4 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

June 2019:

 

 

Unique 'bubble home' popping up in Esquimalt

 

https://vancouverisl...imalt-1.4484363

 

[attachment=29785:screenshot-vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca-2021.03.06-05_01_15.png]

 

A one-of-a-kind home has popped up in Esquimalt, largely created out of thin air.

The home's main structure, in fact, went up in just three hours. It's a giant white balloon that serves as a mould for the finished home.

 

Once inflated, the bubble is sprayed with a polyurethane sealant, reinforced with rebar, and then sprayed with concrete and covered with a stucco exterior.

 

The balloon is then removed to be reused for another project.

 

The developers, Nouvel Housing, say it's an affordable and energy-efficient alternative to traditional building materials.

 

"The options are pretty vast," says Nouvel vice-president Brittany Olney. "This allows us to build in half the time, which cuts down on cost."

 

 

today:

 

Duplex building site in Saxe Point. One of a handful of building lots in the Victoria core under $800,000. At the time of listing the only lot and duplex zoned lot in Esquimalt. At time of listing only 1 other duplex zoned lot in all of Greater Victoria is on the market (according to MLS). The other is located in Sooke. Only 8 duplex zoned lots have sold in Greater Victoria since January 2015. This is an extremely rare commodity.

 

 

https://www.realtor....malt-saxe-point

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 06 March 2021 - 02:03 AM.

[Dexter]

Wow I looked at this place last year when the bubble was up and they were about to start the exterior. Looks like they pulled the plug right after as there is no work in the walls. I bet there are lawsuits on file with the courts. At the time They said they had 5 other houses under contract and had spent 200k to get the engineering passed by bc building code.

[Victoria Watcher]

Wow I looked at this place last year when the bubble was up and they were about to start the exterior. Looks like they pulled the plug right after as there is no work in the walls. I bet there are lawsuits on file with the courts. At the time They said they had 5 other houses under contract and had spent 200k to get the engineering passed by bc building code.

 

it's funny because i had never heard of the bubble house until yesterday.

 

but i'm looking at that listing photo and thinking what the heck was there?  odd bracing and other supplies still there, and round shape too.  that's the only reason i researched the address further. if i had seen an old rectangular house foundation there i might not have thought much of it at all.

 

the builder/concept still has a website but it's not super attractive.  no samples to show.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 06 March 2021 - 10:06 AM.

[Dexter]

Indeed court case started September 2020, possibly developer vs client, Robert Cote. Maybe a payment milestone was missed.

Edited by Klapecki, 06 March 2021 - 10:07 AM.

[Mike K.]

Interesting. The concept was presented to me several years ago and they had several properties lined up at the time.