London, Ont. project, EVE Park by s2e Technologies, honoured in national awards
Built Green Canada announces winners in its second annual Maverick Awards—a program to reward and profile leadership in sustainable building through its three exclusive categories. Out of entries from British Columbia to Ontario, the Built Green team was keen to see what new processes and solutions would be unveiled through the innovation award submissions. It would be s2e Technologies’ EVE Park community awarded the Innovation Maverick. Its purpose is to recognize creative ways sustainable building is happening and progressing industry: those with a new approach that challenges status quo.
This project is a residential development designed for net zero emissions, integrating renewable energy technologies, and planned around community and shared space. It rethinks the paradigm of suburban living by removing driveways and garages to create pedestrian-friendly outdoor spaces—including parks, gardens, and trails. Each building, shaped like a helix, features a pair of rotary smart parking towers to store vehicles and save land. The towers are equipped for EV charging. The development also features an EV car share program. And the project’s 42 units include energy-efficient appliances, ERVs for filtered air, and custom millwork. A rooftop solar array generates energy equivalent to the annual consumption of the homes.
This community was named by CNN as one of the 10 projects of 2024 to shape the world. It’s working through certification in the BUILT GREEN® Communities program, and as part of this, two BUILT GREEN® High Density projects already completed at Platinum level certification in 2024.
EVE Park started as a concept that turned into their tagline: “Live in a Park, not a Parking Lot.” Their designers drew upon a rotational parking technology, so that land not dedicated to the buildings could be used for green space. This yielded a gain in efficiency of land use and reduced their parking footprint by 85%. In moving vehicles into towers, space was freed up for landscaping, including an “edible landscape” consisting of fruit trees / teas and more. Less surface parking means heat island effects are reduced. Ground-water management is improved. Traffic lanes are simplified. And EV charging is accommodated.
s2e Technologies makes EV charging available for every car, while offering residents an opportunity to participate in an EV car share: making it easy for residents to switch to electric driving and to replace their second car with a car-share program. While one third of the average Canadian’s impact on the environment comes from their home, the second third is from their transportation choices. EV and car sharing has a huge impact!1
Plus, s2e has a micro-utility, which they used to attract third-party money to fund the solar array and mechanical upgrades. This reduced the purchase price of the homes and provided a maintenance partner to make it easy for buyers to keep the project running efficiently into the future, while renewable net-zero energy provides insurance against rising energy costs.
These innovations address fundamental human needs for community and nature while anticipating changing transportation and energy paradigms. As this project demonstrates, sustainable community development doesn't require reinventing the wheel, but rather the thoughtful integration of existing solutions that prioritize both environmental stewardship and quality of life.
“We've discovered that true sustainability extends beyond energy efficiency to encompass how people move, connect and experience their living environment,” says Ashley Hammerbacher, EVE Park project leader. “By integrating transportation solutions directly into our design—from the innovative rotational parking towers to our EV car sharing program—we've demonstrated that mobility and residential planning can be combined to create truly forward-thinking communities.”
From the outset, the s2e team believed that designing for comfort and human experience must be central, not peripheral, to sustainability efforts. When they prioritized pedestrian-friendly spaces, natural landscapes, and thoughtful amenities, they sought to create a model for housing where sustainability became a normal part of daily life.
“We applaud s2e Technologies’ bold leadership and creativity in advancing sustainable building,” says Chief Executive Officer at Built Green Canada, Jenifer Christenson. “This is a developer addressing renewable energy solutions and decarbonization, while prioritizing community and nature, finding innovative solutions in the process—they’re one of our trailblazers, whose work helps to progress industry toward more holistic sustainable building practices: the very mission of our organization.”
Founded in 2006, s2e Technologies operates out of St. Jacobs, Ontario, specializing in developing and investing in communities with cost-efficient sustainable energy solutions. They offer services in net-zero community design, energy generation through solar and microgrids, and sustainable mobility solutions. As part of this, they seek like-minded, long-term partnerships with investors, developers, technology providers, and government to advance environmental sustainability through market-based solutions to build a better future.
The Maverick Awards are another step forward in Built Green Canada's mission to progress sustainability practices and recognize leadership; this year, four winners have been announced in conjunction with title co-sponsors, Jayman BUILT and SkyFire Energy. Besides the Innovation Award, sponsored by Excel Homes, the Mavericks awarded Jim Zsiros of J. Zsiros Contracting with the Ambassador Award for exemplifying the power of hands-on ambassadorship—he’s created a ripple effect that’s elevated green building standards, particularly Built Green, across the region. Meanwhile, the judges were deadlocked on the Transformational Award, so there are two winners this year: Best Builders for their Phoenix House in Delta, a remarkable rebuild setting a new benchmark for low-carbon renovations, while addressing resilience and holistic sustainability; and Spring Creek Mountain Village in Canmore, which has transformed from a mobile home park into an impressive multi-phase community largely fueled by geo-exchange, which embraces social, environmental and economic sustainability.
1Canadian Greenhouse Gas Emissions Attributable to Households, 2018