Women In Architecture Vancouver

You are invited to attend a lunch session on “Construction Delay Claims”, presented by Karen Martin and John Haythorne of Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP. The date is Thursday, April 7, 2011, 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m. at the Granville Island Hotel in Vancouver. The $25 fee includes a sandwich. Attendance is limited and pre-registered is required. To register, e-mail l.arpiainen@hcma.ca.

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Omicron Opens Victoria Office

Omicron has announced the opening of a Vancouver Island office in Victoria, B.C., under the leadership of Director Peter Laughlin. The privately-held Canadian company, which brings together architects. designers, engineers and builders, has established offices in Calgary and Vancouver. The new Victoria location is #240 – 645 Tyee Road.

 

Wood Solutions Fair Vancouver

You are invited to take part in the next Wood Solutions Fair, a one-day educational event on wood products and construction being held in Vancouver, Thursday, April 14, 2011 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Sponsored by Wood WORKS! BC, this event brings together suppliers and technical experts to answer your questions about wood, with seminars that will allow you to take what you’ve learned and apply it to projects your firm is currently working on. Take advantage of:

• informative seminars solely dedicated to wood products;
• technical information from suppliers, manufacturers, wood engineering consultants and industry associations;
• the full range of structural wood products and finishing wood products;
• exhibits totally devoted to wood products; and
• consultation with wood industry experts.

Highlights include a heavy timber showcase and the 2010/11 Wood Design Awards. If you are an architect, civil or structural engineer, building designer or contractor, construction technologist, specifier, student or professor, this is the one event you should not miss. Free admission for all industry professionals who register by April 8. Register at http://registrations.cwc.ca/WSFVancouver10.aspx.

 

Architect Bing Thom Digs Deep And Strikes Gold With New Idea

By Pete McMartin, Vancouver Sun

March 5, 2011

The idea, he said, came to him on the steps of city hall. It was the night of Feb. 1, about 10 p.m. It was raining. Bing Thom had just spent the last couple of hours attending a city council meeting. The night had not gone well. More …

 

Merger Mania

In tough economic times many architecture firms are being swallowed in a merger and acquisition frenzy, sometimes with unexpected results

By C.J. Hughes, Architectural Record

March 2011

For as long as firms have felt the need to branch into new markets, mergers have been a viable option. But those corporate marriages seemed to have hit a fever pitch in the last few years, giving the architecture industry the feel of an Elvis wedding chapel, with practices large and small, local and international, specialized and generic, all rushing to the altar.

Whether the trend is real is debatable. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) does not track merger activity. Yet in an AIA survey of 700 firms conducted last spring, 57 percent expected merger activity to pick up this year, versus 35 percent who said it would stay the same. And even if 86 percent in the same survey did not see themselves merging, interviews show that the possibility is increasingly being discussed among designers, who are looking to expand, diversify, fortify, or cash out. More …