Western Built | Fall 2023
Veronica Ochoa, BArch, MSc, LEED® AP BD+C, WELL AP, MASHRAE | Building Performance Project Designer

“Hot! Be careful!” “Caution: Contents very hot.” We are used to these warnings on our coffee cups, but should buildings/apartments that overheat have them? Some provinces require disclosure of flooding1 when buying/selling. In the U.S., insurance companies are leaving stated where assets are too expensive to insure due to floods and wildfires.2 Will buildings that are too expensive (or impossible!) to cool be next? Will informed consumers/investors pass opportunities in hot buildings in favor of cooler places? Let’s explore what stakeholders can do to reduce the likelihood of having a pool of stranded assets in their portfolio.

In the coming decade, car manufacturers in Canada will be subject to penalties for not producing and selling the right quota of electric vehicles (EV), contributing to a rapid rise in EV ownership. Given electric-powered vehicles are heavier than their gas-fuelled counterparts, there’s a good chance Building Code requirements will be changing in the near-term to address design loads for parkades, particularly as more electric pick-up trucks and SUVs begin flooding the market.
Canadian Property Management | October 2023
Frank Cavaliere, BSc, P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.), LEED® AP, Parksmart Advisor | Managing Principal

From code changes to fire safety, now’s the time to plan ahead

In the coming decade, car manufacturers in Canada will be subject to penalties for not producing and selling the right quota of electric vehicles (EV), contributing to a rapid rise in EV ownership. Given electric-powered vehicles are heavier than their gas-fuelled counterparts, there’s a good chance Building Code requirements will be changing in the near-term to address design loads for parkades, particularly as more electric pick-up trucks and SUVs begin flooding the market.
Journal of Commerce by ConstructConnect | October 6, 2023
Deanna Perrin, BSc (Civil), P.Eng. | Associate

It took only minutes for the atrium roof at The Snow Ghost Inn, about an hour’s drive from Kelowna, B.C., to experience a catastrophic failure and collapse under the snow load on April 20, 2020.

Fortunately, the atrium was empty and the remainder of the building, which offers accommodation for patrons of the Big White Ski Resort, was largely unaffected by the collapse.
Urban Toronto | October 2, 2023
Dominic Mattman, BASc, MASc, P.Eng., LEED® AP | Associate

In Toronto's rapidly developing cityscape, where new buildings continuously rise, a silent yet significant environmental concern looms: the carbon emissions from these burgeoning developments. This issue has profound implications for the future of sustainable urban development. While operational carbon — such as the emissions from burning fossil fuels to heat and cool a building — often grabs headlines, a recent study by RJC Engineers and BDP Quadrangle delves deeper into the less-discussed topic of embodied carbon in residential structures, especially the carbon emitted during the construction phase of buildings. While operational carbon is becoming more manageable due to advancements in energy efficiency, the embodied carbon — often overlooked — is emerging as a significant contributor to the city's overall carbon footprint. 
The Georgia Straight | Sept 29, 2023
Eric Wilson, EIT, B.Eng, MASc, PhD Candidate | Liaison, Indigenous Projects

Canada is in a housing crisis. It is a challenge relevant to many Canadians across the country but is of particular significance to Indigenous Nations, where decades of destructive government housing and land policy have aided in the creation of widespread poverty.
Urban Toronto | September 28, 2023

Centennial College has announced the completion of the A-Building Expansion at its Progress Campus, located at 940 Progress Avenue in Scarborough. This project, overseen by EllisDon and designed by DIALOG Architects and Smoke Architecture, is notable as Canada's first higher-education facility to be zero carbon and constructed with mass timber. The expansion adds approximately 14,000m² of both new and renovated space to the campus, which comprises 20 buildings.
Canadian Consulting Engineer | Sept 28, 2023
Eric Wilson, EIT, B.Eng, MASc, PhD Candidate | Liaison, Indigenous Projects

The construction industry in Canada is ever-changing, facing multi-faceted challenges that demand innovative solutions. These challenges are also referred to as “wicked problems.” Wicked problems are a “class of social system problems which are ill-formulated, where the information is confusing, where there are many clients and decision makers with conflicting values, and where the ramifications in the whole system are thoroughly confusing” (Buchanan, 1992).
techcouver | Sept 21, 2023
Eric Wilson, EIT, B.Eng, MASc, PhD Candidate | Liaison, Indigenous Projects

On September 29th, RJC Engineers, a nationally recognized, employee-owned engineering firm, is hosting the third annual “Building a Foundation for Reconciliation” Webinar.

This year, the theme is Braiding Relationships, Community, and Trust”, a crucial event aimed at supporting the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction industries in answering part of Call to Action 92 from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) 94 calls to action.
Case Study | Sept 12, 2023
RJC Engineers | BDP Quadrangle 

SUMMARY
Embodied carbon, released during building manufacturing and construction, is a critical environmental measure. Often overshadowed by operational carbon, its significance grows with building efficiency improvements. Emissions, mainly during construction, coincide with a crucial period for climate risk mitigation.

The purpose of this study is to inform policy makers, industry professionals, citizens, and any other relevant or interested stakeholders, of the issues which need to be addressed and the background information to make educated decisions to impact meaningful change.
Journal of Commerce by ConstructConnect | September 11, 2023
Danielle Arciaga | Building Performance Engineer

A team of five multitalented scholars from Simon Fraser University (SFU) has been named the winner of a Canada Green Building Council award for students for demonstrating excellence in sustainable design in the field of green building and communities. 

“The team of Gurvaani Dhani, Manin Khunger, Simran Pandher and Clara Park, led by team leader Danielle Arciaga, are the winners of the CaGBC’s Andy Kesteloo Memorial Project Award, named for a dedicated green building advocate.

The students are recent graduates of SFU’s Sustainable Energy Engineering program. The project was titled Deep Retrofit Study for SFU – Exploring Energy Conservation Measures and proposed a plan for the decarbonization of the Discovery 1 Building at SFU’s Burnaby, B.C. campus.

Arciaga recalled when she got the call they had won.

“It was really exciting when we got the news,” she said. “The news spread throughout the office, and in our other friends’ office too, so that was really exciting.”