Brothers Realizing Vision of Building Sustainable Homes with Futuristic Design
MONCTON – Jean-Pierre and Jean-Marc Desmarais are working with the Université de Moncton’s Faculty of Engineering to realize their vision of developing “revolutionary” sustainable homes that look like something out of a futuristic movie.
The twin brothers are from Montreal. Jean-Marc still lives there, and Jean-Pierre lives in Cocagne because his wife is from the province. The two of them have nurtured ideas of building forward-thinking homes since the early ’80s, and now they’re hoping to do it through their company, Homerizon.
The Desmarais brothers have had a vision for the project since they began sketching futuristic high-rise homes in 1981, and they’ve now assembled the people to help execute their vision.
“We aren’t engineers, architects or designers, but we have some other skills that permit us to try to do something to save our planet,” says Jean-Pierre.
Set about 40 feet above the ground, the 900-square-foot spherical home would provide a 360-degree view of the surrounding area. The anti-flood design, which includes one or two bedrooms, a greenhouse next to the kitchen and a balcony, means the house will take up less ground space.
The home will be completely self-sufficient as engineered laminate wood, solar panels and vertical wind turbines will provide for the household’s electricity needs. It will also incorporate a system to recycle rainwater.
Jean-Marc and Jean-Pierre hope to build their first home in New Brunswick in the next 18 months. They plan to initially sell the houses for $400,000 – $500,000 each. They aim to reduce the price to $300,000 and even lower if the homes do well in the market.
They’ve just launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $45,000 for the project. The online campaign not only aims to raise funds but also to garner public support.
“For us, it’s even more important to have a community surrounding this project and to encourage us. We’d like that one day, maybe every house can be self-sufficient with energy,” says Jean-Pierre.
The concept has generated some interest since the brothers founded the company in 2008. They’ve been showcasing their prototypes at home shows since 2010, most recently at the Montreal Fall HomeExpo in October. Over the years, they began working with architects and engineers to refine the design to fit current needs and technology.
The Université de Moncton got involved at the end of 2016 when the brothers were connected to the engineering department. The university’s researchers helped sketch out the structural design of the home, work that was mostly funded through government research and development subsidies.
This kind of project is the realization of lifelong dreams and pursuits. Jean-Marc and Jean-Pierre have always been interested in technological innovation. As kids, they liked to deconstruct their toys to see how they worked.
Jean-Marc later studied robotics and electronics. Jean-Pierre opened a store selling renewable energy equipment for homes. He founded the Ecole des Energies Alternatives du Quebec to teach people how to install renewable energy equipment. It was later taken over by Écohabitation.
As the price of renewable energy equipment falls and electricity prices rise, Jean-Pierre said it’s time to take advantage of new technologies that allow for the diminished use of fossil fuels.
“In the next couple of years, it’s going to be more and more affordable to use renewable energy. We really have to do something about it,” he says.