Role Call: AIBC Bylaw Review Committee

The AIBC is seeking architects interested in joining its Bylaw Review Committee to assist the institute in conducting a review of AIBC bylaws. The committee has been tasked with reviewing bylaws and making recommendations to council with respect to any bylaw amendments, deletions and new bylaws that may be appropriate in the context of the Architects Act and the AIBC’s public interest and professional regulation mandate. Any resulting amendments to AIBC bylaws, including deletions or new bylaws, require member support by way of vote. The committee’s work has been under way for more than a year, leading to the bylaw amendment vote at the May 2012 AIBC annual meeting. While the committee’s current focus is on consensual resolution bylaws, the committee is reviewing the full suite of AIBC bylaws. It meets approximately every second month at the AIBC, with interim e-mail and telephone meetings or exchanges to ensure workflow. Members with an interest and/or aptitude in the AIBC’s essential governance and regulatory mandate would be particularly valued as the bylaw review process unfolds. Interested members should submit an expression of interest to the AIBC, care of Professional Conduct Coordinator Gayle Roberts (Phone: (604) 683-8588 ext. 310;  e-mail: groberts@aibc.ca). For further information on the committee’s terms of reference, scheduling or general matters, please contact AIBC General Counsel/Director of Professional Conduct & Illegal Practice Thomas Lutes (Phone: (604) 683-8588 ext. 321; e-mail: tlutes@aibc.ca.)

Vancouver Heritage Awards

The City of Vancouver is now accepting nominations for its 2013 Heritage Awards.  This awards program acknowledges special accomplishments, projects and efforts that have furthered the goal of heritage conservation in the city. Consideration is given to projects that have been completed within the last six years and which have not previously received City of Vancouver Heritage Award recognition. This includes restoration, rehabilitation, adaptive re-use or continued maintenance of a heritage building or structure; use of innovative engineering techniques or restoration/conservation methods in upgrading; preservation of a heritage landscape or other natural feature, heritage education; community revitalization efforts; and heritage advocacy. For additional information including nomination forms, visit http://vancouver.ca/heritageawards. The deadline for nominations is Monday, January 28, 2013.

Public Dialogue: Vancouver’s Canada Post Building

Heritage Vancouver invites you to be part of a public dialogue concerning the future of the Canada Post Building, located at 349 West Georgia Street in Vancouver. This building, one of the city’s last completely intact mid-century modern buildings, will soon be sold to private interests. As a consequence, the building and site will be redeveloped. Heritage Vancouver has identified it as the city’s most endangered heritage building.; it has not been given heritage protection status from the federal government, and the City of Vancouver is unable to take any such action. Designed by McCarter & Nairne Architects and constructed in 1953, it has historical and architectural significance at both broad and specific levels. Its interpretation of international style is reflected in the melding of a strict programmatic functionalism with sophisticated public gestures, eclectic and sumptuous materials and meticulous detailing in a major public project. Of note, the public expression of the Georgia Street façade complete with pedestrian colonnade, as well as the grand double-height postal hall. The building also represents the strength of Canadian Modernist architecture as was being applied to civic and institutional projects throughout the city at the time, most of which have since been demolished or unsympathetically renovated. It is located within the city’s Downtown Official Development Plan, under which all development is discretionary. While the possibilities for this site are wide-ranging, the city has stated that it anticipates all development proposals will deliver a minimum 7.0 FSR (comprised of commercial/non-residential use with any rezoning contingent upon the achievement of significant public benefits. All basic information related to current regulations and policy, as well as the possibility of rezoning, is detailed in a Post Office Site Policy Information Note issued by the city in 2007 (last revised April 7, 2010). Heritage Vancouver has taken the position that its overall historic integrity of the Canada Post Building, including the most significant architectural features, should be preserved while being redeveloped to provide civic and cultural spaces that the city currently lacks. If you are interested in contributing to a public dialogue on the future of the Canada Post Building, you are encouraged to contact Heritage Vancouver through James Allison ( jamesallison61@gmail.com).

British Columbia Building Envelope Council

Victoria Luncheon:  Choosing Windows – Balancing U-Values, SHGC, Comfort and Energy

There are many different factors involved in choosing the right windows for a particular building. Balancing energy efficiency in the winter and summer, along with thermal comfort, can sometimes be a challenge. In Canada, the Energy Rating (ER) for residential windows provides a single formula to rank the energy performance of windows. However, there has been much debate as to its validity for all conditions and all regions of the country. In this presentation, Brittany Hanam from RDH Building Engineering will provide an analysis of the Canadian ER, its strengths and limitations, and how it can be used to select windows for residential buildings. It takes place Wednesday, December 12, 2012, 12:00 noon – 1:30 p.m. at Harbour Towers, 345 Quebec Street, Victoria. Register online at http://www.bcbec.com/seminars.php.

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