Design Quarterly - Summer 2011

SUMMER 2011 Vol. 12 No.1

Q U A R T E R L Y

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ShowcaSing Bc & alBerta’S architectS and interior deSignerS

Fraser Milner Casgrain llPDesigner sally Mills | MultiMeDia | green Design

BuilDing BloCks | aPPlianCes

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Vancouver2285 Cambie Street

604.879.2494

Coquitlam1338 United Boulevard

604.523.6555

Edmonton18511-104 Avenue

780.453.5714

Calgary4120 Blackfoot Trail SE

403.245.8637

Penticton240 Industrial Avenue

250.492.2000

Saskatoon829-46 Street E306.664.2389

Kamloops830 Laval Crescent

250.372.7738

Winnipeg1760 Ellice Ave.

204.784.0111

Brandon420 Van Horne Avenue

204.725.1968

robinson_lighting_bath_dq_brizo_20110729.indd 1 7/29/2011 1:17:55 PM

summer 2011 | Design Quarterly 3

:::::::kitchen & bath

PUBLISHERDan Gnocato

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MaNaGING EDItoRCheryl Mah

GRaPHIC DESIGN tang Creative Inc.

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Q U A R T E R L Y

SUMMER 2011 Vol. 12 No.1

www.designquarterly.ca

the purpose of Design Quarterly is to reflect and represent practitioners and professionals in the architectural, interior design and design resource communities throughout British Columbia and alberta.

PRoUD SPoNSoR oF

contents

06 DESIGNER PRoFILE Sally Mills, omicron director of interior design, has been a practicing designer in Vancouver for 30 years.

12 PRoJECt PRoFILE Fraser Milner Casgrain’s new office space breaks from the traditional law firm design with the expertise and creativity of architectural firm HoK.

34 SPECIaL SUPPLEMENt 2011 aIBC awards of Excellence

16 Building Blocks Innovative timber System Improving Building Performance Prefabrication Design

22 Green Design Green Certification Energy Code Changes LEED Professionals

28 Multimedia Display technology technology trends 2011 Social Media

31 appliances the Laundry Room Evolution appliance Design Innovation Singular Branding advantages

FEatURES

On the cOver: Fraser Milner Casgrain. LLP Photo credit: Roger Brooks

DEPaRtMENtS04 From the Editor

36 aaLa Letting Go of Grass

37 IDIBC Marketing for Interior Designers

38 Design Headlines

®

www.rlrbc.comWestern Canada’s premier lighting and bath showrooms

Now Available at Robinson Lighting & Bath Centre

Siderna by Brizo - Combining geometric structure with natural inspiration, Siderna represents the merging of two very different worlds. Contact the professionals at Robinson Lighting and Bath Centre to review your upcoming projects.

Vancouver2285 Cambie Street

604.879.2494

Coquitlam1338 United Boulevard

604.523.6555

Edmonton18511-104 Avenue

780.453.5714

Calgary4120 Blackfoot Trail SE

403.245.8637

Penticton240 Industrial Avenue

250.492.2000

Saskatoon829-46 Street E306.664.2389

Kamloops830 Laval Crescent

250.372.7738

Winnipeg1760 Ellice Ave.

204.784.0111

Brandon420 Van Horne Avenue

204.725.1968

robinson_lighting_bath_dq_brizo_20110729.indd 1 7/29/2011 1:17:55 PM

FEBRUaRY 8 & 9, 2012

MaRCH 20 & 21, 2012

NoVEMBER 8 & 9, 2011

Design Quarterly | summer 20114

from the editor::::::: :::::::

summer traditions

summer in Vancouver is one of my favourite times of the year. There is so much to do. Our family might ex-plore the farmer’s market, ride bikes to the neighbourhood park or spend

the day down at the beach. Our yard is in full bloom with colour and our garden is starting to produce vegetables (tough with the bad weather). Summer also means camping in the great out-doors. I’ve enjoyed camping since I was young and now it has become a tradition for my own family. Traditions are important — they create lifelong memories, strengthen family bonds and provide a rich link from the past to the present. I can’t imag-ine breaking this tradition.

But sometimes breaking tradition is a good idea. Our feature project breaks from tradition by deliv-ering a working environment for a law firm that is transparent and open with spaces that encourage interaction and communication. HOK was com-missioned to design Fraser Milner Casgrain’s new office space in downtown Vancouver. The result is a restrained elegance with a modern flair that care-fully reflects the firm’s commitment to innovation and sustainability.

Corporate interiors are close to Sally Mill’s heart. The director of Omicron interiors, our feature pro-file, has three decades of experience in delivering design solutions for hospitality and office interiors.

As usual, this issue is packed with various fea-tures. We take a look at the advantages of cross laminated timber, prefab design and brick. For our green design focus, we have articles on improved LEED AP credentials, two green certification sys-tems and B.C. energy code changes.

Technology is always changing and how that af-fects design as well as your business is important. We went to industry experts for trends in home technology, audio-visual and how to take advan-tage of social media.

Also read all about this year’s AIBC Architectural Award winners, which showcase creative community development and groundbreaking space-making.

Cheryl MahManaging Editor

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designer profile:::::::

sally Mills has spent her entire career working in Vancouver as an interior designer. The direc-tor for Omicron interiors has 30 years of experience deliver-

ing innovative design solutions for hospitality and office interiors.

“The quality of design here has improved dramatically,” she comments. “We are a world class city and recognized as such now. You’re starting to see in the city a quality and level of design sophistication in projects that you wouldn’t have seen 10 years ago.”

Born in England, the 51-year-old says her in-terest has always been towards commercial in-terior design even when she was going through school. In high school, Mills was attracted to fine arts, languages and graphic design.

“When I graduated, I was trying to decide whether to go into interior design or graph-ics design. I chose the interior design route,” she recalls.

After finishing her interior design studies at Douglas College in 1981, Mills spent the first four years of her career working on con-tract for various firms.

:::::::

“I would literally go from one large project to the next in whatever design firm was busy at the time,” she says.

Looking back, Mills counts herself lucky to have entered the industry when she did be-cause she was exposed to some very strong interior design houses at that time.

“I was in front of many good senior inte-rior designers and was lucky to be mentored by those individuals especially in those four years,” says Mills.

In 1985, she joined SSDG as a senior de-signer and worked there for 11 years before striking out on her own. She and Lori Billson (who she still works with today at Omicron) opened Vignette Design in 1996.

Hospitality design and office interiors kept the two busy for three years before they merged with OfficeWorks. Owned by Peter Selnar, OfficeWorks was a well-known office design/build company.

