BC Biophilic Architecture Lets the Outside In

By North by Northwest
CBC News, May 30, 2015

(Image: Dockside Green neighbourhood is an example of embracing biophilic design within modern building structures. Courtesy of CBC News)

Biophilic design has been shown to improve productivity in the workplace.

Now that it’s spring, it’s a lot easier to get outside and enjoy the benefits of nature. But year-round, many people live and work in buildings that resemble concrete blocks rather than parks or forests and that can have a negative effect on our health.

That’s why biophilic design, which aims to add a little more green into traditional human-made indoor spaces, is growing in popularity. Read more…

What’s Old Is New Again: Inside Detroit’s Architectural Revival

By Natalie Burg
Forbes, June 4, 2015

There’s no place like Detroit.

From the gilded walls of the Fisher Building to the Fox Theatre’s ornate ceiling, you know when you’re in one of the Motor City’s historic sites. With $12 billion in private investment since 2006, Detroit’s architecture is undergoing a revival that is showcasing the city’s rich historic roots.

(Image: The Wyland mural of humpback whales adorns a side of the Broderick. Courtesy of Mark Hall, HistoricDetroit.org)

“It’s an electrifying time to be a part of the city, and people want to be a part of that,” said Tony Vernaci, vice president of Global Business Development for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. For example, people are on waiting lists to get into apartments in Midtown Detroit. “There is so much history here. Motown, the automotive industry—it’s just a great, historical place.” Read more…

Vancouver Architecture Firm Proposes Timber Skyscraper for Paris Skyline

By Derrick Penner
Vancouver Sun, June 2, 2015

(Image: Vancouver firm MGA (Michael Green Architecture) is part of a team French team bidding to take part in the Reinventer Paris urban revitalization competition. The development proposal includes a roof garden that would provide a community space with restaurants, cafes, garden spaces and bicycle rentals for residents and community members, as well as for travelers staying at a student hotel or passing through by bus, bike or car. Courtesy of Quarx Digital, provided by MGA)

Vancouver architect Michael Green, who co-wrote the book on building skyscrapers out of wood timbers, has a role in an audacious proposal to construct the world’s tallest to stand as a beacon on the Paris skyline.

At 35 stories, the wooden tower Green’s team is proposing would have to be approved as an exception to Paris’s existing height limits for wood structures, but he hopes winning the bid could be the “Eiffel-Tower moment” for the acceptance of tall timber buildings he has been advocating for close to a decade. Read more…

Intern Architect Liaison to Council: Sara Kasaei

The AIBC is pleased to welcome Sara Kasaei Intern Architect AIBC as this year’s Intern Architect Liaison to council. The position has a one year term.

The AIBC Council extends an invitation to an Intern Architect AIBC, who is elected by their peers, as a guest to sit in a non-voting capacity. This year’s sole candidate withdrew their nomination so a recommendation from staff was put forward to council in late May and Sara Kasaei was invited to fill the vacancy.

Sara registered with the Intern Architect Program in January 2014. She holds a Master of Architecture (M.Arch) from Azad University of Mashhad, Iran and a Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) from the University of British Columbia.

She currently works at Stantec Architecture as an Intern Architect. Prior to joining Stantec, she worked in several local architecture and landscape architecture offices.

Sara, who is inspired by creative collaboration, community and education, supports an integrative multidisciplinary approach in design in addition to merging architecture and landscape architecture. As a LEED AP with a keen interest in sustainable design, she believes buildings should be built in harmony with the surrounding environment and within a local context.

Since 2011, she has mentored students at the UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. She has also collaborated with the British Columbia SITELINES magazine and presented at the Women in Architecture society.

The complete list of AIBC council members, including contact details, is available on the AIBC website.

AIBC Architectural Awards Jury Submissions Due Tomorrow!

The AIBC invites applications to sit on the AIBC Architectural Awards Jury. The role of an awards juror is to consider candidates for the Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia Awards in Architecture (both medal and merit); the AIBC Innovation Award; the AIBC Emerging Firm Award and the AIBC Special Jury Award.

The jury will be composed of individuals from both within and outside the profession. Individuals who have submitted projects for consideration in the AIBC Architectural Awards will not be considered as jury members due to a conflict of interest.

Submit An Application To Sit On The Architectural Awards Jury:

Deadline for Jury Applications: June 12, 2015 (4:30 p.m. PST)

Jury Positions:

• Jury Chair
• Architect AIBC From Another Region / Jurisdiction
• Architect AIBC / Practitioner
• Intern Architect AIBC / Retired Architect AIBC
• Practitioner From Another Discipline
• Media / Public Representative

For detailed information and to make your submission, please visit the AIBC Architectural Awards website.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact communications@aibc.ca.

Doors, Windows and Skylights Public Review: June 4-25, 2015

Office of Housing and Construction Standards
Building and Safety Standards Branch

Doors, Windows and Skylights Public Review
June 4-25, 2015

The 2012 BC Building Code introduced new requirements for manufactured and preassembled fenestration products
to conform to both:

• AAMA/WDMA/CSA 101/I.S.2/A440‐08 North American Fenestration Standard/Specification for Windows, Doors
  and Skylights (NAFS 08); and
• CSA A440S1‐09, Canadian Supplement to AAMA/WDMA/CSA 101/I.S.2/A440 North American Fenestration Standard/Specification for Windows, Doors and Skylights.

These requirements rate products according to  performance grade, performance class, water penetration
resistance test pressure and air infiltration/exfiltration as well as specifying minimum quality of materials, finishes and components.

The requirements for other glazed products that do not fall within NAFS 08, such as curtain walls, site built doors and windows and sloped glazing, have also been a source of confusion for industry since the introduction of the 2012 code.

