The environmentally sensitive (ES) section of BNPHI is unique as it is the first social housing project in North America that was designed and built for the environmentally hypersensitive. The completion of this building was a significant milestone which was made possible by the receptiveness of Barrhaven United Church to sponsor this project, the financial support of the Ministry of Housing for Ontario and the exceptional efforts of the architectural / building / engineering team.
The ES section consists of a seven unit two storey building which was designed and constructed specially for people who are environmentally hypersensitive. It is situated in one corner of the BNPHI site and is bounded by private single family homes in the east, a railway track on the south side, and a baseball diamond in the west.
These seven ES units make up one-third of the twenty-one BNPHI units allocated for persons with disabilities. In total, there are 41 units in the BNPHI development.
Some notable features of the ES units include:
- Absence of a basement - Basements are typical in convential housing. These are very frequently a source of musty odours and mold. The design purposely eliminated a potential mold problem.
- Carefully selected materials - Carpets, a known source of chemical pollutants and molds, are not found in the building.
- Heating and ventilation - No gas or oil is used in the building. Each unit has its own heat recovery ventilator (HRV).
- Lighting - Windows are double-glazed, with clear non-low-E glass in aluminum frames.
The CBC television program Marketplace featured a segment called Environmental Apartments about our ES units during their April 6, 1993 broadcast.