“We worked together for about six years and our approach was a turn-key philoso-phy where we not only did the design work but we also did the interior construction,” says Mills.

collaborative design

Omicron acquired OfficeWorks in 2005 and that philosophy was carried through. Omi-cron’s interiors group focuses on commercial spaces including office, hospitality, retail and institutional interior environments.

With offices in Vancouver, Victoria and Calgary, Omicron is the largest integrated firm in Western Canada, combining the expertise of more than 150 professionals.

Mills directly oversees a team of 15 in the Vancouver office that focuses on commer-cial interiors. That team includes interior designers, electrical, mechanical, construc-tion managers and administration. They provide a fully integrated and comprehen-sive service for projects of all scales and various levels of complexity.

She is responsible for business develop-ment/marketing, financial success and cli-ent management of office interior design and construction.

“I’m more of a project manager now than an interior designer,” says Mills, comparing her role to that of an orchestra conductor. “You’ve got all these different disciplines or instruments and they all have an important

By Cheryl Mah


:::::::designer profile:::::::

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part to play and their timing has to be exactly when it should be. You have to keep all those balls in the air and working together to be able to make a project be successful.”

She still is involved in design work though. She remains hands on at the front end of projects, providing direction for the initial concept, programming and space planning.

“Being a part of those exciting first steps and watching it through the design process and then seeing it being built into a success-ful project is what I still enjoy,” says Mills.

She describes her design approach as collaborative with the goal to create inte-rior environments that satisfy each client’s needs, reflect the needs of those they serve and express the highest level of quality, cre-ativity and integrity.

She believes communication is key at all levels for a project to succeed.

“Listening is critical — ongoing and open conversation. If you don’t listen in the beginning, you can lose something impor-tant that needed to be a part of the initial concept,” she says. “Ask lots of questions. The design is the client’s design, not the interior designer’s design. You’re there to initiate and help them create their environment. You be-come a trusted advisor to your client and they rely on you and trust you to be able to get the successful completion of the project.”

Being able to draw on the company’s multi-disciplinary resources is naturally an advan-tage. The integrated delivery model is part of Omicron’s ongoing success.

“I can quickly pull together a team — I don’t have to look for it out of house,” says Mills. “We have strong resources that I can pull from other parts of the company wheth-er it be construction or estimating. I’ve got a huge intellectual library to draw from.”

She is quick to add though that they are design first.

“I know there are other design/build com-panies that do interiors but they’re often construction driven whereas our philoso-phy is design first. Construction is a support mechanism for the interior design that we do,” notes Mills.

Commitment to delivering innovative, design led solutions has resulted in several award winning projects over the years includ-ing Canadian Tourism Commission, Micro-soft Canada and Boughton Law Corporation.

Recent commissions include College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC (60,000 square feet over seven floors at the new of-fices at Hotel Georgia); Smart & Biggar law firm and several medical clinics. The com-pany has longstanding relationships with clients such as BC Lotteries and BC Hydro.

“Over the last six months, we’ve been see-ing more demand for interior design on the

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BC Hydro’s Luis Damy wants to make one point very clear: “We are not here to tell architects, designers, engineers how to design a build-ing. The New Construction Program is not about taking over their jobs. They know what they’re doing.” Instead, he says, “our purpose is simply to enable them to go beyond building code, to give their clients the best design possible.”

But going beyond building code to increase energy savings can be difficult. Clients may want to be energy efficient, but worry about incre-mental costs and wonder whether sexy new innovations — such as fast-acting radiant heating and cooling or variable refrigerant flow systems — will really pay for themselves over the long term. “What they need is proof,” says Damy, “which is why we fund up to 100 per cent of an energy modeling study for larger buildings early in the design process.”

BC Hydro’s New Construction Program offers three options for com-mercial, institutional and multi-unit residential new developments or major building retrofits of all sizes. For larger projects with the poten-tial for at least 50,000 kWh in electricity savings, the Whole Building Design option will fund 50 per cent of an energy modeling study done by an approved consultant (which may cost anywhere from $5,000 to $40,000, depending on the size and complexity of the building), and will provide the remaining 50 per cent if the building includes at least half of the energy-saving measures identified in the study.

An important bonus: those same energy-saving measures may also be eligible for significant capital incentives. The better the electric-ity savings achieved compared to conventional building design, the higher the incentive BC Hydro will provide.

“This gives building designers many more options to choose from,” says Damy. “Measures they may have avoided because of cost, they can now consider. And that means they can give their clients an even better building, at close to the same cost as a less energy-efficient one, with the added benefit of long-term operational savings from lower energy bills.”

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designer profile::::::: :::::::

retail and institutional side,” says Mills. “In general I would say this year we’re seeing growth again. Of course things levelled off with the economy over last two years — a slow down with the recession.”

Actively involved in the industry, Mills is currently the past president of IDIBC. As an advocate for the profession, she says a pressing concern is the lack of recognition for the interior design profession. Interior design is a profession that requires specific

schooling and formal training in a variety of subjects but that identity is being lost and confused in the general public.

“Anyone can call themselves an interior designer,” says Mills. “I respect anyone that can do design decoration but there is a dif-ference between what is a decorator and what is an interior designer. We’re con-cerned with the interior built environment and how it affects the health, safety and wel-fare of people. It’s not just applied design.”

The challenge for the profession asserts Mills is “how can we help people understand what a professional interior designer does and what a very good interior decorator does?”

She has also served on a national level as a member of the restructuring committee for IDC. IDC now represents more than 3,000 individual interior designers and industry partners in Canada. Prior to the restructur-ing in 2010, membership consisted of seven provincial associations.

“IDC needed to be regenerated and a new focus put on it to become the recognized Canadian association for the profession of interior design,” explains Mills. “We had as-sociations provincially that weren’t surviving. We needed restructuring, support and recog-nition by all the associations to support IDC. That is now in place and has been picking up momentum over the last year.”

The industry has undergone many changes and one of the biggest drivers has been tech-nology. While technology has had many ben-eficial impacts on the design profession, it also means the level of training required now is much higher.

“Our drawing technology is changing ev-ery day,” comments Mills. “It’s not only 3D, it’s 4D and 5D. Speed and accuracy is the result but your level of training has to be so much higher just on the technology side to produce the work.”

Technology and security have also been some important changes in corporate interi-ors over the last decade.

“Security issues have become a very im-portant part in corporate interiors. 9/11 hap-pened and the ramifications of that in the commercial environment have really changed design requirements,” she says. “Technology is always growing and how that affects design is important. Rooms have to be properly de-signed so that the reception, visual and sound are all accurate and good.”

