The House of Hammocks in Vienna

By Elizabeth Pagliacolo
Azure, August 12, 2014

A public space for daydreaming – Austrian firm Heri & Salli builds a second Flederhaus in the Flugheld Aspern district.

Imagine a public building without a facade, one that invites you to scale its many levels before choosing a hammock to doze away on and enjoy the last days of summer. In Vienna, Heri & Salli has created just that – and it’s the second time they’ve done so. Their new Flederhaus (or “bat house”) is a prefab structure with a gabled roof located in Flugheld Aspern, a district on the outskirts of Vienna that is currently being developed for residential use. The open-air structure rises like a playful symbol, its five levels kitted out with 32 hammocks. It invites locals to walk right in, and lie down while taking in a full panorama of their surroundings…more

BCIT – School of Construction and the Environment

Energy Modelling for Building Professionals

This course introduces the principles, procedures and benefits of energy modelling to enable building professionals to usefully and efficiently incorporate energy modelling into the design process. This will include a review of building orientation, envelope design, space configurations and massing, opportunities to minimize the need for mechanical equipment (e.g., passive design and net-zero solutions), complemented by a field trip to a building site. The lab portion of the course will comprise a “hands-on” introduction and comparison of a selection of leading modelling tools, their use, and how to improve accuracy in gauging the relationship between predictive modelling and building performance outcomes post-occupancy. The following tools will be reviewed: AutoCAD, EE4, eQuest, IESVE, Energy Plus, THERM, WINDOW, RETScreen, Sketchup, and Revit. The course is 15 weeks long, with classes being held on Fridays at 1pm – 5pm at the Downtown Campus, starting on September 2014. For registration and other details, please visit BCIT.

45 Core LUs

CanaData Construction Industry Forecasts Conference West

CanaData Construction Industry Forecasts Conference West, October 23, 2014 (Special AIBC rate)

The CanaData Construction Industry Forecasts Conference West  – October 23, 2014 Vancouver, BC is slated to be Western Canada’s most prestigious and influential gathering of construction industry professionals.

Find out how today’s social, economic and political forces are impacting the industry’s future – and how you can prepare for it. Discover how Canada’s construction and manufacturing sectors will meet the challenges of tomorrow. With accurate, authoritative economic projections from leading experts, this annual conference delivers industry intelligence needed to create accurate, detailed business plans for your company’s future.

Find out more about the conference and how to register.  All AIBC registrants are eligible for $50 off registration fee.

Site Tour – Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre

Site Tour – Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre
WOMEN IN ARCHITECTURE – Vancouver
Tuesday, September 16, 2014 from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm

REGISTRATION WILL BEGIN ON SEPTEMBER 1st.

The development of the University Boulevard neighbourhood is intended to create a gateway to the campus as well as its heart and to reflect the University’s innovation in campus planning and academics. The 40,000 square foot, 12-million (construction cost) UBC Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre will provide street level vitality and energy while establishing a landmark building for the University and its alumni.

The Centre will contain a welcome centre, learning facilities, meeting spaces, banquet facility, dedicated meeting space for UBC’s Board of Directors, offices and a retail café, and is slated for occupancy in spring 2015. The Centre will be welcoming for alumni and students; its timeless design will express the collective values, legacy and aspirations of the institution and its alumni.

The design of this project is a collaboration of Hughes Condon Marler Architects and KPMB Architects (Toronto).

The site tour’s introduction will be by Daniel Philippot, associate in charge on the side of Hughes Condon Marler. He and Elena Chernyshov, an architect working on the project from Hughes Condon Marler team, will lead two tour groups elaborating on particulars of spaces and construction. The project is being built by Syncra Construction Corp and its representatives will be in attendance.

Date and Time:

September 16, site orientation and intro at 5: 30 (meet at site trailer – entrance off East Mall); tour @ 6pm sharp.

We will follow up the construction site tour with a get-together at a local restaurant, Mahony and Sons, 5990 University Boulevard,  for those interested.

Attendance:

40 people – 2 groups of 20.

Entry fee:

Free of Charge. Registration required – registration starts on September 1st.

Location:

NE corner of University Boulevard and East Mall.

IMPORTANT:

• This is an active construction site and a visitor safety orientation will be provided.
• You are required to bring/wear steel-toed boots, hard hat, and safety vest. You will not be able to enter if you are missing any one of these items.

The Interior Design Show West

IDSwest, September 25-28, 2014

The Interior Design Show West (IDSwest) is Western Canada’s annual premiere residential design show featuring 250 exhibitors showcasing quality products and services to an audience of industry professionals, architects, designers, consumers and media. Early bird deadline September 5.

