Why it really costs nothing

Sustainability is having far-reaching impacts on building standards, codes and specifications. It is being written into municipal by-laws and zoning, with most municipalities choosing LEED® as their green building standard. In the commercial sector, sustainable buildings have become the new benchmark for Class ‘A’ office space.

By Vince Catalli and Ralf Nielsen

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The fifth facade

In the world of Industrial, Commercial and Institutional [ICI] construction, the vast majority of buildings have flat roofs that are often not in view. Yet they exist in the harshest of environments - baked under blazing sun, exposed to wind, rain and snow, walked upon by various trades with little concern for the integrity of the membrane. All of this while performing arguably the most important building envelope function - protecting the interior space below by keeping the exterior elements out.

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Strategies for Wireless Systems

Minimizing the energy consumption for lighting can only be achieved when the lighting is controlled in an efficient manner. The better this goal is achieved, the greater the energy savings.

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Pointers from a front-line practitioner

Throughout Canada, as in the rest of the developed world, employers are confronting the looming demographic crisis — the retirement of vast numbers of baby boomers from the workforce — and projected acute shortage of younger skilled workers to replace them. The competition to attract and retain these workers has begun in earnest, and there is a growing consensus in the marketplace that offering a high quality work environment is an essential key to success. The result is a revolution in commercial office building design, the first since the 1960s.

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Vancouver Convention Centre | Simple outward appearance belies underlying complexity of Canada’s largest green roof

The Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project [VCCEP] which opened in April 2009 occupies a prominent site on the city’s Coal Harbour waterfront, with sweeping views west to Stanley Park and north and east to the Coast Mountains. Designed by Seattle-based LMN Architects, in conjunction with Vancouver’s Musson Cattel Mackey Partnership and DA Architects & Planners, the 100 000sq.m [1.1 million sf] facility was conceived as a model of sustainable design for large-scale civic buildings.

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By Bruce Hemstock

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Early planning means an economic afterlife for buildings

by Vince Catalli

The traditional model for the design, construction, operation, decommissioning, demolition and disposal of a building is a linear, sequence in which new materials, products and building systems are created at the beginning of a project and discarded at the end. (more…)

New rating systems will change our ways

Green roof of the Burnside Gorge community Centre controls stormwater runoff as part of a landscaping strategy that contributes points to LEED Gold certification.

We think of the landscape as green by default. In reality, it is challenging to achieve this goal in urban areas where requirements are imposed by market expectations, municipal requirements, and a range of other factors.
At the same time, green building rating systems are beginning to demonstrate their power to transform both the market and the regulatory context, and are offering opportunities for landscape architects, engineers, and other designers to apply a variety of new approaches to site development. (more…)

for high performance buildings

The Earth Rangers Centre uses earth tubes and a double foundation wall. The energy recovery in winter and summer is sufficient to temper the air about 5º C on average and up to 10º C on cold days.

It has become increasingly common to provide heat recovery on ventilation systems in buildings. In fact, it is difficult to achieve the minimum energy performance requirements for a LEED or other high performance building without it. (more…)

Best Practice Embraces Efficiency and Innovation Including daylight harvesting

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Net Zero Water

Sustainability performance at the building, neighbourhood and city scale

Emerging storm water management methods represent a key approach to sustainability of integrating ecosystems within our infrastructure. [NE Siskiyou Green Street, Portland, OR; Kevin Robert Perry, ASLA]

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How water and waste infrastructure strategies at different scales, from the building to the city, can respond to sustainability and other challenges. (more…)