The Ken Soble Tower Transformation project by ERA Architects will rehabilitate a post-war apartment in Hamilton to Passive House standards. It also aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 94 per cent and lay the groundwork for industry-wide, ultra-low energy retrofits across the country.
The Senate of Canada will move into the Government Conference Centre while Parliament’s Centre Block is rehabilitated. In early 2015, the architectural plans for the Senate’s temporary home called for three new committee rooms at the revamped Government Conference Centre. The only problem was the resulting bare walls.
Several factors influenced the design of the new Arc’teryx flagship store in Vancouver, but all led to the prominent use of zinc on the exterior. The retail chain, founded by local climbers in 1989, offers high-performance outdoor equipment and clothing. Custom titanium zinc panels, installed on a diagonal façade along with granite to symbolize the nearby mountain horizon, highlight the retailer’s largest Canadian store.
Construction has commenced on a $95-million innovation centre at the Red River College Exchange District campus in Winnipeg. This project positions architectural innovation to inspire and support a culture of advanced learning and knowledge transfer.
Low-iron jumbo glass with low-emissivity (low-e) coating was used during the retrofit of the National Arts Centre (NAC) in Ottawa. High-performance glass brings in abundant natural light and controls solar heat gain, thereby contributing to energy management while ensuring the open spaces at the NAC do not overheat.
Earlier this year, Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) released a detailed roadmap for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from large buildings (e.g. office towers, recreation centres, hospitals, arenas, and schools) across the country.
In London, Ont., a multi-residential apartment building built in 1970 was beginning to show significant signs of wear and tear on its exterior clay through-the-wall (TTW) brick, and owners had to develop a plan. Having already undertaken smaller localized repairs in the past, new water penetration issues on the upper, west-facing floors where the building is susceptible to driving rains, were cause to go in another direction.
Driven by the principles of high-performance energy (HPE) buildings through government, energy codes, and the green building movement, building energy designs across Canada and around the world strive to improve. The increasing focus on the implementation of energy-efficiency requirements, for both new construction and deep energy retrofits for commercial and public buildings, begins with envelope-first energy efficiency, reduced energy demand loads, and related greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions.
Built in 1964 within McGill University’s downtown Montréal campus, the Otto Maass Building is dedicated to graduate and post-graduate education research chemistry.
For specifiers, the past few years have been challenging in terms of adjusting to lighting industry changes. Technologies—as well as the companies and supply chains behind them—are evolving almost as fast as new systems can be installed.
