AIBC Vancouver Island Chapter

Wood WORKS! BC Seminar (Victoria)

Enhancing 21^st Century High Performance Design With Wood: Tools, Trends and Innovation in the 21^st Century
As buildings move towards higher performance including net zero energy along with carbon and environmental Impact evaluation, new tools are being designed to provide a more comprehensive and objective way to evaluate structures and performance.  Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) use Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) tools and data, and can provide designers with ways to evaluate objectively their material and assembly choices. As well, innovation in wood products –current and future – can and will provide designers with better ways to both reduce embodied impact and enhance performance during the operational phase of a building. In this session, Wood WORKS! BC Sustainability Co-ordinator Peter Moonen will provide an overview of EPDs and their development using LCA, as well as their burgeoning implications in rating tools, codes and standards. Some EPDs will be also shown.

Mid-rise Construction in BC – Past, Present, Future …

Wood WORKS! BC Technical Advisor Sukh Johal, Dipl. T (Civil) MBA is the host of this new, informative documentary that looks at nuances of wood buildings taller than four storeys within British Columbia. Learn about the historical, current and future development of wood-frame mid-rise construction in B.C. from industry representatives and design professionals.

Emerging Technologies and New Materials: Where is The risk? How do You Manage it?

Sustainable buildings are where emerging technologies and new materials are typically introduced to the design and construction communities. Specification and incorporation of emerging technologies and new materials is likely one of the bigger liability issues today’s architects and engineers will face in their professional lives. Recognizing these risks and properly managing them is crucial to a firm’s long-term success. In this session, Jeff McLellan of BFL Canada Insurance Services Inc. will highlight and evaluate the liability/risk issues with past, current and future areas of concern as well as outline the appropriate course of action that should be taken by all professionals involved with such projects.

This free, three-part presentation takes place Wednesday, June 12, 2013, 10:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at the Ambrosia Centre, 638 Fisgard Street, Victoria. To register, r.s.v.p. to AIBC Vancouver Island Chapter Chair Don Lovell Architect AIBC at donwlovell@gmail.com. Lunch will be provided.

Maximum 3 Core LUs

Next AIBC Council Meeting – May 14, 2013

The next meeting of AIBC Council takes place Tuesday May 14, 2013, at the AIBC offices (#100 – 440 Cambie Street, Vancouver) beginning at 11:00 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). Click here for the meeting agenda.

Women in Architecture 20th Anniversary + Rejuvenation Event

Women in Architecture – Vancouver invites you to celebrate 20 years of working together, helping and supporting each other in practicing architecture. Help to rejuvenate, revitalize and re-envision the future by taking part in an evening of “herstory”, architecture and planning. This celebratory visioning session will focus on the following questions:

• IS WIA still relevant, and if so, why?
• What are the three key words that, for you, represent WIA?
• What attracts you to WIA events, and what would attract you to more?
• How would you like to participate / help[ out in the future?
• What would you like to see happen at future WIA events?

Your input is needed. It takes place Thursday, May 9, 2013, 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. at DIALOG, #318 – 611 Alexander Street, Vancouver (call 778-320-4949 to access). Potluck contributions, along your ideas, enthusiasm and friends. Please r.s.v.p. by contacting wia.vancouver@gmail.com.

7 Reasons Architecture (As We Know It) Is Over

By Steve Mouzon, ArchDaily
April 24, 2013

Architecture has changed irreparably in the past decade, but those who know how to adapt just might find themselves in a far better place in a few years. It has now been 8 years since construction peaked in 2005, nearly 6 years since the subprime meltdown, and close to 5 years since the big meltdown that really kicked off the Great Recession. Today, it appears that construction is finally beginning to pick back up, but it’s too late for architecture as we knew it. Here are seven reasons why…

 

From The Ground Down

Skyscrapers may become a thing of the past with the design of the world’s first earthscraper

Lifestyler Magazine
April 22, 2013

We’re always in search of the next big thing. And when it comes to skyscrapers, it has always been the taller, the better; from the CN Tower in Toronto to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. But in Mexico, that’s all about to change. More …

MDes at Emily Carr

Emily Carr University has introduced a new Master of Design degree program. This full-time, research-oriented degree, the first of its kind in British Columbia, will be offered through the Faculty of Graduate Studies beginning in September 2013. Building on the university’s successful Bachelor of Design degree, it will expand upon curricular values and goals in areas of collaboration, sustainability interdisciplinary, technological intervention, new research methods/approaches to design, and creating creative work within cultural frames of reference.

EOI: High-Rise Wood Demonstration Projects

The Canadian Wood Council is inviting Expressions of Interest (EOI) for Canadian developers, institutions, organizations and design teams willing to undertake an innovative approach to designing and building high-rise wood demonstration projects. With funding support from Natural Resources Canada, the goal of this initiative is to link new scientific advances and data with technical expertise to showcase the application, practicality and environmental benefits of innovative wood-based structural building solutions. The objective of the EOI is to identify building project(s) in the concept, schematic or design development stages, within Canada, that safely and successfully demonstrate the use of wood as a viable structural element/system in buildings of 10-storeys and more. The full EOI document, related background information and contact details can be found on the project website at www.cwcdemoproject.ca.

Skills Canada Judges Required

The Skills Canada National Competition 2013 takes place June 5-8 at BC Place in Vancouver. Now in its 19^th year, this Olympic-style competition will feature more than 500 young competitors from across Canada representing some 40 trade and technology disciplines. Competition organizers are currently seeking two British Columbia architects or architectural technologists with expertise in residential design to be part of the three-person judging panel for the Architectural Technology & Design category. It is the role of the judges to evaluate the performance of each contestant according to established criteria. This will take place over the course of one day. All judges receive free admission to the competition, free transportation and free meals. Don’t miss this opportunity to see first-hand Canada’s best young talent in skilled trades and technologies and to be part of this impressive event. To volunteer as a judge or for more information, please contact  Sylvie Faber at sylvie.faber@csdecou.qc.ca. For more information on the Skills Canada and the national competition, visit www.skillscanada.com.