Category
Buildings
Updates coming to BC Energy Step Code
British Columbia’s Office of Housing and Construction Standards is revising the province’s building code. Among the changes are three updates to the BC Energy Step Code that will take effect on Dec. 12. First, there will be two options for demonstrating…
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RFP closes for Halton’s consolidated courthouse project
The request for proposals (RFP) stage has closed for teams to submit their bids to design, build, finance and maintain the new Halton Region consolidated courthouse in Oakville, Ont. Following a request for qualifications (RFQ) process, three teams—EllisDon Infrastructure Justice,…
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University of Lethbridge’s Science Commons uses passive energy design
Stantec and KPMB Architects recently completed the Science Commons, a new academic building for Alberta’s University of Lethbridge, which uses light harvesting systems and passive energy design to achieve a projected energy use reduction of 53%. The $280-million, 413,000-sf Science…
LEED v4 tops 1,000 projects in Canada
The Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) is celebrating a new milestone as the total number of Canadian project registrations for the fourth version of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification surpasses 1,000. LEED is already the world’s most…
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MRA revamps corporate identity and mission statement
Martin Roy et Associés (MRA), a consulting engineering firm headquartered in Deux-Montagnes, Que., has revamped its corporate identity and mission statement to focus on ‘carbon-neutral’ buildings and transportation. The announcement follows Justin Trudeau’s pledge in September to make Canada carbon-neutral…
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Canada’s first large-scale multi-storey distribution centre planned for Burnaby
Oxford Properties Group plans to develop Canada’s first large-bay multi-level industrial property at Riverbend Business Park in Burnaby, B.C., transforming a former brownfield site. The business park, previously the site of a paperboard milling operation and a landfill, offers 1.35…
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Quebec’s GSR automates and standardizes decontamination work
GSR Construction Decontamination of Sorel, Que., has brought over established technology from Europe that it explains is new to the local market. Specifically, it says it is the first company in Quebec to acquire a Brokk robot and BCP 250…
Halifax’s Tribute Tower, built to resist progressive collapse, earns LEED Silver
The Royal Canadian Navy’s (RCN’s) new Tribute Tower project for Stadacona at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Halifax received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification earlier this year. The project, which combines 12 storeys of accommodations with three…
Toronto endorses ambitious parks and rec facility development
Last week, Toronto’s council endorsed what it calls the most ambitious plan for developing parks and recreation facilities in the city’s history. The implementation of the new program will see $2.2 billion invested across Toronto over the next 20 years.…
How BIM and IPD can work
Building Information Modelling (BIM) is an intelligent 3-D virtual modelling process for the design of buildings and infrastructure which is rapidly becoming the main tool for project realization used by architects, engineers and other construction professionals. The key challenge to…
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University of Guelph to renew and expand performing arts facilities
Ontario’s University of Guelph broke ground yesterday for the renewal and expansion of its performing arts program’s facilities. Diamond Schmitt Architects has designed the 45,000-sf project to reimagine the north wing of the MacKinnon Building, which was built in 1967…
CaGBC offers recommendations to new federal government
In the wake of this week’s federal election, which the Liberal Party won with a minority government, the Canada Green Building Council’s (CaGBC’s) advocacy team has offered recommendations for moving the building industry toward a lower-carbon future. “Canadians call for…
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Toronto’s SickKids breaks ground on Patient Support Centre
Yesterday, downtown Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and its charitable foundation held an official groundbreaking ceremony for their new 22-storey Patient Support Centre (PSC). The ceremony follows eight months of demolition. The site for the PSC was formerly occupied…
FCM concerned with CPC platform’s infrastructure spending reductions
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) has responded to the Conservative Party of Canada’s (CPC’s) election platform—which was released on Oct. 11—by expressing concern over its reductions to year-over-year infrastructure spending. “Cities across the country have an urgent need for…
