers and contributors to good causes more than other Americans. ”However, because they’ve been so invisible in American life, Cultural Creatives themselves are astonished to find out how many share both their values and their way of life.” Folio Presentation centre: 1716 Theology Mall (at Chancellor Boulevard), University of B.C. Hours: Noon to 5 p.m., Saturday to Thursday Telephone: 604-228-8180 Web: www.folioliving.com On offer: One bedroom apartment, from $258,900; one bedroom + den, from $312,900; two bedrooms, from $396,900; two bedroom + den, from $436,900. Penthouses start at $815,900. Developer: Intracorp Development Ltd. Architect: Ramsay Worden Warranty: Saint Paul Guarantee MAGAZINE CHAMPIONS ‘NATURAL LIVING’ The owner of the five-year-old Natural Home magazine, self-described as a journal for “Cultural Creatives,” made a name-change announcement this week that speaks loudly about the eco-savvy home-buyer. As of the March/April issue, the magazine will be called Natural Home & Garden. “Whether the tag is ‘eco-friendly,’ ‘organic,’ or ‘green,’ natural living is going mainstream in a big way,” the announcement from Interweave Press reads. “And, Natural Home & Garden is the magazine that understands that people are striving to live healthy, balanced and natural lifestyles — all of which start at home. “Five years ago, this magazine started with a mission to help concerned citizens reduce the footprint they left on this earth. We edited for a small market of eco-friendly consumers, giving them a strong focus on the hows and whys of sustainable housing. “Now with the growth of interest in natural living in the marketplace, Natural Home & Garden can capitalize on these trends . . . .” Ran with fact box “Folio” and “Magazine Champions ‘Natural Living'”, which has been appended to the end of the story. Also See: Multi-generation, detached living in Langley: G4 © The Vancouver Sun 2004 |
