Durham College recently moved a residential home donated by Durham Custom Homes from Banting Street in Oshawa, Ont. to its Whitby campus as part of Phase 2 of the college’s Building for our Future initiative.

January 28, 2011

January 16 marked an exciting day for Durham College and its three-phase Building for our Future initiative when the college moved a residential home donated by Durham Custom Homes from Banting Street in Oshawa, Ont. to its Whitby campus.

The house, which was physically moved by Pollard Company, falls under Phase 2 of the $36-million expansion and renovation project happening at the college’s Whitby campus and will be used as a living lab environment for future students in the Energy Audit Techniques and Renewable Energy Technician programs in addition to new programs under development. This will give students an opportunity to see the technology and wiring previously used in the residential sector first-hand while experiencing the changes occurring in the construction and building trades including learning how homes were previously built, conducting energy audits and determining how to retrofit older homes.

“The home works toward the concept of a living lab,” said Don Lovisa, president of Durham College. “So every stage we’ve talked about is to ensure that students have an opportunity to work in those environments and see how in a real-world setting they’re starting to prepare themselves for jobs within those sectors. “

A new, high-efficiency green home will also be built by Durham Custom Homes at the Whitby campus this spring. It will offer open walls, exposed plumbing and insulation and more, enabling students to work in an energy efficient and technologically advanced setting. In addition, different kinds of high efficiency furnaces will be installed so students can study the different furnaces and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems available to consumers.

In addition to the two homes, Phase 2 of the expansion includes a retrofit and expansion of the shop area at the Whitby campus to accommodate new programs including Power Engineering Technology, Sustainable Energy, Biomass Energy, Building Trades and Technology, Carpenter, Steamfitter, Construction Millwright and Tower Crane Operator.

Phase 3 will be a new 30,000-square-foot building that can accommodate an additional 950 students studying in hospitality, tourism and food programs and house a full-service, green-certified restaurant that is open to the general public and a greenhouse so both students and community members can watch the foods of Durham Region come to life. The new space will profile local agriculture and showcase how regionally grown produce can be available all year long.

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