Building Systems
Inside a Passive House first in Surrey, B.C.
Designing the Clayton Community Centre to become Passive House certified for ultra-low energy use was no easy feat, especially since the international standard had never been pursued for this type of facility in North America.
Strategies to reduce the risk of COVID in schools
Schools should implement these layered prevention strategies to mitigate the risks of COVID infection or transmission to the school community and beyond.
Know your way around indoor air quality improvement
Controlling indoor air quality is vital to reducing infection risk and improving health and safety in any facility.
Home owners and builders lack awareness of IAQ health risks
After exposure to scientific findings, the number of homeowners who viewed their homes as somewhat or very unhealthy more than tripled.
York Region piloting Passive House at new facility
A new men's emergency and transitional housing facility, set to rise in Aurora, Ontario, has opened the door to pilot-testing Passive House in York Region.
IAQ combos arresting airborne spread of COVID
Commercial building operators could use a combination of air exchange, filtration and purification to comply with the industry-leading guidance for arresting airborne spread of pathogens and contaminants.
Study finds elevator fans fail to eliminate pathogens
The confined space inside an elevator cabin creates a large risk of transmission despite standard ventilation.
Taking risk out of future workplace strategy
Right now, the world is awash with buzzwords, trends, and experts who claim they know exactly what the future workplace will look like.
Smarter care at Vaughan’s first hospital
Through the doors of Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital, the first hospital to ever rise in Vaughan, Ontario, life’s health challenges are met with comfort, safety and lots of natural light.
5G rollout could bring clutter of antennas
Making buildings smarter could force some aesthetic trade-offs in commercial buildings as 5G services begin arriving on the mid-band and high-band of the spectrum.
Maintaining schools for second pandemic winter
Every team should create a checklist, and then continually review their internal systems—floor by floor—to reveal any possible failure points.
Guidelines inform resilient healthcare facilities
Newly released guidelines offer a standard for approaching the planning and designing of healthcare facilities from a resiliency perspective.
Digitizing fire protection for facility inspections
With fire equipment, the biggest culprit for non-compliance issues usually involves obstructions blocking fire extinguishers and hoses from view.
Surrey awards three major infrastructure projects
The City of Surrey has awarded contracts for three major infrastructure projects from the Surrey Invests initiative.
A cybersafe return to the workplace
At last, our buildings are ready to catch up with the conveniences and expectations that future users have come to expect in the 21st century—and COVID has been the much-needed accelerant for this transformation in the building industry.
A path to fully inclusive community hubs
The idea of creating inclusive community hubs—where people of all ages and abilities can gather together—is gaining significant momentum.
Campus high-rise brings health to new heights
Dingy is a word that conjures thoughts of old institutional spaces. Academic buildings with dimly-lit hallways and windowless classrooms punctured with fluorescent glare. Rarely are