Her advice for someone contemplating a career in interior design?

“You have to really be passionate about it. School is pretty intense. It takes a large amount of dedication but it’s a very exciting profession to be in,” she says.

Outside of work hours, Mills leads an ac-tive lifestyle which includes playing golf and working out. DQ

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project profile::::::: :::::::

occupying the top four floors of 250 Howe Street, Fraser Milner Casgrain’s (FMC) new Vancouver office is definitely not your traditional staid law

firm design. Instead of towering bookcases, heavy dark wood and closed doors, visitors will discover an engaging and light filled contem-porary space that features glass walled rooms and unparallel waterfront and city views.

“It’s a beautiful, highly functional and sus-tainable working environment that is part of FMC’s strategy to attract and nurture the best legal talent in our industry, foster innovation to create and deliver exceptional legal solu-tions,” says John Sandrelli, managing partner, FMC Vancouver.

FMC is a leading national business and litigation law firm with a staff of 165 in its Vancouver office, including 57 lawyers. When the firm decided to relocate to the new 51,000-square-foot space, it turned to archi-tectural HOK for its extensive experience with high profile law offices. They signed the lease in June 2009 and HOK was commis-sioned to do the design in September.

The eight month project was completed on time and on budget by Scott Construction. FMC moved into their new space in Decem-ber 2010.

The objective for HOK was to create a timeless office space that would embody FMC’s commitment to innovation, collabo-ration and sustainability. It had to support

breaking traditionBy Cheryl Mah

their brand as well as reflect their broad range of clients.

HOK successfully did that by executing a design concept that embodies current corpo-rate standards of practice from both a func-tional and aesthetic perspective.

“We were able to translate brand, story and philosophy into an efficient and effective envi-ronment that is a desirable place to work,” says Joe Pettipas, HOK principal in charge.

The firm now occupies fewer floors in a more attractive space that serves its needs better.

“When we were doing the programming work, we did an analysis with them to un-derstand how many current staff they have and their projected growth,” says Pettipas.

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“I would say they are using the space in a smarter way than in their previous premises.”

Managing space utilization was an im-portant goal.

“Law firms historically have tended to be very hierarchical. The client wanted it to be more egalitarian in their approach to space,” says Pettipas.

To support that approach, the initial de-sign concept was to look at a one-size-fits-all office plan but that did not suit the building’s irregular floorplate.

Instead, “we created fundamentally univer-sal offices with some modifications,” says Pet-tipas. “The footprint size per lawyer is reduced from what would be typical by 20 per cent.”

The original space was completely stripped with the exception of the existing glass sur-round staircase, which connects all four floors.

“We chose to open it up, refinished it and put in bamboo stairs and created a verti-cal communication spine between the four floors,” says Pettipas.

The redesign of the double helix staircase helps to facilitate movement and social con-nectivity within the office. Libraries and ref-erence materials have been placed on every

floor around the staircase to reinforce the idea of communication and to function as a breakout space.

Low slung upholstered chairs with small coffee tables encourage “ad hoc conversations or quiet work time in a more casual seating arrangement,” describes Pettipas.

The staircase also provided an opportuni-ty to create “three levels of access” whereby clients are received at reception on floor 20 (the top floor) and then can be invited down to the cafe and outdoor patio on floor 19 or offices on floor 18.

“It serves as an engaging and comfortable vertical transportation,” says Pettipas.

This approach enabled the top floor to pro-vide the desired client-centric space as well as space for events, training or off hour functions.

In addition to a warmer, more open style, the design strays from the norm by incorpo-rating a cafe.

“The approach here from an egalitarian perspective was to create one community space that all employees would be engaged in and could be engaged with one another,” explains Pettipas. “Historically law firms had lawyer’s lounges and then others.”

The cafe which feeds out to an outdoor pa-tio features booth and banquet style seating, a large custom walnut picnic bench table, stools at high counters, club chairs, televi-sions and a library area. The informal setting is energized with pops of colour — greens, oranges, reds and FMC’s signature blue.

“The idea was this space could be utilized not only for lunch but also for ad hoc meeting spaces or entertaining clients,” says Pettipas.

Although the overall colour palette is neu-tral including grey and white carpeting, a punch of colour has been used on each floor around the staircase to aid in wayfinding.

“We also wanted to ensure there was some textural contrast. The fabrics used in these wayfinding pop areas (eg. little floral patterns) reinforce but also contrast the materiality of all the glass, wood and stone,” notes Pettipas.

The restrained material palette was used to convey a ‘wow factor’ without being opu-lent, adds HOK senior interior designer, Tiera Robinson.

Another key design element was to incorpo-rate environmentally sustainable features and technologies. The new space has been designed


:::::::::::::: project profile

to meet LEED Gold using green strategies including energy efficient natural and artificial lighting; occupancy sensors, energy star rated ap-pliances and equipment; water reduction and optimized HVAC.

Material and finish selections followed sustainable principles: re-newable, recycled and low emitting. More than 78 per cent of con-struction waste was diverted. The location is also near public trans-portation, eliminating the need for subsidized parking.

One design challenge and key driver was the issue of “Right to Light” where all employees have access to daylight. “It drove the size and depth of the offices and also the construction of the offices in that they are all-glass fronts,” notes Pettipas.

Glass was used throughout to bring light and views into every space. Privacy is maintained and controlled with smart glass technology, where the opacity of the glass can change with a flick of a switch.

“Smart glass is not new but the use of it at whole scale to be able to provide that ability for privacy in what is otherwise a transparent box is innovative within a law practice,” says Pettipas.

While the extensive use of glass creates a strong sense of transpar-ency and openness, it also optimizes the stunning views.

“When you come into the reception area, you see through a line of boardroom windows straight out to the mountains. The vistas and views are bar none some of the best I’ve seen in Vancouver,” says Pettipas.

Another challenge was to reduce FMC’s “paper footprint.” The legal profession remains paper-intensive and HOK worked closely with the client to reduce paper storage requirements through scan-ning and offsite storage.

Workstations have been designed to group employees together to not only enhance efficiency but to reinforce the idea of less paper by minimizing the need for multiple records in disparate parts of the office.

The commitment to a sustainably designed new office also gave FMC an opportunity to “look at their company internally and how they function as a company,” notes Robinson.

The project empowered the company to implement a new green operations plan (from food waste to procurement of supplies) prior to the move-in. The building’s waste programs now include com-posting for all tenants.

Pettipas credits the success of the project to great teamwork and a receptive client.

