The Maison Productive House in downtown Montreal is a vision of what housing could look like, with sustainability in mind. Rather than building agricultural systems on top of existing industrial spaces, the Productive House designed urban greenspaces with communities in mind. The Productive House consists of 5 apartments, 3 townhouses, 1 design studio, 1 bakery, productive greenhouses, plant gardens and common facilities. Additionally, there are free common areas, yoga spaces, and saunas available to residents that also provide energy for greenhouse heating.
The Maison Productive House
The Maison Productive House was built with the Zero Emission Development (ZED) principle in mind, striving for carbon neutrality. Residents of the the Productive House can reduce their ecological footprint by 50% or more.
Rune Kongshaug designed the space in 2006, wanting to demonstrate that “it was possible to build a house in the form of an ecosystem that produces more than it consumes, where each consumer becomes a producer.” In his design, every aspect was considered:
Water
Rainwater is collected, filtered, and recycled into irrigation systems for year-round use. 48% of the land is permeable, allowing for good drainage.
Gardens
Fruits, vegetables, and plants are grown year-round, due to the design of the greenspaces. Over 30% of the Productive House are communal spaces, ensuring equal investment into seeing the project succeed and creating mutual responsibility. Kongshaug designed the space with self-sufficiency in mind, meaning that the greenspaces are intended for residential consumption rather than commercial.
Schematic of the Maison Productive House Gardens
Energy
The key to minimizing energy consumption is creating a system that not only captures renewable energy, like solar, but utilizes the energy to its highest capacity. In this case, the Productive House is highly insulated to prevent any unnecessary energy loss. The House was built facing south/south-west, and the floors are made of concrete (which is better for overall thermal mass). Between the 9 hydraulic solar panels, recovered wastewater heat, 3 ground source heat pumps, and heat recovery ventilators, the House produces most of the annual 251.4 GJ of energy that it consumes.
Schematic of the Maison Productive House Structure
As seen in the above visual, the House is built to produce its own energy, and circulate it throughout. Eventually, the residual heat is used in the rooftop greenhouse to help grow the food which feeds the residents. The House forms an ideal cycle where you live to produce rather than produce to live.
Transportation
The only reserved parking spaces for the Productive House are reserved for vehicle-sharing cars. The chosen location allows for walkability, which is no coincidence. Montreal’s metro system is extensive (43 miles long), and can allow residents access to nearly every part of the city. The Productive House is also in walking distance to bike paths and community spots, like schools and health services. Although residents are encouraged to socialize with each other, leaving the residence and going into the city is extremely accessible.
Currently, the Maison Productive House is still refining its systems and functioning to maintain the goal of ecological and social advancement. Despite its imperfections, the Maison Productive House is probably the best representation of the 4 qualities of just sustainability of the three ventures highlighted in this research. The Productive House is regenerative, and focused on living within its planetary limits, while still prioritizing communal space and collective action (example: ride sharing). If this utopic living space could be implemented on a larger scale, there’s no saying how much the environment and communities could benefit.