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Endress+Hauser facility in Burlington pursues three sustainability certifications
Engineers at mcCallumSather and WSP are helping Endress+Hauser Canada target three major sustainability certifications—i.e. net-zero energy, the Zero Carbon Building Standard and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold through the Canadian Green Building Council (CaGBC)—for the company’s new…
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Ellis Don and PCL short-listed to build Vancouver’s new St. Paul’s Hospital
Providence Health Care has short-listed qualified teams from Ellis Don and PCL for the next stage of a competition to design, build and partially finance the new St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver (rendering pictured). Ellis Don’s team includes Parkin Architects…
Canadian infrastructure report card updated ahead of federal election
The 2019 Canadian Infrastructure Report Card, released yesterday ahead of the federal election, calls for long-term investments in the renewal of public infrastructure that it finds is aging, in poor condition and at risk. The following are some of the…
Weather barrier pioneer honoured as DuPont fellow
DuPont has recognized building science and construction technology leader Theresa ‘Teri’ Weston with the title of fellow, the company’s highest technical professional level for scientists and engineers, shared by only 12 other active members around the world. Working within DuPont’s…
Infrastructure Canada supports expansion of Edmonton’s science centre
Infrastructure Canada recently promised funding, through its community, culture and recreation stream, to support the Aurora project, a renovation and expansion project for Telus World of Science Edmonton. Specifically, $8.65 million in new funding will go toward the $23.4-million fourth…
Navigant Research forecasts global building stock growth to 2028
A new report by Navigant Research estimates the total global building stock will grow from 165.8 billion m2 in 2019 to 184.7 billion m2 in 2028, with the highest rates of growth to occur in developing regions, including Asia-Pacific (APAC),…
ASHRAE prepares new net-zero HQ
The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) is undertaking a US$15.7-million renovation of the building that will become its new global headquarters (HQ), with the goal of achieving—and showcasing—net-zero energy efficiency. The 67,000-square-foot, 1970s-era commercial office building…
CanBIM considers technology’s role in affordable housing
On Sept. 25 and 26, CanBIM held a regional event at the Hyatt Regency Toronto, focusing on what is certain a timely theme for the Greater Toronto Area (GTA): addressing the affordable housing crisis through digital innovation and technology. The…
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B.C.’s Step Code helps drive $3.3-billion energy-efficiency market
A recent Vancouver Economic Commission (VEC) study suggests communities across British Columbia that are using the new BC Energy Step Code—which allows them to require builders to exceed minimum legal requirements for energy efficiency—are helping drive a $3.3-billion market for…
Infrastructure Ontario releases Market Update
The total estimated capital costs of the projects on the pipeline, including projects in pre-transaction and the transaction phase, is over $65 billion.
Sun Life Building in Montreal awarded LEED Platinum
It becomes the first century-old building in North America to obtain triple Platinum certification having already earned BOMA BEST Platinum certification and WIRED Platinum certification.
Rheem Canada partnering with Cardinal Sales
The Mississauga-based specification representative will focus on commercial product bid and spec work with buildings engineers and architects
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Kryton International adds wireless real-time concrete monitoring
Vancouver-based Kryton has acquired a 30% interest in Denmark’s Sensohive Technologies and is also the exclusive North American distributor of Sensohive’s Maturix technology which enables wireless monitoring of concrete hardening in real time from virtually any internet-connected device.
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IoT is a Hot Topic in Cybercriminal Underground
A new report from Trend Micro Research finds cybercriminals around the world are actively discussing how to compromise connected devices.
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Fresh-Aire UV introduces APCO-X for IAQ in HVAC systems
The enhanced product is an upgrade to the original APCO line offering longer UV lamp life, better performance and increased VOC adsorption capabilities.
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RectorSeal introduces the new series of secondary drain pans for HVAC condensate control
The Titan Metal Series of HVAC air handling and furnace secondary drain pans prevent commercial property-damaging condensate overflow in the North American HVAC markets.
