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March 30, 2011 LIVING CITIES: VISION AND METHOD Every year, half the worlds buildings are constructed in Asia making that continent a testing ground for the future of urban living. The research colloquium Living Cities: Vision and Method will be held at Waterloo Architecture, Cambridge, Ontario on Thursday and Friday, January 20th and 21st to address the issue of building sustainable cities in the 21st Century. Internationally recognized researchers, designers and critics presented lectures, panels and workshops focusing on the creation of these future cities. The colloquium thematically paired experimental and visionary projections of future urban forms that pursue social and environmental viability, with in-depth research in next generation building technologies and design tools. Speakers presented material from real and theoretical projects based largely in the countries of the Asia Pacific Partnership (APP) which includes Canada, Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and the United States.
August 15, 2010 FOUR COLLEGES PARTNER TO ADVANCE BUILDING AGENDA Four of Canada's prominent colleges are joining forces to bolster the country's training and innovation in sustainable building technologies and renewable energy. Okanagan College is joining with Ontario's Durham College, Alberta's Lethbridge College and Nova Scotia Community College recently signed an agreement linking the institutions' training and projects that are related to sustainable buildings and renewable energy. Under the agreement, they will work together to plan and co-ordinate program development, applied innovation projects and connections with industry and various federal and provincial agencies. The agreement was born when college executives realized that an ad hoc consortium was developing as the individual institutions shared successes, approaches and ideas with each other as they were developing programs and facilities. "We're working closely together with each other and with industry in this area," explains Okanagan College President Jim Hamilton. "In many instances, we're at the leading edge of new sustainable facilities and want to ensure everyone benefits from what the others are learning and teaching." Okanagan College's role in advancing sustainable building technologies is exemplified through two projects currently underway involving the institution. The first is the $28 million Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Technologies and Renewable Energy Conservation under construction at the while the other is the internationally-focused Resource Positive Architecture Project, which draws on $500,000 funding from the federal government and matching amounts from Okanagan College and its partners and forms part of Canada's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 17 per cent by 2020 from 2005 levels. The Centre of Excellence is a leading-edge sustainable building project that will be a net-zero energy consumer and which incorporates a host of innovative and sustainable design and material elements. The project is registered as part of the Living Building Challenge, which is the most advanced measure of sustainability in the building environment. The Resource Positive Architecture project is a joint partnership between Okanagan College and the Okanagan Science & Technology Council but includes architects, engineers, universities and colleges from around the world. It builds on existing domestic and international agreements between all Asia-Pacific Partnership countries to share research on green building envelope design (including walls, roofs and foundations). "A strategic partnership of this calibre is not only beneficial to the sustainability initiatives of our institutes, but to all our students across Canada," says Tracy Edwards, Lethbridge College CEO and president. "We're working towards having a nation of socially responsible citizens and couldn't be more excited at the possibilities." "This is a great example of co-operation among colleges across Canada which are committed to education and innovation vital to sustainability," says James Knight, President of the Association of Canadian Community Colleges. "Each college is already demonstrating leadership in its region and province. Co-operating nationally with industry and other partners will add more value to their efforts."  
Friday June 11, 2010 WORLD-CLASS SPEAKERS EXPLORE INNOVATIVE ARCHITECTURE THAT IMPROVES THE ENVIRONMENT Imagine a world where buildings didn't take from the environment, but gave back to it instead. Once found only in the world of science fiction, new innovations are emerging through the combination of technology, engineering and architectural design. The result is buildings that breathe, respond to the environment by automatically reducing consumption, and even create new energy sources. "What we're seeing now is that buildings can be resource positive, they can actually be alternative energy sources," says Douglas MacLeod, Associate Dean of Science, Technology and Health at Okanagan College, which is hosting two of the most cutting edge designers in the brave new world of architecture. The free public presentation - The Future of Architecture - takes place June 15 at the College's Kelowna campus lecture theatre from 1 pm to 3:30 pm and features Canadian architect Philip Beesley and British living architect designer Dr. Rachel Armstrong. Philip Beesley is the recipient of Canada's highest award for architecture - Prix de Rome - and director of Waterloo Architecture's Integrated Group for Visualization, Design and Architecture. Most recently, he was chosen to represent Canada at the 2010 Venice Biennale in Architecture, the world's most prestigious architectural exhibition. His devotion to both artistry and sustainability has resulted in an impressive portfolio that includes the headquarters