REMI Network editors have been nominated for two Canadian Online Publishing Awards (COPA). Fittingly for 2020, both nominations are tied to reporting how the property and facilities management sectors responded to the challenges of COVID-19.
Masthead Online sponsors the annual awards, which recognize editorial and design excellence in digital publications. The REMI Network has been nominated in every year since its 2013 inception, and has thus far collected six COPAs in the business publication category.
“Each year, the REMI Network continues to raise the bar on quality, and this year was no exception,” says Kevin Brown, president of MediaEdge Communications Inc. “Throughout this pandemic, our editorial team has been more committed than ever to delivering the news and keeping our readers informed about the pressing issues impacting the commercial real estate sector.”
This year, Rebecca Melnyk is nominated for the best company feature for chronicling the timely arrival to service of the new Peter Gilgan Patient Care Tower at St. Michael’s hospital in Toronto. Her feature story examines the role of design, technology and integrated professional teams in health care delivery, and in the context of a sudden global pandemic.
“Hospitals across Canada found unique ways to create more capacity for the surge of COVID-19 patients over the past several months,” says Melnyk. “As the pandemic has revealed critical gaps, the health care industry is now re-examining the future of hospital design, looking at factors such as the adaptability of space and air system flexibility.”
Barbara Carss is nominated for the best industry feature for a look at energy-use patterns, and differing experiences in commercial and multi-residential buildings, following the imposition of COVID-19-related public health measures. Her feature story also highlights the industry’s concern about an electricity pricing scheme that was out of sync with the reality of the stay-at-home protocol.
“Electricity prices have been an ongoing theme for the industry during the pandemic,” Carss observes. “In Ontario, an already convoluted and contentious formula for allocating costs has become even more so. Meanwhile, energy-intensive systems like ventilation are increasingly central to building occupants’ health and confidence in the indoor environment.”
