When designer Chris Mattock calls a project the Harmony House, he’ s referring to the structure and natural environment working in harmony. Or, potentially more accurately, the home assisting the natural environment. As the first zero-carbon home—it emits no greenhouse gases from heating, cooling hot water and the use of electrical appliances—built in British Columbia, the Burnaby, British Columbia, Harmony House had folks in Canada and across the world taking notice of a home that produced more energy than it consumed. (The home creates energy from the solar panels on the roof.)

The two-story, 4,714-square-foot home wasn’t just some small-scale experiment of net-zero, rather a grand exhibit of building in an established community with a flexible design that had potential to provide two housing units and even an in-home office. With so much space to cover, Mattock’ s Habitat Design + Consulting had to stay diligent with both design and material selection. The project includes lowtoxicity interior finishes, materials with recycled content, foam insulations using non-ozone depleting expanding agents, water conservation and rainwater harvesting. All decisions were designed to lower the environmental impact of the home, conserve natural resources and create a healthy indoor environment for any living or visiting the home.

With every design and material decision paramount in the goals of the home, Lynden Door contributed to the process by offering its no-added-ureaformaldehyde vertical grain fir flush interior door. Not only do the doors offer the healthy low-chemical needs of the everyday living, but also the natural fir and aesthetics of the doors in the two-story home built for privacy and serenity match the sustainable and environmental desires of the designer. with materials. Harmony with nature. Harmony with a plan.