Building Envelope

Deep retrofit logistics trip up on key products

Deep retrofit logistics trip up on key products

Few of the existing building technologies projected to help dramatically curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have yet conquered their market categories
water

The future of water in buildings is smart

Water creates levels of risk throughout all stages of a building’s life cycle and is a major cause of loss during and after construction.
Proposal for mandatory airtightness testing withdrawn from pending 2020 version of National Energy Code

Canada wavers on airtightness testing

The timing might have been opportune for uptake of the measure — provided it was adopted into provincial and territorial building codes — because it would have applied broadly in what is currently Canada’s most buoyant commercial real estate sector.
water

Finding the right facility maintenance partner

Like any other significant hire, there is a benefit to working with a facility maintenance team that can deliver tangible value to your operations.
tax credits

Will ‘ultra-high-rises’ cost more to maintain?

The new crop of 'ultra-high-rise' condos rising in Toronto will be more complicated and consequently more costly to maintain, one engineer is warning.
net positive

Plans for first net positive energy office building

An office building in Markham, Ontario's technology hub plans to be the first net positive energy office building in Canada.
Albion Library

Albion Library first with trans-friendly signage

The new Albion Library, opened earlier this summer, is the first of Toronto’s 102 branches to introduce gender-neutral washrooms.
redevelopment

Kitchener redevelopment brings rare opportunity

The redevelopment of an iconic Kitchener building will preserve heritage elements and transform the space to meet the needs of a modern office user.
window wall

Why window walls are favoured for condos

The window walls commonly used to enclose condos have improved, addressing issues associated with past generations of the cladding, finds a new analysis.
green roof

Research challenges current green roof standards

Flooding is giving rise to new research on how green roof performance metrics can better manage water capacity.
net positive energy office

Net positive energy office set to rise in Waterloo

In Waterloo, Ontario, workers are installing wells for a geo-exchange system that will heat and cool a new net positive energy office development.
Waterdown Library and Civic Centre

Library facility reads like ‘fragment’ of its landscape

The new Waterdown Library and Civic Centre is designed to read like a ‘fragment’ of the Niagara Escarpment over which it cantilevers.
Chinook Regional Hospital

A facility addition with surgical precision

Adding a new wing to the fully developed site would require surgical precision. The original Chinook Regional Hospital, which was constructed close to 30 years
technological innovations

Technological innovations in condominiums

Technology is one of those things that never stops moving, and sometimes it can be daunting to keep up with all the latest advancements out
building envelope

A window into better building envelopes

The building envelope can truly make or break energy-efficiency efforts. Major systems improvements may help, but those savings could fly out the window.

Replacing a building’s exterior sealants

Replacing exterior sealants often gets delayed in favour of more pressing projects, but is critical to maintaining a healthy building envelope.
Glass Buildings

Creating high-performance curtain walls

Curtain walls performance can be increased by evaluating the system as a whole, rather than looking at the performance of each component.