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Starting a new in a new country bears its share of challenges… thinking about education matters, finding a place to live and work, and understanding the intricacies of the local customs and language. Between settling in, managing finances and getting to know your new country, it is crucial to make sure that you obtain the right advice for your particular situation so that you can have the chance to accomplish every one of your projects in Canada.

On the financial front, you must also familiarize yourself with the Canadian banking system, such as your credit file, bank accounts, savings plans, taxes and currency. It’s with that perspective in mind that National Bank now offers banking solutions designed especially for newcomers to Canada.

A welcoming offer

In addition to standard services, which include online bank statements and access to our High Interest Savings Account, our newcomers offer affords you an array of benefits to help you transition into your new life with peace of mind, namely thanks to:[……]

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The Hobbit house has inspired the imagination because of its close ties with nature: grass on the roof, wood door, stone, dry mud, branches and other materials.

Artisans have reproduced the Hobbit house which, to a certain degree, has existed for a long time, as it is thought that author J.R.R. Tolkien largely based it on Viking houses, whose best preserved prototypes are found in Iceland.

In a decorative world, designers have more or less consciously pushed the concept of the Hobbit house further. It’s as if they invited nature to penetrate inside to create a new style of decoration.

The Earth House article in Wikipedia shows an interior that will make you smile. The contours of the window are astonishing. There’s little room for angles. Everything curves, as angles are rare in nature. If you read the article, you will also see many examples of the exterior of an earth house.

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The major obstacle: interior layout can be challenging because you have to consider where to place the furniture.[……]

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It’s the biggest swimming centre in the world, but that’s not where the interest lies. Rather dull during the day, the building turns into a marvelous blue at night. Seeing the moon reflect off this ice blue is a spectacle in itself. That’s already enough to make the building stand out, but there’s more.

What you have before your eyes belongs to an accelerating revolution in the field of building physics. The American pavilion at Expo 67 in Montreal, known as the biosphere today, was a first timid step, just like the famous house over the waterfall, the work of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

It’s a revolution of organic architecture. The principle is simple: use organs of animated beings as inspiration to build. This revolution is riding the wave of recent scientific discoveries concerning nanofibers, intelligent textiles, plastic derivatives and other materials.

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The national swimming centre in Peking, also called the Water Cube, was built for the 2008 Olympic Games. The outer shell, with its 3000 air bubbles, greatly imitates the way human skin works. Exploiting the sensual side of skin and the way it self-regulates in terms of temperature and pressure is becoming increasingly popular among architects.[……]

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The summer season brings a panoply of ideas to improve our outdoor environment. The patio is often at the top of the list, because it’s so practical for meals and for taking a minute to relax.

If you want a patio that will pass the test of time, while maintaining an elegant look, the most important thing is to install a foundation that will support the selected material.

First, outline the perimeter of the patio that you want to build and determine the height.

Then dig to a minimum depth of 18 inches.

Line the bottom and sides of the excavation site with a landscaping cloth that will prevent the crushed stone foundation from mixing with the ground while allowing water to flow through to ensure proper drainage.

Spread about four inches of 0-3/4 crushed stone (which means that the size of the stone varies between zero and three quarters of an inch in diameter), and use a plate compactor to compact it. Repeat both steps until the patio is level, less the thickness of stones used, plus one inch.[……]

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Reduce your mortgage debt faster with these money-saving strategies:

Shorten your mortgage

Many homeowners aim to pay off their mortgages in 25 to 30 years. Reducing your amortization period by five or more years can make a huge difference in the amount of interest you pay.

Increase your payment frequency

With more frequent and accelerated payments, you may pay a little more each month, but you’ll pay your mortgage down faster, saving you interest costs over the long term.

Horloge_Toit_Pret_Hypothecaire_ISTOCKPHOTO_financeTake advantage of your mortgage prepayment options

Pay down your mortgage faster and save thousands of dollars. Here’s how:[……]

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At 10:00 a.m., the engines start running, the cables tense up and the wings open. The solar light slowly penetrates the building. Then, from above, the motors stop, the wings open to their full span, comparable to the wings of a Boeing 747. It’s as if the bird is going to take off at any time.

Under the bird, where the wings open, visitors lose themselves in the immensity of Lake Michigan, a genuine interior sea that flows by the eyes. Only large bay windows separate visitors from the waves that crash against the stone parapet. The building’s floor is almost at the same level as the surface of the lake.

Behind the visitors, at the other end of the interior space and beyond the door, a long walkway leads to Wisconsin Avenue, the city’s main artery. And the city is at about the same level as the lake. In other words, the lake is connected to the city through the building.

Inside the building, visitors file past works of art in intense light and whiteness. Everything is white: ceiling, walls, and floor.

At 5:00 p.m. the engines start up, cables move and the wings close. The solar light slowly leaves the inside of the building. After a minute, the engines fall silent, the wings are closed. The bird sleeps, folded over itself.

The wings adjust to weather conditions. Naturally they have sensors.

Milwaukee-Art-Museum_ISTOCKPHOTO_inusite

The bird is the Burke Brise Soleil. The building is the Quadracci pavilion of the Milwaukee Art Museum, in Milwaukee.[……]

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Beton-Marque-Imprime_ISTOCKPHOTO_renovationWith the advent of spring comes several tradeshows where exhibitors offer to have us discover the latest home renovation trends and materials. It was during one of these shows that we discovered printed or imprinted concrete.

This technique results in a decorative concrete by imitating brick, stone, wood, rock and other materials on any new concrete surface (access path, around a pool, patio, walkway or parking lot).

This technique can also be sued to restore a concrete slab by adding a certain thickness of new concrete (cover).

Google image shows results worthy of great artists. My favourites: the imitation of wide rustic wood planks or irregular stones of old roads. We could call it “concrete that fools the eyes.”

Here is a brief overview of the product’s placement.

[……]

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