For more information visit IDSwest.

 

2014 Building Access Handbook

The Building Access Handbook 2014 is now available for your reference and can be found on our website. The content of the new handbook has been updated, from the 2007 edition, to align with the 2012 BC Building Code. This update also includes adaptable housing guidelines, which were added to the BC Building Code in 2009. The illustrations and commentary in this handbook have been prepared to assist users of the British Columbia Building Code to understand the diversity and complexity of the “Building Requirements for Persons with Disabilities,” contained in Section 3.8 of Division B and elsewhere throughout the Code.

This handbook gives users background information on the reasons for certain requirements. It also gives suggestions, through text and illustrations, on how many of the requirements can be implemented. With this kind of information it is hoped that users will have a better understanding of, and appreciation for, the Code requirements for persons with disabilities and be better able to design and construct accessible buildings.

Vancouver Design Week

Vancouver Design Week, Sept 15–28, is a collaborative platform, a call to action, and an invitation to us all to immerse in design and its transformative potential.

For 14 days, Vancouver Design Week will turn the city into a petri dish of design process, practice, and perspectives; through a wide range of independent and collaborative programming. From talks to tours, exhibits to workshops, parties to pop-ups, design across disciplines will open its doors for conversations, installations and celebrations of all scales.

Uncover the unique design ecosystem that shapes, defines and sustains our city. Don’t miss the chance to join in, speak up and stand out in shaping Vancouver’s future!

Find out more at Vancouver Design Week.

Top 10 Quirkiest Homes in Canada

August 15, 2014

Weird, wonderful and wacky, you’ll be bewildered by our country’s quirkiest abodes.
By Adena Leigh

 

A Master Builder

Vancouver premiere of the film A Master Builder at  the Cinematheque!

The artistic triumvirate of Jonathan Demme, André Gregory, and Wallace Shawn update Henrik Ibsen’s The Master Builder, a modern classic about a successful, egomaniacal architect who has spent a lifetime bullying his wife, employees, and mistresses — who nonetheless wants to make peace with himself as his life approaches its final act. Wallace Shawn gives a tour-de-force performance as the cruel, yet guilt-ridden architect. Jonathan Demme’s direction is based on the near-legendary production created for the stage by André Gregory over a period of more than 10 years. Lisa Joyce plays a sensual, mysterious young visitor who turns the household upside down, much to the consternation of Julie Hagerty, perfectly cast as Shawn’s neurasthenic, long-suffering wife” (Film Forum New York). The film is dedicated to Louis Malle. Showings will take place from September 11 – 14, 2014.

 

Motion from the Floor at the 2014 AIBC Annual Meeting

After the President’s Report portion of the 2014 AIBC Annual Meeting and prior Members’ Forum, one Motion From The Floor (MFTF) was moved, seconded, voted upon and passed by those members in attendance.

The complete text of the MFTF can be found in the draft minutes of the 2014 Annual Meeting.

Read council’s response to the motion.

For more information visit AIBC’s Annual Meeting page.

New West Cultural Crawl

For a decade, the New West Cultural Crawl has brought together members of the community to participate in  a two day arts & cultural crawl festival showcasing New West creative talent. With the support of local artists, businesses, and cultural enthusiasts, the New West Cultural Crawl has become an annual tradition. Join them in celebrating their 11th anniversary.

This year there are 23 participating venues with art from more than 50 local artists!

The Cultural Crawl explores 5 neighborhoods in New West: 

• Victory Heights & Sapperton
• Downtown & The Quay
• Uptown
• The West End
• Queensborough

Click to download the 11th Annual New West Cultural Crawl Guide. 

Determining ASHRAE 90.1-2010 Climate Zones Bulletin

ASHRAE 90.1-2010 Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings requirements are based on the environmental conditions of the proposed building location. ASHRAE 90.1-2010 requires four climatic values to define the environmental conditions of a proposed building location:

• Heating Degree-Days below 18°C
• Cooling Degree-Days above 10°C
• Monthly Mean Temperature
• Monthly Precipitation

Thresholds for each of these climatic values have been established in order to group environmental conditions into various zones. Table B-4 International Climate Zone Definitions in ASHRAE 90.1-2010 (see Appendix) provides the calculation formula for establishing Climate Zones based on these four climatic values. The assigned Climate Zone dictates energy efficiency requirements appropriate to the locations.

