| In the rolling farmland just north of Montreal, a small | | | | the roof, rainwater is collected, filtered and recycled, as |
| miracle is taking shape. It is the realization of a neoteric | | | | is water from the laundry, showers, and kitchen. |
| approach to the habitat. It engenders a more | | | | Heating, the radiant floors, air conditioning and security |
| considerate, Earth-friendly way of living – some | | | | systems are all controlled by intuitive movement |
| would say, a more intelligent way of living. | | | | sensors. Everything is designed for the minimum abuse |
| It is a house built of glass, wood and dreams. It is the | | | | of energy and natural resources. Even at the |
| Énóvo house. | | | | construction stage, the house can be assembled in a |
| The name is derived from the Cheyenne word | | | | matter of days, with next to no damage to the site or |
| meaning “Your Home.” Like all North American | | | | to its surroundings. |
| Indian tribes, the Cheyenne had a deep, abiding respect | | | | For Énóvo owners, life comes with the space, light |
| for the land. Wherever possible, they did not abuse it, | | | | and freedom to refashion their habitat to meet |
| because they considered them an integral part of it. | | | | evolving lifestyles. Ceiling to floor high-performance |
| They felt that, if they desecrated Nature, then Nature | | | | windows brings a breathtaking sensation of openness, |
| would surely desecrate them. As a result, they lived in | | | | space to stretch the imagination, and a sense of |
| complete harmony with their surroundings, generally | | | | oneness with the outside world. This is magic, yet |
| giving back as much as they took. | | | | down-to-earth logic, of Énóvo’s modular |
| Today, throughout North America – and indeed the | | | | construction. |
| whole world – a growing number of prescient | | | | And then, in the middle of logic, the unexpected. A |
| architects and developers are looking for inspiration | | | | courtyard, a secret space for a Jacuzzi under the |
| and pointers from the functional, Earth-friendly lifestyle | | | | stars, a pensive Japanese garden, a micro winter |
| of the Native Americans. | | | | wonderland, a play area for the children. It is the |
| Karl Mongrain, president of IME Habitat, Montreal, is one | | | | sanctuary around which the entire house revolves. |
| such visionary. Scion of a long line of master builders, | | | | Though born in the countryside, the Énóvo concept |
| he has spent his entire life theorizing and creating | | | | effortlessly crosses national, cultural, and climatic |
| outside the comfort zone. His idiosyncratic brainwaves, | | | | boundaries. It is a living space designed to be at ease |
| a long hands-on business experience in industrial | | | | with the stucco of Tuscany or the concrete of Los |
| prefabrication, and a passion for realistic ecology has | | | | Angeles, the tangerine groves of Marrakech, or the |
| come to fruition in the line of Énóvo habitats. | | | | gum trees of the Australian outback, the snows of |
| Together with a like-minded firm of Montreal architects, | | | | Aspen, or the deserts of Arizona. Prefabricated |
| he has created a house - the first of a long line - that | | | | modules are shipped from a deep-water Canadian |
| belongs both to the past, and to the future. From the | | | | port with on-site rail facilities, where the use of carbon |
| past, he has taken the idea of simple living in close | | | | fuels is cut to an absolute minimum. Local and world |
| contact with the outside world. From the future, he has | | | | markets are thus easily and rapidly accessed in an |
| drawn from the audacious developments in | | | | energy efficient fashion. And anywhere the Énóvo |
| prefabrication, recycling and insulation. In doing so, he | | | | house goes, it will be constructed from materials that |
| has brought to life a living space that is compassionate | | | | have the smallest feasible carbon footprint. |
| to those who live within and without it, and to the land | | | | Worldwide, Énóvo will prove its adaptability and |
| upon which it stands. | | | | Earth-friendly credentials. In the third world, a version |
| The Énóvo house is designed to evolve around to | | | | will replace the degrading shanty towns with healthy, |
| the needs of both its inhabitants, and the ecosystems | | | | well-designed, dignified habitats. Another Énóvo will |
| surrounding it. A modular configuration adjusts fluidly to | | | | provide first-time homeowners with extremely |
| the changes and phases in the lives of its owners. | | | | affordable, attractive homes built on recycled land. |
| Similarly, its construction adapts to any terrain or | | | | The Énóvo concept, however, is just part of the big |
| climatic condition; urban or outback, earthquakes, | | | | picture, one small step towards cleaning up the |
| downpours, winter blizzards, or scorching heat. | | | | ecological mess we have brought upon our planet. No |
| Architecturally, the house is striking, the sculpture Piet | | | | amount of Earth-friendly design, rainwater |
| Mondriaan didn’t get round to making. Clean cubist | | | | conservation, green roofing, or intelligent thermostats |
| forms, a preponderance of glass, a purity of line. | | | | can help those who insist on expanding their carbon |
| Perhaps the most innovative feature is the Green | | | | footprint. People will have to play their part, amend |
| Roof; a layer of self-sustaining vegetation that covers | | | | lifestyles, think greener. Living in an Énóvo House is |
| the entire house. This, as the First Nations knew well, is | | | | an exhilarating experience, but it is also a team effort. |
| the consummate insulation against the elements. From | | | | The Énóvo House. At One With The Earth. |