Tiny Shelters, Global Impact in Sackville
SACKVILLE, NB–A New Brunswick startup wants the world’s help in clearing the air.
Clear the Air is an international design competition put on by Community Forests International (CFI), an environmental start-up based in Sackville that works to connect people and their communities to the forests that sustain them.
“We try to leverage everything we do here,” said Daimen Hardie, co-founder and program director of Community Forestry International. “So it’s a tiny shelter contest, but it’s also an opportunity for us to start a larger conversation about global issues.”
This is the second year CFI has held the competition. Last year the theme was “Blur the Lines” between humans and nature. This year’s “Clear the Air” theme focuses on the impact the building industry has on the planet.
“This year we wanted to draw attention mainly to the impact of the built environment on the climate,” said Hardie. “Because the building sector is such a large contributor to global annual emissions.”
Participants had to follow a set list of criteria created by the CFI team. This year, the criteria is basically making a shelter with a minimal carbon footprint within a $10,000 price range. The winner is chosen by a jury consisting of architects and designers from across Canada. The winner gets to have their shelter built for CFI’s campus and $1000 cash prize.
“The original motivation for the competition was that we had a need for accommodation and as a not-for-profit, we’re generally cash-strapped. We can’t build an entire campus all at once. We’re going to have to build it one piece at a time,” Hardie said. “We decided to leverage that process, we could open it up to the world to help us design our campus and help us to design our accommodations.”
When they say the “world,” they’re not kidding. This year they received submissions from around 20 countries including, Japan, Greece, Italy, Russia, Iran and Syria.
“When you look at the designs, you’ll notice they all fall on a spectrum from more utilitarian and practical through to more artistic, that makes the competition really exciting,” Hardie said.
The competition isn’t just about creating a shelter for CFI’s campus, though that’s a huge bonus. Hardie said it’s also a creative way to get individuals from around the world to think of ways we can reduce our carbon footprint while building.
“We are an international organization. We do deal with global development issues, especially in our projects in east Africa. We’re trying to have a larger conversation about how humans can live on this planet without destroying it and without change the climate,” Hardie said.
“That is a global challenge and we wanted to engage with a global audience in that discussion. That’s what’s really inspiring to us, because it shows that people are really thinking about and are sharing ideas and solutions.”
He said the competition is proof that an organization or business can engage globally from anywhere anywhere.
“We’re an environmental charity, but we draw inspiration from the business sector and the tech world. We break the mold in a lot of ways,” said Hardie. “For us this is exciting from a business perspective just because it shows that you can engage with a global audience even from your little office in rural New Brunswick.”
The winner of the competition will be announced in Saint John on April 15 at 7 p.m. at the newly opened Picaroons General Store.