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.”
Canadian Property Management | August 2023
Leon Plett, P.Eng., MIStructE, Struct.Eng., LEED® AP | Managing Principal
Risks and opportunities in 2023 and beyond
Seismic activity is a natural occurrence that happens throughout the world. Defined as the sudden movement of the earth’s crust caused by the release of stress accumulated along geologic faults or by volcanic activity, severe earthquakes don’t happen very often, but when they do the results can be catastrophic. From triggering tsunamis to leveling buildings, the worst earthquakes in history have led to death tolls in the thousands, making them among the worst natural disasters known to civilization.
Canadian Property Management | August 2023
Bryant Bortolotto-Freeman, BSc., EIT
5 best practices for maximizing the service life of your traffic deck coating
If your building includes a parkade, chances are you’ve witnessed the wear and tear that comes from steady usage and exposure to moisture and contaminants like road salts. Even if the parking area is located indoors, the traffic deck coating (TDC) used to protect concrete surfaces will deteriorate over time, reducing its ability to effectively do its job.
Daily Hive | May 26, 2023
This is Part One of a two-part series on the single largest office development project in Vancouver’s history.
The Post carries at least five superlatives for its local economic significance and design.