When it comes to what’s available in creative new homes, we often recognize the builder behind it, and not the team or individual responsible for the original design. But, in some cases, the floor plan designer and builder are the same person, which can make for a process from concept to fruition that runs much more smoothly. Robin Lee, president of Eleven Urban Development Ltd. is in a rare position of wearing hats of designer and builder. In addition to offering some attractive home designs, Lee and his company take pride in focus on the positive environmental aspects of home building.

Lee had an early interest in architecture, but says he made a couple of stops along the way to pursuing it as a career. “I started with engineering, and that was a little too dry for me. Eventually I graduated with a Liberal Arts degree in peace and conflict studies from the University of Calgary, and after that I graduated from the architectural technologies program at SAIT and worked as a draftsman.” The SAIT grad then followed up this technical start at Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s Syllabus program, where he took courses to become an architect, but never finished.

For a time, he toiled as an intern architect but found few companies looking out for the environment. “I finally decided that if I was going to save the world I had to do it on my own, so I moved on to do just that—build on my own.” It’s been three years since Lee started Eleven and as president, designer and builder, he works to ensure that his homes are as eco-conscious as possible.

One of Eleven’s models is an amazing semi-detached home—and Lee’s first design, which was inspired by its great location and unique lot. “We did take our time looking for a site with high sun exposure, and we found one with a wonderful south vista of the Bow River,” he says. Encouraged by the interesting parallelogram-shaped parcel, he opted to make the building the same shape, and its modern theme just went along with it.

A giant eave hangs over the front to maximize solar energy in the winter and it makes the most of Calgary's sunny climate. “This home is environmental and authentic,” he says. “There’s no stucco, keystones or any fakery which constitutes pure waste, and the floor is concrete in all three levels, with the exposed floors also being concrete to avoid wasting materials. As well, there are no baseboards as they are a redundant material.”

Green features designed into the home include insulating concrete forms (ICF), to ensure sound-proofing between the two homes; insulation dampeners on the floor to  prevent sound transfer; solar roof thermal panels to transfer heat to the hot water tank in the basement; and in-floor radiant heat, a feature  as cost effective as it is environmentally-friendly. A tankless boiler system tops off the heat on sunless, cooler days.

Of course none of this would mean very much if the home didn’t have a high R-rating and sound construction. “Air-leakage for this home is only 0.9 air-exchanges per hour which is one of the tightest homes ever tested,” says Lee. “The average home is rated at about five, and to be R-2000 a home needs to be under 2.5. This building is so airtight that it has a separate ventilation system (HRV) that provides fresh preheated air throughout the home.”

Other finishing features inked into the entire package only build upon the home’s efficiency and health. The walls are painted with no-VOC (volatile organic compound) white paint, which also reflects natural light, using less energy. Recycled glass tile is used in the bathrooms and kitchen, concrete countertops complement the concrete flooring, and in the basement, ultra-renewable bamboo flooring. This kind of attention to detail is what Lee and Eleven Urban Development Ltd. are quickly becoming known for, and what they will undoubtedly be recognized for in the distant future.  NL