“The client is extremely happy. The staff love the new space and it recently won the BOMA B.C. Tenant Improvement Award which attests to its efficiency, effectiveness and attractiveness,” he says. DQ

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building blocks::::::: :::::::

innovative timber system

Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is an innovative wood prod-uct that was first developed in the early 1990s in Austria and Germany and ever since has

been gaining popularity in residential and non-residential applications in Europe where there are currently several CLT producers.

While this product is well-established in Europe, work on the implementation of CLT products and systems has just begun in Can-ada and the United States. The use of CLT in North America is gaining interest in both the construction and wood industries. Several North American manufacturers are in the process of product and manufacturing as-sessment or have already started production.

cross-laminated timberCLT panels consist of several layers of di-mensional lumber boards stacked crosswise (typically at 90 degrees) and glued together on their wide faces and, sometimes, on the narrow faces as well. A cross-section of a CLT element has at least three glued layers of boards placed in orthogonally alternating orientation to the neighbouring layers. CLT products are usually fabricated with three to seven layers and even more in some cases.

Panel sizes vary by manufacturers; typical widths are 0.6 m, 1.2 m, and 3 m (could be up to 4-5 m in particular cases) while length can be up to 18 m and the thickness can be up to 400 mm. Transportation regulations may impose limitations to CLT panel size.

benefits Cross-laminated solid timber boards used for prefabricated wall and floor panels offer many advantages. The cross-laminating process pro-vides improved dimensional stability to the product which allows for prefabrication of wide and long floor slabs and single storey long walls. Additionally, cross-laminating provides relative-ly high in-plane and out-of-plane strength and stiffness properties in both directions, giving it a two-way action capability similar to a reinforced concrete slab. The ‘reinforcement’ effect provid-ed by the cross lamination in CLT also consider-ably increases the splitting resistance of CLT for certain types of connection systems.

Its prefabricated nature implies high pre-cision and a construction process character-ized by: faster completion, increased safety, less demand for skilled workers on site, less disruption to the community, and less waste.

It is a flexible building system, allowing for long spans and for use in all assemblies,

whether floors, walls or roofs with a high de-gree of finishing preinstalled off-site at the factory. Its ability to be used as a panelized and or modular system makes it ideally suit-ed for additions to existing buildings. It can be used jointly with any other material, such as light wood frame, heavy timbers, steel or concrete and accepts varied finishes.

environmental performanceBecause CLT is made of wood it possesses a number of positive environmental character-istics common to almost all wood products. These include carbon storage and less man-ufacturing greenhouse gas emissions than non-wood materials.

The environmental footprint of CLT is frequently discussed as potentially ben-eficial when compared to functionally equivalent concrete systems. Inherent to that discussion is an assumption that the comparative environmental profile of CLT will be lower, based on the generic life cycle analysis (LCA) profiles of wood and con-crete. In particular, CLT (because it is made of wood), is assumed to have a light carbon footprint, due to relatively low embodied greenhouse gas emissions in wood versus concrete, and due to the carbon storage ca-pacity of wood products.

regulationsThe implementation of CLT in the regula-tory systems in Canada and the United States requires a multi-level strategy that includes development of a product standard, mate-rial design standard and adoption of CLT on building code levels.

The recent CLT Handbook prepared by FPInnovations and their research collabora-tors provides immediate support for the design and construction of CLT systems as alternative solutions in building codes. It provides tech-nical information for implementation of CLT

systems in building codes and standards. This comprehensive handbook includes all impor-tant aspects of CLT design and construction including structural, connection, seismic and fire design, vibration characteristics, sound transmission, and building envelope and envi-ronmental performance of CLT.

“The CLT Handbook will be instrumental in guiding building and design specialists,” ex-plains Mary Tracey, executive director of Wood WORKS! BC and executive member of the Wood Enterprise Coalition. “The possibilities are exciting, and we look forward to realizing the full potential of cross-laminated timber as a renewable alternative building material in Canada as we see construction of the first Ca-nadian projects using CLT.”

projectsPilot projects using CLT are already underway in B.C., including the UBC Bioenergy Research and Demonstration project. The four-storey, 20,000 square foot facility will be the first North American commercial application of cross-laminated-timber. Designed by McFarland Marceau, the facility will use 34,000 square feet of CLT panels manufactured and supplied by CST Innovations. CTS Innovations and Struc-turlam Products are the only two companies out west that manufacture CLT.

In June, Structurlam opened its brand-new CLT plant in Okanagan Falls. The 15,000 square foot plant is the first of its kind in Western Canada and the largest in Western North America.

Sylvain Gagnon is an engineer, research scientist, building systems with FPInnova-tions, the world’s largest non-profit research institute.

By sylvain gagnon

the UBC Bioenergy Research + Demonstration

project was the first public CLt project approved

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building blocks::::::: :::::::

Many of us have spent time exploring different building environments as children and adults. Playing in a barn in the summer, explor-

ing a vacant building, or visiting a church re-calls not only visual memories, but sensory ones as well. Recall for a moment, the cool relief of a church interior on a hot day, or the warmth and humidity of the greenhouse on a crisp fall afternoon.

The construction materials that these buildings are made of contribute to their be-haviour in different climates and add to one’s sense of comfort, whether thermal, acoustical or aesthetic. Buildings that provide the most stable thermal environment are typically ma-sonry buildings.

Humans have a 3,000 year history with brick. It has been in regular use since the ancient empires of Mesopotamia, Rome and China to today’s global societies. There is a reason for this. Many of the ancient struc-tures still visited and studied worldwide to-day have one thing in common—construction mass. Whether the product used was stone, concrete or brick, the design and construc-tion of the structure had substantial mass to withstand the erosion of time and remain habitable for centuries.

In addition to surviving the ages, ancient structures and pre-mechanical temperature control buildings used masonry construction as “thermal mass” to control interior living temperatures. Even today, most residential and smaller commercial buildings in Italy, for example, do not have air conditioning. Instead, they combine the use of brick and other masonry products, with shading, orien-tation of windows and shutters to keep their structures temperate.

As architects and contractors now look for ways to reduce energy consumption and con-struct long-lasting, low maintenance struc-tures, brick should be considered an essential building material. Thanks to features such as thermal mass, durability and flexibility, brick can play a major role in achieving current sustainability goals.

passive solar energy systemsPassive solar energy systems do not require mechanical equipment to create temper-ate interior living conditions. Instead, the systems use the exterior surface of a build-ing façade to regulate the temperature indoors.

Masonry buildings absorb the heat of the sun into the mass of its walls during the day. This helps to stabilize the interior tem-perature whether it is hot or cold outside. At night, the stored heat radiates to the interior and exterior of the building, once again help-ing to maintain a stable thermal environment within. While clay brick is a feasible option in many locations, hot and humid environ-ments are more complex requiring greater consideration of all design strategies.

