Tuesday, April 30, 2024 
Politics – Bloomberg unveils plan to make new buildings zero-carbon by 2025
Democratic presidential hopeful Mike Bloomberg has unveiled a piece of his climate plan that would boost the energy efficiency of buildings, which are responsible for 12 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Bloomberg, a former mayor of New York City, has vowed to cut…
Australian building codes don’t expect houses to be fire-proof – and that’s by design
More than 2,000 homes have been destroyed in Australia since the start of the bushfire season. More will certainly be destroyed before the season ends in March. Could these houses have been built to better withstand fire? Quite probably. But that doesn’t necessarily…
Canadian home sales inch lower in December
The Canadian Real Estate Association reports that national home sales eased between November and December 2019. Highlights: National home sales declined by 0.9% on a month-over-month (m-o-m) basis in December.Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity was up 22.7% year-over-year (y-o-y).The number of…
The case for never demolishing another building
The wrecking ball has always been the great symbol of urban progress, going hand in hand with dynamite and dust clouds as the politicians’ favourite way of showing they are getting things done. But what if we stopping knocking things down? What…
This material could squeeze more energy from solar panels
Research teams in Australia and China are inching closer toward a solar cell design that could revolutionize the industry, but plenty of hurdles remain. The key lies with perovskite, a crystalline structure first discovered in Russia in the mid-1800s. Engineers want…
12 striking examples of the world’s most controversial architectural style
Loved by some, hated by many, no style of architecture has been more controversial than Brutalism. You always know a brutalist building when you see one. Often characterized by angular geometric shapes made of heavy concrete, they’re not conventionally beautiful but…
Winnipeg considering demolishing historic Exchange District building at risk of collapsing
The City of Winnipeg is considering demolition for a historic building more than 110 years old in the Exchange District after renovations put the building at risk of crumbling and collapsing. Now Heritage Winnipeg is left fearing a piece of Winnipeg’s…
Proposed Guelph program would see loans for energy efficient retrofits tied to property, not the owner
Guelph CIty Council is excited about a potential new program that would allow property owners to borrow money for energy efficient retrofits and then have that loan attached to the property rather than the borrower. Called Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE),…
Wajax acquires NorthPoint Technical Services
Wajax Corporation today announced that it has acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of Calgary, Alberta-based NorthPoint Technical Services ULC . The Shares were acquired from an affiliate of Denver, Colorado-based Lion Equity Partners for an aggregate purchase price of $18 million.…
Assembly required – construction is the new manufacturing
Automation and robotics has transformed many industries already, most famously manufacturing—but construction is facing its own Industry 4.0 overhaul exactly as manufacturing has seen. In fact, construction and manufacturing might experience a crossover of sorts, with contractors working more with manufacturing technologies, and new…
Don Mills and Eglinton getting new neighbourhood but preserving heritage buildings an issue
As one of the city’s largest neighbourhoods slowly moves from the drawing board to reality, planners and politicians are struggling to decide which of the old buildings can be cleared to make way for the new. Don Mills Crossing will transform 50 hectares…
The world’s first all-timber soccer stadium in England gets green light
After years of delays, Zaha Hadid Architects has finally gained planning approval for Eco Park Stadium, the world’s first all-timber soccer stadium in Gloucestershire, England that will serve as the new home of the Forest Green Rovers football club. As a beacon of…
Construction Co-bots need to be smarter and more adaptive
For robots to really change the construction industry, they need to become more than just ‘tools’ in the eyes of the people using them. Previously I wrote about two construction robotics companies that are augmenting construction workers to alleviate a serious skills shortage,…
In the supertall era, is the sustainable skyscraper a myth?
The illustrative and alliterative Tall Trends of 2019, the latest look at the global state of tall towers by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), suggests that the age of super-tall towers and expanding skylines is just beginning. In…
Skills Ontario supports government’s marketing initiatives to address skilled trades shortage, will continue to provide experiential learning opportunities
Skills Ontario is pleased to applaud the provincial government’s initiatives to promote careers in the skilled trades through their marketing campaign featuring the tagline: “Find a career you wouldn’t trade.” Minister Monte McNaughton, the Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development,…