for Greenpeace, the Toronto Dance Theatre and School, birth centres, playgrounds, and health care centres. His innovative contribution is what he calls "responsive architecture" where, among other things, buildings are designed to sense light and moisture and respond accordingly to the environmental changes. (See his video below or on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=onQkV8egGAI) "These are buildings that respond in the same way to the environment as shutters and shades do - they detect light and adjust themselves accordingly. It's not only practical, but artistic. It's beautiful work," says MacLeod who crossed paths with Beesley many years ago while at the University of Waterloo. Dr. Rachel Armstrong, one of the world's most dynamic, and unconventional, sustainability thinkers and designers, is also taking part via video-conference. She is taking part in Moses Znaimer's Idea City conference taking place concurrently in Toronto. Armstrong agreed to jump on board the College's Mini Summit on the invitation of Beesley. Armstrong is a living architect designer and teaching fellow at the Bartlett School of Architecture in London, England. Currently she is working with scientists on sustainable solutions that have wide-ranging implications for the future such as paint that absorbs carbon dioxide, solar panels that generate fuel (perfect for overcast Okanagan winters) in hopes of creating what she calls metabolic materials that would enable architecture to change over time, becoming part of the evolving environment rather than imposing itself upon it. "She's really going to stir up the audience. We need people who think outside the box," MacLeod says. The Future of Architecture is part of the Resource Positive Envelope Design Mini Summit June 14-15, funded in part by Environment Canada. The summit has attracted architects and designers nation-wide including from Dalhousie University, Magill, Ryerson College, and University of Calgary, and reflects the high-level work being done on creating Okanagan College's new sustainability campus in Penticton. The summit is a joint presentation of Okanagan College, the Okanagan Institute and the Okanagan Science and Technology Council (OSTEC). For more information contact Douglas MacLeod at 250-762-5445 x4345 Douglas MacLeod, Canadian Architecture, March 2009 REMAINING POSITIVE Resource-positive design is becoming the latest approach in adapting the design process to incorporate broader issues of sustainability.  Right: The top of the annex townhomes is a Toronto Infill project that embodies a new vision for urban infill housing. The three townhouses will incorporate a range of energy efficient features, including ground-source heating, a highly insulated building envelope, energy-efficient window glazing, concrete walls separating the units and a concrete topping on the floors. Over the past few months I had the privilege of interacting with some of Canada's top engineers, architects and social scientists in the field of sustainable design, and their work suggests a sea change in architecture and design that will make computerization look like a minor disturbance. Exemplary programs such as Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's EQuilibrium Sustainable Housing Demonstration Initiative (www.cmhc.ca/en/inpr/su/eqho/index.cfm) have shown that it is possible with today's materials and technologies to construct buildings that are "net zero" - in other words, they produce as much energy as they consume. In the near future, however, we may be able to create buildings that are a benefit (rather than a detriment) to the environment, and this is the promise of resource-positive design. I first heard the term "resource-positive design" from Toronto-based architect Martin Liefhebber, principal of Breathe Architects, who explained that, "Traditional design relies on 'energy solutions' through mechanical electrical systems which pollute as they deliver comfort. Resource-positive design suggests that comfort can be delivered by means of material resources instead of machines. Here, the building fabric is the facilitator of comfort without fouling our primary material - the atmosphere." This concept is similar to the Living Building Challenge created by the Cascadia Region Green Building Council (www.cascadiagbc.org/lbc) - although the Living Building Challenge does include mechanical electrical systems in its design process. Emmanuel Lavoie, an engineer and president of Reevolution in Kelowna, has been active in the Living Building movement, and as he describes it, "The buildings are meant to generate no waste, emit no carbon emissions, and interact with the environment similarly to a flower. Examples of these prerequisites include a requirement to achieve net-zero energy and water independence for the project, treat all sewage onsite, and provide a one-time project construction carbon offset." No matter what this movement is called, it raises significant questions that the profession must address: What if our buildings generated more energy than they consumed? What if they purified more water than they used? What if they generated more fresh air than the greenhouse gases they emitted? What if they incorporated more waste materials in their construction than they created? What if every new development grew more food than it needed? [ More ...] |
Home Background Resource Positive Future of Architecture CIRS and Van Dusen Gardens Millennium Water PDF Centre of Excellence PDF Research & Development Green Building Exchange Wireless Sensors Earth Tubes Living Cities Resources Green Building Database Student Competition Publications Resource Positive Book Living Cities Book News & Media Contact  An Initiative of Okanagan College Director: Douglas MacLeod Science, Technology and Health Telephone 250.762.5445 Email info@resourcepositive.com |
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