This reduction in the reliance on mechani-cal heating and cooling systems saves energy throughout the life of the building. Tests con-ducted by the Oak Ridge National Laborato-ries of this benefit have shown energy savings as high as 13 per cent.

durabilityClay brick can last hundreds or even thou-sands of years. Other than stone there is no other construction product that lasts as long as brick. This construction durability adds value to any property when consid-ering life cycle costs. Masonry durability reduces both the monetary and environ-mental costs of maintenance as fewer new resources are needed to repair the structure over long periods of time. In addition, the

durability of homes and buildings built with brick add a generational sense of com-munity to towns, cities, village and neigh-borhoods all over the world.

flexibil ity Brick can be used to achieve sustainability goals in every type of building from single family homes, hi-rise condominiums and of-fice buildings to public institutions. Within a location, it can be used as an interior wall, floor, ceiling, fireplace profile and as a passive solar energy collector. Additionally, bricks are used across the world in every economic re-gion. The abundance of clay, the natural, pre-dominant material in brick, contributes to its universal manufacturing and application.

Humans have always used — and still use — clay brick’s thermal mass capabilities as an asset to construct long-lasting livable, attrac-tive structures and can be used to effectively achieve today’s sustainability goals, creating a stronger environment for tomorrow. DQ

Alan Richardson is president of Potomac Valley Brick and Peter Doo, AIA, LEED AP is president of Doo Consulting. Contact Alan at [email protected] and Peter at [email protected].

improving building performanceBy alan riCharDson anD Peter Doo


building blocks ::::::::::::::

the term prefabrication in archi-tecture describes two principle building methods: ‘flat panel’ and ‘modular,’ both of which originate in a factory but need different

levels of site preparation. Modular units are typically more finished prior to delivery, in some cases with all electrical, plumbing, ap-pliances, light fixtures, paint and tiling com-pleted. Flat panel is restricted to the framing of floors, walls and roof, with some siding and preinstalled components like windows and doors. Both can be ‘modular’ in terms of utilizing repetitive dimensions for efficiency.

Looking back at the best architects of this century, almost all have had a go at designing prefabricated housing: Frank Lloyd Wright (who drew up 900 prefab plans for Richard Homes), Walter Gropius, Mies van de Rohe, Le Corbusier and Buckminster Fuller all tried their hand. But as Charles Jencks once noted, “nobody ever succeeded.” It seems today, though, prefabrication has come of age, its prior stigma as cheap has gone, and a younger market now sees prefab living as ‘cool.’ Done well, it is far quicker, more pre-cise, higher quality and greener. Ironically it is not less expensive, unless units are mass produced or time is a factor in financing.

The benefits of a well crafted factory-made building are obvious. Drive by a building site in winter and you will see a construction crew decked in rain gear using power tools in the pouring rain and high winds. Their efficiency and accuracy pales in comparison to a factory team. Neither the carpenters nor the building ever get wet. The roof goes on before it leaves the dry environment of the factory floor. Imagine no more hazard-ous black rot inside walls of recent site built

prefab designBy tony roBins

projects, when the ever increasing sealing of walls prevents that deep moisture from evaporating. Imagine finishing the plumb-ing, electrical and then drywall and paint-ing simultaneously with the exterior siding and roof, whilst site footings are being done all at the same time. Prefabrication allows for a parallel building period of most major construction sub trades. Imagine, also, the gas savings of crews not heading individu-ally to a remote site. Imagine the mill shop team walking across the shop floor instead of, say, ferrying to an island to site measure for a kitchen.

There are some constraints when design-ing and building modules, or shipping flat panels. Whether the journey to the site is by train, ferry or barge, the modules travel on a truck at some point. Every state and prov-ince has a different ruling about load sizes, and each ferry route has a different allow-able width and height. Essentially, though, a truck can carry no longer than a 60’ unit, and the measurements of 12’ tall and 12’-6” wide seem like a good guide. This begins to inform the design from the outset, since it is obviously better (but not essential) to stay within these bounds for room sizes. If a room such as a living area is larger, then a temporary wall is placed for transit, but then finishes such as the flooring have to be completed on site. It is good practice to contain the bathrooms or kitchen within one module, since all tiling and plumbing can then be finished. Large spaces like a garage or double height area are more ef-ficiently sent as panels. Where two modules join, there usually has to be some patching of drywall and possibly exterior siding after the units are bolted together on site.

The savings through factory efficiency are weighed against two factors that do cost more: the structure and shipping/craning. Each module has to be structurally autono-mous to be lifted by a crane, and so it has a strong frame, usually a skirt at the base either of steel or wood beams with steel brackets. Craning costs vary depending on the proxim-ity of the crane placement to the house foot-print, and module weight.

One advantage of prefabrication is that the units leave the factory with CSA approval, so no building inspector is required other than to check the services hook up and site footings.

Does a prefab have to look like one? No, the sky’s the limit. Pitched roofs, however, are less efficient to ship, and maximizing the ceil-ing heights usually means a flat roof to each module, giving rise to the rectilinear appear-ance of most prefabricated houses. The Gulf Island house, illustrated, clearly shows that architects need not be constrained by ship-ping dimensions. Prefabrication is an obvious answer to building any house form and now that owners are seeking greener and higher quality construction at no extra cost, it is the obvious way forward. DQ

Tony Robins is a recipient of the Prix de Rome in Architecture, occasional associate professor at UBC School of Architecture, and an architect practicing in Vancouver, B.C. He is also partner in Preform Construction Ltd., focusing on the prefabrication of green, high quality custom homes.

this prefabricated 6,500 square foot house, by aa

Robins architect and Preform Construction Ltd.,

comprises 20 modules barged to the Gulf Islands

and attached in situ.

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green design::::::: :::::::

Competition is a cornerstone of any successful free market economy, and rightly so. Be-yond a reduction in customer choice, monopolies have been

shown to increase costs and reduce innova-tion. So it is encouraging that the existing building market has viable choices for sus-tainable certification programs. The two most commonly implemented existing build-ing green certification programs in Canada are the Building Owners and Managers As-sociation (BOMA’s) Building Environmental Standards (BOMA BESt) and the Canada Green Building Council’s (CaGBC’s) Leader-ship in Energy and Environmental Design, Existing Buildings: Operations and Mainte-nance (LEED® EB:O&M) program.

