Sustainable Practices
Designing for patient dignity in Grande Prairie
Inside the 681,000-square-foot facility, people are able to experience the landscape and natural light, even throughout Alberta’s harsh weather extremes.
Designing the shopping experience of the future
New theories on retail centre on how experiences, convenience and a sense of community can draw people to a physical site.
Employees expect environmentally friendly offices
Six in 10 workers surveyed feel their office is "shamefully eco-unfriendly"
Flammable refrigerants spark GHG reductions
Researchers and manufacturers have now done much of the work to prepare for the HFC phase-down, but codes and standards will need to catch up before a new generation of lower-GWP refrigerants can be used.
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.
Greening your washroom for the good of the planet
Four tips for operating a more sustainable washroom in celebration of the International Day of Forests.
Canadian school districts build for healthier environments
The schools installed future-ready infrastructure improvements for healthier, more sustainable learning environments.
Indigenous-led projects raise bar for city-building
The architects and developers behind some of Canada’s new Indigenous-focused projects are designing spaces that harmonize with their natural landscapes, setting a higher standard for how urban buildings impact the environment and their surrounding communities.
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.
Solar technology in Canada’s facilities sector
Though solar energy has been utilized for some time, adoption has been hampered by poor aesthetics, high price tags and slow production.
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.
What can the new workplace learn from retailers?
Just as bricks-and-mortar stores embraced experiential retail to entice consumers who might otherwise shop online, organizations are now hoping to woo their remote-savvy workers back to the office.
How to provide healthy environments & meet climate goals
Three key lessons for making buildings energy- and carbon-efficient and healthy.
Key steps to reduce water consumption
Reducing water consumption must remain an important aim for commercial facility managers.
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
Reaching net zero in the age of COVID-19
Optimizing ventilation and air handling systems is key to achieving net zero energy performance goals.