How Do They Decide a Building Is ‘Green’?

By Monte Paulsen, TheTyee.ca

January 11, 2011

LEED. Built Green. BOMA BESt. Green Globes. Passivhaus. Living Building. Got it? Of course not. No worries, though. You’ve found The Tyee Guide to green building certification systems in Canada. Give us 10 minutes, and we’ll teach you enough about green building certification to fake your way through a cocktail party with the arrogant architect of your choosing. More … http://thetyee.ca/News/2011/01/11/GreenCertification/?utm_source=mondayheadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=170111.

 

Big Dreams For Toronto’s Broken Boulevard

By Christopher Hume, Toronto Star,

January 12, 2011

Even if just yesterday you happened to walk down John Street, chances are you can no longer remember what you saw. Like many small downtown thoroughfares, it tends to be a bit of a mixed bag, nondescript, even a little dull. But on second glance, John has a lot more going for it than many Toronto streets. For one thing, it’s remarkably well connected. Running south from Grange Park to Front St., it is within spitting distance of a dozen or more cultural institutions, everything from the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Princess of Wales Theatre and the TIFF Bell Lightbox to the Rogers Centre, the CN Tower and the headquarters of both CBC and CTV. More … http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/920731–hume-big-dreams-for-toronto-s-broken-boulevard.

 

Architects Find Their Dream Client, in China

By Lawrence W. Cheek, New York Times

January 15, 2011

It was an unusual commission, unlike anything that Stuart Silk, a Seattle architect, had been offered in his quarter-century of practice: design three high-end custom homes for clients he would never meet. Although there were some specifications for functions and dimensions — total square feet, for example, and the number of bedrooms and baths — there wasn’t a clue as to style or a construction budget. More … http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/16/business/16build.html?_r=1&ref=general&src=me&pagewanted=all.