AIBC eNews
February 8, 2012
The next meeting of AIBC Council takes place Tuesday, February 14, 2012, at the AIBC offices (#100 – 440 Cambie Street, Vancouver) beginning at 11:30 a.m. Members, associates and the public are welcome to attend. We do ask that you confirm your attendance in advance by contacting Executive Assistant Katherine Rau by e-mail (krau@aibc.ca) or phone (604-683-8588, #335). Meeting agenda can be found here.
February 8, 2012
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson has drawn deeply on all sectors of the housing industry to represent his new “housing affordability task force” in the hope of finding realistic solutions to the city’s housing problems. From developers and builders to academics, housing finance groups and operators of not-for-profit housing, the 14 members will assist the mayor and co-chair Olga Ilich to try to find ways to soften the effects of the city’s systemic housing afford-ability crisis. They will prepare an interim report by March 12, which will then be opened for public consultation. A final report is due June 30. More …
February 8, 2012
The KidSafe Project Society, a Vancouver community group dedicated to extending inner city schools to provide a safe, nurturing environment for at-risk children, is looking for volunteers to assist with an upcoming event that has a bit of an architectural theme. The “Architects of our Future” Pancake Breakfast on Thursday, March 22 will kick off KidSafe Project Society Week in the city. The celebration is meant to acknowledge those who have assisted at-risk students through their support of KidSafe. The breakfast will also be an opportunity to showcase a “Cities of the Future” project undertaken by the students. That’s where the need for architectural volunteers comes in. Interested AIBC members are needed to lead workshops with students at two inner city schools beginning the week of March 12-16. If you are interested, please contact KidSafe’s Executive Director Gerhard Maynard at Gerhard@kidsafe.ca. For more information on KidSafe, go online to http://www.kidsafe.ca/.
February 8, 2012
The National Research Council has developed an Internet-based automated calculator to assist in roof design. The Wind Roof Calculator (WIND-RCI), which now references the 2010 National Building Code of Canada, calculates such factors as the type of roof, slope, wind speed, building height, roof area, building terrain, building type and openings. The user inputs information on location, dimensions, exposure and type of a roof; the tool then displays the wind load diagram for the field, perimeter and corner zones of the roof assembly. It also allows calculations specific to various cities. The tool is only meant to assist in calculating load, the first step in roof design. It is available through the NRC’S Institute for Research in Construction website: http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/projects/irc/calculator/agreement.html.
February 8, 2012
Recently, some members have expressed concern over unsolicited e-mail received from the Jassal Realty Team that suggests approval and endorsement from the AIBC. Rest assured that the institute has not authorized this distribution nor endorsed this company in any way. The AIBC goes to great lengths to protect the integrity of the institute along with the privacy of its members and other registrants. To that end, we do not sell mailing lists. On occasion, we provide our distribution list directly to a mailing house to facilitate the distribution of free information that would be of benefit to, and appreciated by, our membership (for example, SAB Magazine). As per our legislated requirement as a public regulator, the AIBC’s membership roster (in the form of our annual directory and the online “Find A Member” resource) is a public document. In this instance, it would appear a distribution list has been compiled from that public directory; it was certainly not provided by the AIBC. It is unfortunate when an outside party legitimately acquires our directory information and uses it for marketing purposes. More so, any suggestion of AIBC support for such marketing efforts is entirely disingenuous. The institute has already taken steps to address the situation with Jassal Realty Team. Appreciation goes out to those who brought this matter to our attention.
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