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Fanshawe students design sustainable community for Petrolia

May 5, 2018

Ben Janssen sees a sustainable community with parks and lots of room for pedestrian traffic just off  Discovery Line near Eureka St.
Janssen and his team of architectural design and urban design students from Fanshawe College were declared the winners of the Marshall S. Huzevka Foundation’s Urban Design Project. The Fanshawe students were in Petrolia April 25 to unveil their designs for a sustainable community
The foundation was formed by the Petrolia family after Marshall, an architectural design at Fanshawe student, died in a motorcycle accident in 1995.
Matt Huzevka says the family has been hosting a competition for three years – but this year decided to have the students look at a piece of property the family owns on Discovery Line and come up with a concept for a community there.
Janssen’s group came up with Evergreen Communities. The judges like the unique layout of roads in the community and the people friendly design which includes a park and water feature at the entrance and a park on the northwest side with a storm management pond.
The plan calls for outdoor trails and outdoor gym equipment.
The homes are as close to sustainable as possible with solar panels to generate power, extra insulation to keep heating costs down and light coloured roofs to reflect the sun and cut down on the cooling costs.

For more on the story – pick up your copy of The Independent at Heidi’s Independent Grocer

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