Bob Cliffe, Professional Real Estate Agent

OTTAWA, TORONTO, CALGARY: New homes, and new or renewed forms of homes, are a year-round attachment of Canadian home-and-garden journalism. Generating newspaper attention recently was the growing appreciation for the townhouse in Ottawa, top; the showhome of a highrise-development in the Toronto suburb of Brampton, above left; and a showhome for a tract-housing development in north Calgary. You can learn a lot about your town when you read the out-of-town newspapers. Consider this, from the Ottawa Citizen townhouse story: "To a large extent, their proliferation comes from the maturing of Ottawa as an urban centre and the municipality's professed commitment to housing intensification to combat urban sprawl." Every life-long Ottawa resident who thinks a townhouse an exemplar of intense residency owes himself or herself a trip to Vancouver or, perhaps, a moment's reflection on those television skyshots broadcast between Winter Games coverage.

'Upcycling' is one of those reminders of the elasticity of the English language. The word 'upcycle' has only appeared in this newspaper twice in the last 10 years. It means, according to one of the 342,000 Internet sites in which the word appears, the "repurposing of a material into a product of higher quality. An example would be a purse made out of woven candy wrappers." It must have considerable currency in Calgary, if this introduction to a Herald story on used-items stores is a guide: 'Don't have just the right upcycle elements hanging around your baserment.? Check out local flea markets, second-hand shops . . . ."

CASCADE -- Project location: Westwood Plateau, Coquitlam

GINGER -- Project location: Strathcona, Vancouver

PETER SIMPSON -- peter

It may look like a spaceship, but it's not from Mars -- it's from Montreal. The model of a futuristic single-family home called 'Homerizon' was created by Jean-Pierre Desmarais and on display at the Cottage and Country Homes show held last weekend in the Quebec city. Most visitors to the show had never seen anything like it: rising high above the trees, a mushroom-shaped building with an elevator in its steel-framed composite "stem" and a two-storey, glass-fronted "cap." If built, the home would stand 24 metres high, with four wind turbines integrated into its frame and an aerodynamic shape to capture the breezes. Because of these and a host of other design elements, the house will be completely off the grid, says Desmarais. The home is designed to integrate a host of renewable and environmental systems, including solar photovoltaic panels, hot water and radiant floor heating by thermal solar panels, passive solar design, rainwater, autonomous drinking water supply system, waste water treatment and recycling. To build, Desmarais reports, would cost from $3.5 to $5 million. 'That's the architectural evaluation,' said Desmarais, who has spent the last two years developing the idea but has yet to see a Homerizon home built. The idea for the home came to him several decades ago, but it was during a work stint as special-effects technician on the film Mummy III that Desmarais met an illustrator who put his ideas on paper. To integrate the renewable energy systems, he then went to an architect and designer. 'For many people who see it, it totally makes sense,' his wife, Kathy Gildart, reports. 'The renewal energy technologies are available, and we should be able to integrate them into the structure of our homes.' Many of the people who have viewed the concept with interest have large pieces of land in secluded areas, she says. 'They're off the grid and they want to stay that way.'

InterUrban will have big views of historic city -- PAGES D2-3

Durability and sustainability are two of the reasons why wood has replaced carpeting in popularity in the main living areas of a house. Traditional hardwoods like oak and maple have been joined by bamboo, cork and reclaimed wood. Bamboo reaches maturity in six years and can be continually harvested. With cork, the bark of a tree is harvested every few years without killing the tree. Shown here, a dining room with cork flooring, left, a kitchen with bamboo flooring, above, and a sitting area with reclaimed wood, right.

Dear Condo Smarts: Our strata council is confused on how to apply our bylaws.

A subtle pride permeates the Inter-Urban new-home project in New Westminster -- pride in the 18-storey building, but also in the neighbourhood in which it is located.

Q: Is it possible to grow basil indoors? I know it cannot be seeded or transplanted outdoors until late spring. I am craving some fresh, homegrown basil. I am fond also of cilantro.

Kinichi Shigeno is an award-winning veteran artisan whose ceramic works have been showcased both locally and overseas. Hamza Vora and Raneen Nosh are novice artisans whose tile creations have just recently made their public introduction.