Architect Jack Diamond my former employer makes a compelling argument for increased services and density in Canadian cities in this December 1 article from the Globe and Mail.
Part of this argument was featured in a post in this blog highlighting a World Bank study on density where Toronto was studied in particular.
http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/opinion/the-gravy-in-land-use-and-density/article2257214/
http://www.see-change.net/?p=63
http://www.archdaily.com/166930/the-bank-of-america-tower-cook-fox/
According to Archdaily this is the first LEED platinum tower in the world. A short clip features the architect Richard Cook of Cook + Fox discussing the sustainable features of the project including principles of biophelia that guided the design.
Cross Laminated Timber panel at UBC's new Earth Sciences Building - Image Courtesy of the Vancouver Sun
As See-Change highlighted in a recent iPolitics article, wood grows naturally, can be re-grown relatively quickly, and is completely recyclable. Another benefit, wood farming can offset climate change, since trees consume carbon dioxide as they grow.
According to an article posted to the Jetson Green site (link below) a new method of fabricating wood panels, called cross-laminated timber, or CLT, is making “massive wood” construction a possibility for mid-rise construction, as well as for other construction uses. Until recently, it has not been possible to build tall wooden structures because of the relative weakness of conventional wood stud construction methods. This is starting to change.
http://www.jetsongreen.com/2011/12/cross-laminated-timber-construction-innovation.html
and
http://www.ipolitics.ca/2011/06/13/seechange-building-a-green-canada-brand/
A beautifully edited video of Toronto’s built environment by Ryan Emond. Enjoy …
http://vimeo.com/reemond/torontotempo
According to Gordon McBean, a professor of geography and political science at the University of Western Ontario, chair of the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Studies, and president-elect of the International Council for Science, Canadians need to work harder not just to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and begin adapting our infrastructure so that it is better able to withstand the impacts of severe weather events by redesigning building codes among other things.
A recent report he authored is covered in detail here:
Ritz Carleton, downtown Toronto
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/11/18/adapt-to-extreme-weather-_n_1101032.html
One to follow
… The Guardian has a new site dedicated to the future of the built environment. They plan to address the philosophy of the way we will live in the future and cover the world of architecture and building planning. They have taken the challenge to analyse the political, economic, social and technological aspects of the urban spaces of tomorrow. Stay Tuned.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/what-future-urban-living
Originially appearing in Ipolitics, World Future Energy Summit has republished an article by the editors of seeChange and Andre Albinati, Principal at Earnscliffe Strategy Group this week in their news section. See:
http://www.worldfutureenergysummit.com/en/media-center/news/building-a-green-canada-brand.aspx
Ipolitics has published a new article by the editors of seeChange and Andre Albinati, Principal at Earnscliffe Strategy Group.
Ongoing construction in Toronto's core.
We have built the case that the federal government as well as other municipal and provincial governments should establish zero net impact as a standard for its new buildings.
This kind of elevated standard will enable Canada to become an exporter of green building technology, promote its own building products and technologies, develop its own rating system for sustainable buildings, promote its great cities, architects, and engineers in a unique and forceful way.
For the full article see:
http://ipolitics.ca/2011/06/13/seechange-building-a-green-canada-brand/
A mezzanine at the Art Gallery of Onatrio
In Thermally Active Surfaces in Architecture, a recent publication of Princeton Architectural Press, author Kiel Moe highlights the fundamental disconnect between contemporary buildings and the systems that temper their indoor environments.
As Michelle Addington points out in her foreward, systems employed for circulating ever larger volumes of air in builidngs have created a situation where despite current ‘green’ standards for buildings, no other sector of energy use is as inefficient and technologically stagnant as the building industry.
Despite dour prognostications, positive examples do exist, and this book cites some noteworthy and highly efficient buildings with strong aesthetics. Perhaps the best example is architect Peter Zumthor’s collaboration with Robert Meierhans, cited as the father of thermally active building masses, at the Kunsthaus in Bregenz, Austria.
Canadian examples of projects employing thermally active systems include The Fred Kaiser building at the University of British Columbia by Toronto’s architectsAlliance and the Terence Donelly Centre at the University of Toronto by architectsAlliance and Behnisch Architekten of Stuttgart, Germany. Both buildings are showcased with excellent images and illustrations.