Which one is better? Unfortunately, there are no hard and fast rules, and so the old ex-perts’ adage applies: “it depends”. As such, the choice of rating system can often be a difficult or contentious decision.

Both programs aim to green the built envi-ronment by focusing on sustainable operat-ing procedures, and both reward measured improvements to building performance. Neither program requires retrofits or tenant improvement projects as eligibility require-

ments; however, the implementation of per-formance projects is indirectly encouraged for buildings seeking improved results. Both programs promote excellence with various performance categories including but not limited to water, energy, and indoor envi-ronmental quality. Both programs are non-prescriptive, affording flexibility and choice during execution, and both programs have four tiers of certification. Both programs are also third-party verified, providing a level of assurance for owners, with increased docu-mentation serving to offset the lack of on-site review with LEED EB:O&M as compared to BOMA BESt.

BOMA BESt has attained significant mar-ket penetration based on its duration and the number of buildings certified in Canada as compared to LEED EB:O&M. BOMA’s rating system (and its previous iteration, Go Green) have been promoted in Canada since 2005, whereas a Canadian version of LEED for Existing Buildings has been available within Canada since 2009. BOMA BESt is also held to be an inclusive rating system which may be more readily and widely ad-opted and therefore could be said to aim to green the built environment en masse. By comparison, LEED rating systems generally,

BoMa Best and leeD eBo&M By JaMes Furlong

and EB:O&M specifically, are not designed for total market penetration. Instead, LEED EB:O&M promotes excellence for early adopters, innovators and top performers, aiming to transform the remaining built en-vironment by fostering a sustainable build-ing industry.

If any bias exists, BOMA BESt and LEED EB:O&M generally reflect the bias of their respective organizations. The perception is that BOMA BESt responds primarily to own-er and operator issues, concerns, perspectives and solutions while LEED includes propor-tionally more strategies that respond to the additional concerns of a broader stakeholder group, most notably consultants and ten-ants. It is perhaps not surprising that LEED EB:O&M in most cases requires the input, leadership, or at the very least the guidance of consultants and can (if the relevant credits are pursued) involve much more tenant en-gagement as compared to BOMA BESt. The need for consultant involvement has arguably driven up the costs of LEED EB:O&M while the potential reward for tenant participation is an opportunity when good tenant relation-ships exist with the owner/operators. Con-versely, increased reliance on occupant en-gagement may create a barrier to successfully

green certification


:::::::::::::: green design

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achieving higher levels of LEED EB:O&M certification for multiple tenant buildings and occupant groups without a green ethos.

Consultants should ask building owners what they hope to achieve with green build-ing certification prior to recommending a rating system. Often owners will undertake certification when mandated, in which case the rating system is likely already estab-lished; when the market demands sustain-ability or differentiation from competition; or when building operations are less than optimal and owners want to adopt a recog-nized standard to measure and improve per-formance. Both programs can help improve operations, but LEED’s wider brand recog-nition and the comparative rarity of LEED-certified projects may provide that desired product differentiation. A recent study indi-cates that BOMA BESt is perceived as less rigorous when it comes to documentation, and therefore measurable results or change in performance are less likely compared to the more rigorously documented progress of LEED EB:O&M. Interestingly enough, there is criticism that the relatively long five-year maximum recertification period with LEED EB:O&M, compared to the three-year re-certification of BOMA BESt, may lead to a drop in performance with LEED EB:O&M buildings between certifications. When it comes to measurable improvements, both programs can offer similar results and ben-efits; maintaining performance will rely on ongoing diligence from building operators under either program.

When it comes to a portfolio of buildings, a common approach is to take advantage of the relatively low cost, ease and timeliness of implementation of BOMA BESt for all eligible sites. Then upon successful certifica-tion, evaluate the potential merits of broader market recognition and differentiation with LEED EB:O&M certification for the top-per-forming BOMA BESt certified properties. It has been observed that the effort expended and documentation collected through BOMA BESt certification is conducive to later LEED EB:O&M certification.

Time will tell how market pressures will continue to shape the future versions of these rating systems. Both rating systems are suc-cessful by their own definitions and goals, and a final recommendation as to a system will depend primarily upon the owner’s de-sired outcome from implementation, as well as by understanding the level of participation and sustainability ethos of other building stakeholders. DQ

James Furlong, CET, CEM, LEED AP BD+C, is a principal at Stantec in Calgary. He can be reached at [email protected].


green design::::::: :::::::

energy code changes

Dramatic changes in building practices, materials and tech-nology are expected as sub-stantial new energy require-ments under Part 10 of the B.C

Building Code come into effect.Advanced building envelopes, renew-

able energy sources and improved heat-ing technologies will be necessary to meet new energy targets and the goal of net zero ready buildings by 2020, according to Murray Frank, principal of Construc-tive Home Solutions.

Frank, a building science expert, was a speaker at the annual Buildex Vancouver in February where he discussed energy code changes that are “highly likely” for the next version and emerging green technologies that will meet those requirements.

The code publication date was originally slated for October 2011, but it will now be out in spring 2012. City of Vancouver ex-pects its new code will follow the same pub-lication and effective dates, keeping the city on track to achieve its goal of becoming the greenest city in the world by 2020.

The first steps in the “greening” of the B.C. Building code came into effect in 2008

with requirements to increase energy and water efficiency under a new Part 10.

The upcoming revisions to Part 10 are partly due to commitments made in B.C.’s Climate Action Plan which set out a number of targets including a EnerGuide 80 rating for all new homes by 2010, energy labelling of houses, 100,000 solar roofs by 2020 and meeting 50 per cent of all new water de-mand through conservation and mandating purple pipes in new construction.

The goal of 100,000 solar roofs by 2020 will not happen, according to Frank, because “it would mean we would have to put up eight or 10 solar roofs per day be-tween now and 2020.” But he stressed so-lar is still an important renewable energy source and a concept that will need to be embraced moving forward.

The key change will be the requirement for all new homes to be EnerGuide 80 or above. In Vancouver, the target will be slightly high-er at 81-82.

Frank believes it makes the most sense to put the focus on airtightness and insu-lation to achieve the higher rating. Build-ing a home at high airtightness and in-sulation is costly but a retrofit would be “brutally expensive.”

“To get to the kind of energy performance we need, we have to make walls a lot fatter and with a lot more insulation and greater attention to airtightness,” he said. “We’ll see continuous exterior insulation added over top of the sheathing. We may see walls that are now double framed so they become a foot thick.”

Because fatter walls will mean less square footage to sell, Frank said the City of Vancou-ver will likely accommodate for new insulation needs so that builders do not suffer a conse-quence on the FSR.