While fenestration industry associations were heavily involved in developing the model National Building Code and the relevant standards, the industry has found the new regime more challenging than they had anticipated since it came into effect in December 2013.

Some changes to the BC Building Code have been developed in consultation with the fenestration industry and local governments to alleviate some key implementation issues. We would like to hear from you. Visit our online public review from June 4th to June 25th, 2015.

For a general review of the proposed changes to requirements for doors, windows and skylights please click on the survey link: http://fluidsurveys.com/s/Windows/

To review the proposed code language of the changes to requirements for doors, windows and skylights, please click on the survey link: http://fluidsurveys.com/s/Windows-Technical/

Windows, Doors and Skylights Public Review Webinar: June 18

Save the Date – More Information Coming Soon

Presented by Office of Housing and Construction Standards, Building and Safety Standards Branch

Some changes to the BC Building Code, addressing the new requirements for manufactured and preassembled fenestration products, have been developed in consultation with the fenestration industry and local governments to alleviate some key implementation issues. Please join us for a webinar explaining these proposed changes.

Webinar Date and Topic

Date: June 18, 2015 | 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.

Topic: Windows, Doors and Skylights Public Review

Registration and More Information

Register via email by June 15, 2015 to Building.Safety@gov.bc.ca

There is no cost to participate, but registration is required. Please feel free to distribute.

For more information, please see FAQ.

Call For Papers: Buildex 2016

Each year, more than 50 unique seminars are held during BUILDEX Vancouver. The seminars that make up the educational component of BUILDEX are widely regarded as some of the most informative and best-attended in the industry.

Speakers and seminars will be reviewed by members of the BUILDEX Vancouver Advisory Committee.

Sessions are generally 60-90 minutes, and no longer than 3 hours. If you or someone within your organization would like the opportunity to speak at BUILDEX Vancouver, please submit the information outlined below using the online form located here: http://buildexvancouver.com/education/apply-to-speak/

The Call for Submissions for the 2016 is now open and will remain open until Friday, July 3 at 5 pm. To submit, please populate the form provided below. It is recommended that you are prepared with the following information before commencing the submission form.

Criteria for submissions:

• Proposed Title
• Seminar synopsis
• Indicate the type of instructional methodology proposed — i.e.) panel presentation, interactive/hands on learning, single speaker, etc.
• Indicate a minimum of 3 learning objectives to be achieved at the end of the seminar
• Indicate if a PowerPoint presentation or other audiovisual learning tools will be used
• Speaker name(s), full contact information, headshot, a brief biography which outlines the speaker’s presentation skills and a minimum of two references

Seminars must contain valuable and timely information and are not to be used as an opportunity by the speaker or the speaker’s company to provide a “commercial” on your services and/or products. The presentation must be broad in context and include a variety of options/products/perspectives in order to provide the best information possible to delegates.

Conference seminars will be valid towards continuing education credits from BOMI, AIBC, and IDCEC if suitable.

To make a submission: http://buildexvancouver.com/education/apply-to-speak/

10th Annual West Coast Modern Home Tour

Explore five spectacular midcentury and contemporary West Coast modern style homes perched on the rocky slopes of West Vancouver!

Date: July 11, 2015,11 am to 4 pm; reception (Eagle Harbour Yacht Club) 4-6 pm

To register for the tour, please choose one of the following three options:

Option 1: Bus + Reception: $130. Code #1008167
Option 2: Own Car + Reception: $120. Code #1008168
Option 3: Own Car (No Reception): $100. Code #1008169

Phone registration: 604.925.7270. Web registration: westvancouverrec.ca

Immediately following the tour, a reception supported by British Pacific Properties will take place at Eagle Harbour Yacht Club.

Please register early as space for the tour and reception is limited and advance registration is required. GST will be added to the ticket price. Participants will receive a complete information package upon check-in at the West Vancouver Museum on the day of the tour.

Tour homes will be announced in mid-June. To receive updates on the Home Tour, please follow us on Facebook.

For more information on the 10th Annual West Coast Modern Home Tour.

From the Inside Out: Integrating Art and Architecture on the West Coast

A uniquely West Coast style of modernist art and architecture flourished on the North Shore from the late 1940s to the early 1980s. Inspired by the rugged beauty of the coast and its soaring mountain backdrop, aspiring architects sought out sites that tested the limits of building design, and integrated art and a humanistic approach to create a new ways of living. This exhibition examines the legacy of several influential artists and architects by showcasing their extraordinary projects alongside artworks and photographs that capture their new forms of architecture and design.

Included in the exhibition are architectural projects by Ned Pratt, B.C. Binning, Fred Hollingsworth, Arthur Erickson, Bruno Freschi, and Zoltan Kiss, as well as works by Jack Shadbolt, Gordon Smith, Bill Reid, Len Norris, Egon Eppich, Wayne Ngan, Kawai Kanjiro, and Shoji Hamada, and furniture designed by Ned Pratt, Fred Hollingsworth, and Francisco Kripacz.

The Museum gratefully acknowledges the donation of photography archives from Selwyn Pullan and John Fulker, whose luminous photographs showcase the work of so many midcentury architects. The exhibition highlights the legacy of influential midcentury artists and architects by illustrating the many connections between local artists, architects, and their clients.

(Image: Selwyn Pullan, Pratt Residence Interior, 1960. Gift of Selwyn Pullan. Collection of the West Vancouver Museum.)

Date: June 27 to September 19, 2015; Opening Reception: June 27, 2-4 pm
Location: West Vancouver Museum, 680 17th Street, West Vancouver, BC V7V 3T2
Gallery Hours: Open Tuesday to Saturday, 11 am-5 pm. Closed Sundays, Mondays and statutory holidays
Phone: 604.925.7295

For more information