2013 Lulu Awards Recipients

The Lulu Awards, held every two years since 2008, are open to architects, designers, developers, landscape architects, planners, engineers, owners, contractors and the general public. A variety of project types are eligible, including residential, commercial, industrial, mixed-use, open spaces, public utilities and recreational projects. Mayor Malcolm Brodie stated that, “The Lulu Awards are dedicated to encouraging and celebrating great urban design here in our city. Each of this year’s winners, along with all the award nominees, distinctly represent the rich urban design we seek and enjoy in Richmond.”

Winning in the Residential (Townhouse) category: Currents at London Landing developed by Oris Consulting Ltd. and designed by Hearth Architectural Inc. and van der Zalm + associates. The higher density building form fits well into an established neighbourhood and streetscape of townhouses and single family homes and includes single level units which increase housing options by providing an alternative to apartment uilding units.

Winning in the Residential and Mixed-Use (High-rise) category: River Green developed by ASPAC Developments Ltd. and designed by James K.M. Cheng Architects Inc. and Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg Studio. This stunning development sits on the banks of the Fraser River in the Oval Village. Terraced residential apartment buildings vary in height from 4 to 14-storeys, with carefully-considered architectural and landscape design and a significant public art installation on the sides of a pedestrian bridge between two of the buildings.

Winning in the Public and Institutional Building category: Steveston Fire Hall designed by Hughes Condon Marler Architects and space2place design inc. This landmark building sits at the corner of Steveston Highway and No. 2 Road. The two-storey fire hall project was designed to a LEED gold standard and includes two equipment bays and a training and hose drying tower. The building was designed with an innovative open design approach incorporating visual openness and a high level of integration in the site, building, sustainability features, landscaping and public art.

This year’s judging panel included three independent judges – landscape architect, Mr. Jeff Cutler, BCSLA; urban designer, Ms. Joyce Drohan, Architect AIBC, and architect Mr. Michael Heeney, Architect AIBC, FRAIC, as well as City judges Mr. Joe Erceg, General Manager of Planning and Development; and Mr. Wayne Craig, Director of Development.

Southern Interior Construction Association

2014 Consultants, Contractors, and Owners Workshop

The CCO Workshop is an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas between all players in the procurement and construction process. Sessions include: Trans Mountain Pipeline: Construction Benefits for the Interior; a Panel Discussion titled “Design Build: Why/Why Not, How/ How Not”; An Activity update on the BC Construction Association (BCCA) and the Canadian Construction Association; as well as several workshop sessions.

The event takes place Thursday, February 6, 2014 at the Delta Grand Okanagan (1310 Water Street, Kelowna, BC). Event details including the program and registration are available at www.sica.bc.ca.

6.5 Core LUs

VIVA Launches New Design Competition: Robson Redux

VIVA Vancouver is opening its magnificent 800 Robson Street space to designers with Robson Redux, a design-build competition that invites emerging and professional designers to submit their design ideas related to the theme of “connection”. The winner will make their design a reality, building and installing it for the 2014 summer in the 800 block of Robson Street.

VIVA Vancouver’s Robson Redux design-build competition is aimed at temporarily transforming the iconic 800 block of Robson Street into a pedestrian plaza. This block is located in the heart of downtown Vancouver, Canada. Installation would take place in early summer, with hopes to open it for Canada Day long weekend (June 28-29, 2014) and would remain up until the end of Labour Day long weekend (September 30-31, 2014).

Winners will be selected by a jury made up of Matthew Blackett (Founder and Publisher, Spacing Magazine), Amber Frid-Jimenez (Principal, AFJD and Associate Professor Emily Carr University of Art and Design), Nick Milkovich (Principal, Nick Milkovich Architects), Margot Long (Principal, PWL), and Ken Lyotier (Founder, United We Can). The winning team will be provided a small design honorarium and up to $37,500 to cover costs of materials, fabrication, construction, installation, and de-installation for their projects.

Anyone may enter this competition; however criteria and submission requirements lend themselves to expertise in architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, industrial design, and other related fields.

Teams can submit their designs online at www.vivadesigncomp.ca for a small fee. Submission deadline is March 21, 2014.

Past temporary public space designs at 800 Robson Street include

• 2011: PICNURBIA – designed by Loose Affiliates
• 2012: Pop Rocks! – designed by Matthew Soules, Amber Frid-Jimenez and Joe Dahmen
• 2013: Corduroy Road – designed by Hapa Collaborative

VIVA Vancouver is a public space program that specializes in turning road spaces into people places. Working with various community partners, the program is aimed at re-purposing road space to create temporary or semi-permanent public space.

Skills Connect for Immigrants Program

ISSofBC invites newcomers to Canada to know more about the Skills Connect for Immigrant Program.  These sessions will inform individuals on how to connect their skills to the Canadian workplace.  Skills Connect for Immigrants is a dynamic initiative that helps ease the transition of skilled immigrants into the Canadian workforce by connecting them with industry-specific skills training, credential evaluation and job search services.

This program assists individuals who are unemployed or working in a job that doesn’t use their skill set.  Individuals may qualify for this program if they are unemployed or underemployed (working outside of their field or at a lower level); are eager to learn and motivated to build their career in Canada; have clear and reasonable job target; can speak at an intermediate to advanced level of English; and have been in Canada for less than 5 years and are a permanent resident.

Information sessions take place in Vancouver every Wednesday and in Coquitlam twice a month.  Event admission is free by pre-registration only. Click here to view the informative poster or visit the ISSofBC website.

I want to be an architect. What will my salary be?

January 22, 2014
By Brenda Bouw, The Globe and Mail

Job: Architect

Salary: Starts at about $40,000 coming out of school, and can grow to about $90,000 after years of experience. Architects who start their own independent practices can earn more, depending on the success of the business.

Education: A university degree in architecture from an institution accredited by the Canadian Architectural Certification Board. Degree programs can last five to seven years, according to the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC). More…

Reminder: 2014 Annual Fees

The deadline for payment of 2014 annual fee invoices is February 1, 2014. Please note that if you plan on mailing your payment, the cut-off date for postmark is January 30^th.  Cheques received at the AIBC offices postmarked January 31^st or later will be considered late.

If you have not received your invoice or if you have a question regarding your status with the AIBC please contact the Registration & Licensing staff at accounts@aibc.ca.  Fees may be paid online by logging into your account through the AIBC web site.  When logging in to make payment, please keep in mind that individual login identifications are different than your firm login id. Detailed information regarding applicable fees and payment requirements can be found in Bulletin 01 (2014): Fees, Fines and Charges.

Vancouver skyline to gain seven new office towers

January 24, 2014
By Tiffany Crawford, Vancouver Sun

VANCOUVER — A building boom downtown is creating much-needed office space in Vancouver, city officials say.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson helped break ground Thursday on The Exchange, a $200-million, 31-storey Credit Suisse office tower in the financial district, one of seven buildings now under construction downtown.

Robertson heralded the projects as an end to the city’s business vacancy woes, as Vancouver remains one of North America’s tightest markets for office space.

Vancouver’s vacancy rate for Class A office space sits at 5.3 per cent. That compares with 8.7 per cent in Montreal and 9.7 per cent in Edmonton. But according to Cushman and Wakefield, Vancouver’s vacancy rate is projected to jump to 7.7 per cent this year and to 10.5 per cent in 2015.

“When it comes to the strength of Vancouver’s office market, we’ve come a long way in the last five years.” Robertson said. “A few years ago our economy was being held back by a lack of space, we had a critical shortage and it’s wonderful to see the market respond.” More…