Higher performance building envelopes are key to moving to net zero ready.

Buildings contribute a significant amount of GHG. According to a 2006 B.C. GHG emissions study, buildings comprise 12 per

B.C. and the City of vancouver are laying the groundwork to achieve the goal of requiring all new buildings to be net zero by 2020. By Cheryl Mah

the code publication date was originally slated for october 2011, but it

will now be out in spring 2012.


green design ::::::::::::::

cent of emissions. Of that 12 per cent, 57 per cent is residential buildings and 43 per cent is commercial.

“There’s so much effort being put into greening the way we construct because residential homes contribute approximate-ly seven per cent of the greenhouse gases emitted in B.C.,” explained Frank.

It’s also “highly likely” that requirements will be placed on existing homes if “we’re going to see any real impact on carbon emissions,” he continues. The City of Vancouver now has mandatory energy efficient retrofits for all ma-jor renovations costing $5,000 or more.

“Moving forward, new homes today will be built in an increasingly green manner and existing homes will — over a period of time through natural renewals and renova-tions — see some new standards of require-ments for energy retrofit,” he said.

For commercial and multi-unit residen-tial buildings, a move from ASHRAE 90.1 (2004) to ASHRAE 90.1 (2010) is expected in the new code.

“But there have been some interesting studies done on buildings that have been built under ASHRAE,” noted Frank. “The results of the energy performance on a lot of multi-unit residential buildings in B.C. are very disappointing — performance lev-els are a lot less than we would anticipate

under ASHRAE. I would expect more dili-gence applied in the analysis of energy per-formance on big buildings.”

Nine strategies were discussed to achieve improved energy efficiency: high-efficiency windows, advanced insulation systems, efficient lighting, heat source, heat pumps, airtightness, solar, alternate structural systems (ICF) and heat recov-ery ventilators.

“There will be a lot of attraction to heat pump technologies [which can achieve 200-300 per cent efficiency] over the next 10 years,” said Frank. “And I would not be surprised to see triple glaze, double e emis-sivity as a minimum glass spec in the very near future. Look forward to LED lighting which is even more efficient than CFLs.”

Frank also expects solar photovoltaic (PV) systems to be cost effective within the next 10-15 years as the demand for additional, clean electricity rises and the cost of PV technology falls.

“In absence of Feed In Tariffs in B.C., it doesn’t make sense to put PV in right now,” he said, noting Ontario recently introduced a FIT program.

Improving energy performance can be done in three basic ways: using a renewable energy source (solar or ground); high efficiency tech-nologies and minimizing energy loss.

“Where we have great opportunity to do a much better job is taking care of en-ergy loss,” said Frank, going on to explain about how energy loss occurs (conduction and convection).

For example, when tested for airtight-ness, the average home built in Vancouver between 2008-2010 had an air leakage hole “the size of a manhole cover.” The new building code will reduce that air leakage by half, said Frank.

Costs associated with changes needed to get to EnerGuide 80 are “about $1,000-2,000 per point” more than construction costs today. Payback is expected within 10 years for homeowners.

While it may be challenging and potential-ly costly for the building industry to meet the next round of energy code change require-ments, Frank noted energy and GHG reduc-tion requirements will continue to increase through to 2020.

The next version of the building code is set for 2016 and by then, B.C. is expected to be electrically self-sufficient.

B.C.’s Climate Action Plan recommends that all new publicly-funded buildings be re-quired, by law, to have net-zero GHG emis-sions by 2016; and that all new houses and buildings in the province have net-zero GHG emissions by 2020. DQ


::::::: :::::::green design

as the footprint of the LEED green building rating system approaches 8.2 billion square feet worldwide, the demand for professionals who understand

LEED has followed suit. More than 166,000 individuals now hold LEED professional credentials. LEED professionals are not only working on the 1.6 million square feet of LEED space being certified every day, but they are the leaders of and advocates for the green building movement, helping to ensure that its impact resonates around the world.

In 2009, the LEED AP exam was retired to make way for a new suite of LEED creden-tials that recognize the necessity of keeping up with the swift progression of the industry: the LEED Green Associate and five LEED AP with specialty credentials.

The Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) is now responsible for administering theLEED professional credentials globally. The credentials provide employers, policymak-ers and other stakeholders with assurance of an individual’s green building knowledge and skills. They are the mark of the most qualified green building professionals in the market-place. LEED professionals are influential and effective catalysts of change and are the move-ment’s strongest advocates for a more sustain-able built environment for all.

The LEED Green Associate credential has secured its status as the preeminent designation for professionals who support

the green building industry. The LEED Green Associate exam tests for fundamen-tal understanding of sustainable building practices and principles. It is specifically designed for those individuals who work in industries that support sustainable build-ing, such as manufacturing, sales, policy, real estate, property management, law, marketing, and many others. It is also a starting point for students and profession-als who desire to eventually become LEED APs with specialty.

The LEED AP with specialty credentials allow professionals to demonstrate their ex-pertise in related fields: building design and construction, interior design and construc-tion, operations and maintenance, homes and neighborhood development. The creden-tials must be maintained through continuing education, which ensures that LEED Green Associates and LEED APs with specialty keep up with green building innovation, current standards and practices and the continuous evolution of the LEED rating system.

This fall, GBCI will announce its first class of LEED Fellows, its newest and most pres-tigious designation. LEED Fellows are the world’s most distinguished green building professionals. They are nominated by their peers and selected based on their body of work and how it has contributed to advanc-ing the industry. Among other eligibility re-quirements, both candidates and nominators must hold the LEED AP with specialty cre-

leeD professionalsBy erin eMery

dential or enroll to add the specialty before their fall 2011 deadline.

For current LEED APs who do not hold a specialty credential, GBCI has provided a limited window of time during which LEED APs may enroll to become a LEED AP with specialty by completing 30 hours of relevant continuing education activities within their specialized field. The deadline for Canadian LEED APs to enroll in the program is Octo-ber 27th of this year.

Thousands of current and prospective LEED Professionals and others involved with green building will convene in Toronto on Oc-tober 4 at the Greenbuild International Con-ference and Expo. As the world’s largest green building conference, Greenbuild features more than 90 educational sessions including LEED workshops, sector-specific summits and niche topics. Nearly all sessions are approved for continuing education credits for LEED and other professional credentials, making it a one-stop shop for credential maintenance. LEED APs who are eligible to enrolling in the LEED AP with specialty program will have the oppor-tunity to enroll before or during the conference and earn their hours while there.

As LEED and the green building industry continue to evolve at a rapid pace, they must be supported by a global community com-mitted to market transformation.