The BC Building Code states that the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) can establish climatic values1 for use in the calculation formula provided in Table B-4. A common approach is for AHJs to use Heating Degree-Days below 18°C from listed locations (or in the absence of a specific listing, neighbouring locations) within Table C-2 Design Data for Selected Locations in Canada of the BC Building Code, and apply them broadly to all construction within their jurisdiction2.

Values for cooling degree-days above 10°C, monthly mean temperature, and monthly precipitation however are not provided in Table C-2. These values can be modelled by Environment Canada based on latitude and longitude as a fee-based service. Alternatively, the AHJ can obtain raw climatic data from select weather stations (available on Environment Canada’s website: www.climate.weather.gc.ca), and map appropriate values based on geographic proximity and local experience. It would be reasonable if an AHJ established a set of these three values and likewise apply them broadly within their jurisdiction.

If the AHJ chooses not to establish climatic values, the building designer must obtain the climatic values by selecting the appropriate values from Table C-2 of the BC Building Code and by contacting Atmospheric Environment Service, Environment Canada, 4905 Dufferin Street, Toronto, Ontario M3H 5T4, 416-739-4365.

Click to view the complete bulletin.

Historic Vancouver building rains chunks of concrete onto Pigeon Park

By Staff CBC News
August 13, 2014, CBC News

Popular Downtown Eastside gathering spot closed while city engineers investigate

A well-used gathering spot in Vancouver has been fenced off after chunks of a 100-year-old building’s façade began tumbling down onto it Wednesday morning.

Pieces of the Merchants Bank, at 1 W. Hastings Street, could be seen littering the ground where a number of Downtown Eastside residents usually gather.

The City of Vancouver says it is too soon to know what the falling façade means for the future of the building. (Luke Brocki/CBC)

City of Vancouver staff fenced off the area, posting “do not occupy” signs, and said engineers would be called in to inspect the park area and the building.

The city says it is too early to know what the investigation will uncover, and too early to know what it will mean for the future of the building.

At the time the three-storey stone building was built, in 1913, it sat at the crossroads for downtown Vancouver business and commerce, which catered heavily to the logging industry.

The façade once looked out onto a CP Rail spur line that ran diagonal to other downtown streets, and part of which became Pioneer Park, later named Pigeon Park, when the line was removed in the 1930s. Read more…

Esquimalt Village Living Community Design Competition: Project Brief

The International Living Future Institute (ILFI) and the Cascadia Green Building Council
(Cascadia GBC) is hosting an international design competition for a two-acre mixed-use
town centre, to be known as the Esquimalt Village, in the Township of Esquimalt, a part of
Greater Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, that will also host an innovative sewage
treatment plant.

The winning entrant must demonstrate how their design will achieve as many “petals” of the
ILFI’s “Living Community Challenge”1 as possible. These petals include the seven
performance areas below:

1. Place – restoring a healthy coexistence with nature;
2. Water – creating water independent sites, buildings and communities;
3. Energy – relying only on current solar income;
4. Health & Happiness – maximizing physical and psychological health and well being;
5. Materials – endorsing products and processes that are safe for all species through time;
6. Equity – supporting a just, equitable world; and
7. Beauty – celebrating plans that propose transformative change.

The entrant must also demonstrate how their design will help the Township of Esquimalt
enhance its community capital (natural, physical, economic, human, social and cultural).2

One prizewinner will be selected by the Competition Jury, and a second prizewinner will be
chosen by the public.

The winning designs may be used by the Township of Esquimalt as the basis for a project
on this site. However, success in the competition does not guarantee the use of the
winning designs for commission.

The competition is sponsored by the Township of Esquimalt and is endorsed by the Town of
View Royal and the City of Colwood.

Entry is open to teams from all over the world.

Click to view the complete project brief.

This competition has been reviewed by the AIBC and we have determined that it is an urban planning competition, not an architectural competition per AIBC Bylaws. Architects are encouraged to enter.

Role Call: Oral Reviewers

Are you interested in helping to develop the next generation of B.C. architects? The institute is looking to expand its roster of volunteer architects to serve as oral reviewers.  The oral review is a crucial step in the process for intern architects and alternative qualifications candidates seeking to register with the AIBC. As part of a three-person review panel, it is the reviewer’s task to  assesses and evaluate a candidate’s ability to understand the practice of architecture and how it is carried out and regulated in British Columbia. Reviewers should have a minimum of 5 years of experience practicing architecture; a good grasp of the practice and regulation of architecture in BC; good communications skills; and tact. Oral reviews are held three times per year (February, June and October). Reviewers are entitled to one self-reported non-core learning unit for each evening of attendance. Those interested are invited to contact AIBC’s Admissions Coordinator, Belinda Chao, at bchao@aibc.ca.