This issue of SABMag endeavours to provide a snapshot of the current state of the green building movement in Canada, its recent accomplishments, its current concerns and its emerging trends. It follows hard on the heels of our annual awards issue, the fourth in a series that has become a valuable barometer for the design and construction industry. [See www.sabmagazine.com Issues 12, 18, 24 and 30].

Since the first issue of SABMag appeared in the summer of 2006 [less than one year after the country’s first LEED Platinum building was completed], the process of designing and delivering leading edge green buildings in Canada has undergone significant change.

By Jim Taggart

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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…)