INDUSTRY INSIGHTS, Canadian Property Management | May 2018
Terry Bergen, CTech, CCCA, LEED® AP | Managing Principal
Staying current with property construction and retrofit guidelines. Recent and potential changes to Canada’s National Building Code are giving property stakeholders more to consider when it comes to retrofits and new constructions. A bulk of those changes stem from the country’s mission to adopt a “net-zero energy ready” model building code by 2030 – a move that will hold new property constructions to more stringent energy usage guidelines, inspire new standards for building equipment and guide energy efficient improvements during retrofits and renovations.
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS, CondoBusiness | April 2018
Michael Pond, P.Eng. | Principal
“Repair or upgrades to underground parking garages can be a massive undertaking, and we regularly see certain aspects of these projects that are commonly overlooked or not fully considered,” says Michael Pond, Principal, Building Science and Restoration with RJC Engineers (RJC). Certainly, it pays to have a solid plan before heading below. Here are some considerations to keep in mind.
Award Magazine | April 2018
The 126,000-square-foot New Student Centre at York University in North York, Ontario is unique in many ways, particularly since it is a levy-funded, student-driven project. Approved by a referendum in 2013 by the largest student-voter turnout in Canadian post-secondary history – with 90 percent voting in favour – the new centre is welcomed with open arms by everyone on campus.
Award Magazine | April 2018
The ideal partnership is one in which close collaboration benefits multiple parties, and this is certainly the case with the Laurier Brantford YMCA Athletic and Recreation Centre, which is the outcome of the City of Brantford teaming with Wilfred Laurier University in 2012 to create a new recreation complex for university students as well as the entire community. Located between two parallel streets running east/west that have a 35-foot height differential, the massive 118,000-square-foot facility consists of an elevated rectangular two-storey “Bar-Building” on Colborne Street.
Award Magazine | April 2018
The four-storey, 75,000-square-footfacility was designed by Montgomery Sisam Architects in a joint venture with Architecture Counsel Inc. as an educational access point for students, while bringing together local, indigenous, and global community groups as well as members of key business sectors. It replaces DC’s Simcoe building, which was built as a temporary structure and opened in 1969.
Award Magazine | April 2018
Namely, 989 Johnson is another project in which Cox president Dan Cox and his father, Steve Cox, wanted to provide something unique to residents: two 15- and 17-storey glass towers with 206 homes of varying shapes and sizes, rising from an angular six-storey podium that resembles boxes stacked unevenly against and on top of each other. Read more about the design and its purpose.
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS, Canadian Property Management | March 2018
Duncan Rowe, BASc, MEng, P.Eng., LEED® AP BD+C | Associate/Sustainable Design Specialist
Determining a property’s ability to withstand the elements is best done before it’s put to the test. And yet, for many property managers and owners, climate resiliency remains low on their list of priorities. “The awareness is there, but it’s not high on people’s radars,” says Duncan Rowe, Associate with RJC Engineers (RJC). “In my experience, climate resiliency is something people only become aware of after an event like a flood or storm. A majority aren’t planning for those factors ...
Alberta Innovators, Career Profile | March 2018
Frank Prosperi-Porta, BASc, P.Eng. | Principal
Frank Prosperi-Porta's decades-long career with RJC Engineers was built on a fascination of all things structural and suits him well. Now RJC’s managing principal for the structural engineering team in the Edmonton office, Prosperi-Porta began his career after graduating from UBC with a Bachelor of Applied Science in structural engineering. He recalls his eagerness to roll up his sleeves and begin work out of the Vancouver office in 1974, where he would cut his teeth for five years before heading east for Toronto.
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS, Canadian Facility Management & Design | February 2018
Duncan Rowe, BASc, MEng, P.Eng., LEED® AP BD+C | Associate/Sustainable Design Specialist
To reach Canada’s and Ontario’s environmental commitments, the property management industry needs to renovate 3 per cent of its existing stock every year for the next 33 years. It’s no easy task, and it’s one that all stakeholders are committed to improving building efficiencies, reducing energy usage, and making other eco‐forward investments. Fortunately, the tide is turning. Industry trends point to a renewed focus on sustainability, both to the benefit of owner budgets and tenant comfort.
Award Magazine | February 2018
Seamless. That’s how people are describing phase II of the Pason Centennial Arena expansion project, which wrapped in early January of this year. The first phase – a 1,500 - seat, 2,000-person capacity arena – was already one of the premier facilities within the Alberta Junior Hockey League. This final phase includes one NHL-sized ice surface, a leisure ice surface, five dressing rooms, three multi-purpose rooms, and bumps the 4,500-square-metre original build up to 8,500 square metres.