LEED professionals have proven them-selves to be the movement’s most visionary in thought, innovative in design and tireless in determination.

As they grow in education and experience, they will continue to play an even stronger role in raising the bar and making great-er strides in green building achievement around the world. DQ

Erin Emery is marketing and communi-cations manager for the U.S. Green Building Council in Washington, D.C. www.gbci.org

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::::::: :::::::multimedia

every year more and more manu-facturers enter the audio visual marketplace with their version of touch technology. Although this technology has long had a place

with interactive whiteboards in the kinder-garten to grade 12 setting, 2011 is the break out year for touch in the business meeting space. Most impressive is the SMART 8070i-MP. This elegant 70 inch commercial grade LCD screen will really make you wonder why you have not been using this all along. It of-fers precise and intuitive operation on a 1920 x 1080 resolution screen and provides two 15 W speakers for audio support. Even more impressive than this great piece of hardware is the way the user can interface with the software. First off, this product seems like it was made for Windows 7 touch gestures — users can manipulate objects with gestures like zoom, rotate, pan, flick and toss. Not only that, two people can write, erase and manipu-late objects simultaneously — the 8070i au-tomatically recognizes what each user is do-ing and responds accordingly.

Whether it’s loaded on a laptop or using the auto loading SMART Go Wire, SMART’s Meeting Pro software takes presentation abilities to another level. Meet Pro has been designed with ease of use, effective communi-cation and collaboration in mind. Users can write notes over virtually any application or web page, capture them as a screenshot and save everything in a PDF or PPT file. Or users can mark up files in common applications, like Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio

display technologyBy tiM st. louis

and OneNote, as well as Adobe Acrobat Pro, and SMART Meeting Pro will insert and save the notes in the original document for im-mediate distribution. For a further enhanced experience, there is the Premium version of SMART Meeting Pro that will automate data conferencing abilities with SMART Bridgit conferencing software and enable the con-trol of multiple screens in a single meeting room from one computer. Imagine the ability to conference with branch offices in another province with effective collaboration of mul-tiple computer programs, seamlessly increas-ing productivity and saving travel costs for a positive return on investment in no time.

Outside of the meeting space, companies are trying all kinds of unique ways to grab consumers’ attention and captivate them with their message. The Laser Phosphor Display (LPD) by Prysm is a unique 20” x 15” tile screen that is powered by a patented laser engine and a phosphor panel to create stunning images and at 30W per tile using 75 per cent less power than traditional tech-nologies. Each tile provides brilliant images at 320 x 240 pixels and can be configured into any shape you can imagine. Whether it is a large 13 x 9 tile wall with 4160 x 2160 pix-els, the Prysm Digital Mannequin and Kiosk or creating your own spellbinding inukshuk inspired freeform video display, the Prysm Laser Phosphor Display is sure to captivate.

These are two examples of intriguing dis-play technologies but there is a myriad to choose from. Selecting the right display for the purpose can be facilitated by an audio

visual professional. Factors that should be taken into account are the intended purpose of the display, the type messaging or content that will be displayed, the ability to mount a specific display technology in the desired location, the distance of your audience from the image, the ambient lighting and envi-ronmental factors such as exposure to cold or moisture. DQ

Tim St. Louis is the vice president, sales and marketing at Sharp’s Audio Visual, a national audio visual design integrator and rentals and event staging business. Tim can be reached at [email protected] or through their web site at sharpsav.com.

top: Prysm Laser Phosphor Display.

Inset: SMaRt 8070i-MP


:::::::::::::: multimedia

technology trends 2011By shane WaMBolDt

as technology becomes an ever-important facet of our everyday lives, homeowners want to take advantage of these technologies to their fullest potential. No lon-

ger are they content to watch only what the cable and satellite companies may be offering or the radio is playing, but they also want to stream video and audio from their computer and the internet throughout their home.

The pace only continues to quicken. Where-as a tablet may have been a nice-to-have con-venience only a year or two ago, it is now be-coming a must-have amenity in the house. A short time ago we may have crowded around the desktop computer to view photos and vid-eos, but now we can display them in high-def-inition glory on a stunning wall-mounted high definition TV for all to see.

“Homeowners are looking for sleek, elegant products which are infinitely connected, easy to use, portable and high quality,” says Dave Pedigo, senior director of technology, CEDIA. “They are looking for electronics that disap-pear into the design of the room and ultimate-ly enhance their lifestyles. In the coming year, we’ll see technologies that are faster, more so-phisticated and more elegant while connecting to all forms of audio, video and social media.”

With the demand that technology be less conspicuous, electronic systems contractors (ESCs) and the design/build community are working more closely together than ever be-fore. Technology such as speakers and flat panel displays that are being concealed within cabinetry, for instance, require advance plan-ning and coordination to make sure everything fits, yet still operates up to its full potential.

Some of the other trends for 2011 reported by CEDIA include:

video The Connected TV, Super-Thin and Energy-Efficient displays, and 3D

Televisions aren’t just in the living room and bedroom anymore. Trends in this cat-egory include:

• TVs and computers will continue to con-verge as more TVs will be enabled with cameras for video conferencing, social-media-enabled widgets and media re-ceivers.

• Super-thin TVs — some as thin as a credit card — can be discreetly installed in bath-rooms, set into mirrors, or integrated in kitchens where entertainers and cooks spend plenty of hours.

• Televisions are becoming substantially more energy-efficient.

• 3D will continue to grow, albeit slightly more slowly than initial projections. There will be a steady increase in 3D content, and not just animation. Live events, movies and sports will be recorded and broadcast in 2011.

app-driven technologies• Sleek tablets and hand held smart phones are

replacing much of the traditional touch panels in the home. The adoption rate for applica-tions will continue to grow rapidly, allowing third-party developers to offer a vast array of products, games and interfaces that allow con-sumers to customize their viewing habits.

• More and more systems in our homes will be able to be run with an app.

show me My moneyHome technology is not just for the wealthy. A well designed and installed system will not only add to the homeowner’s enjoyment and peace of mind, but can also offer a return on investment. Examples include:

• Digital home health technologies to al-low aging homeowners to stay in their homes longer rather than transitioning to assisted living.

• Sustainable lifestyles solutions, includ-ing energy monitors that report how much energy is used and where; ap-pliances that use wireless networks to communicate maintenance issues; photovoltaic solar panels; and daylight harvesting systems that control window treatments to help reduce HVAC usage.

• Light-emitting diode (LED) light bulbs will gain more traction in 2011 and beyond, as they are significantly more energy-efficient and do not contain mercu-ry vapour as compact fluorescent bulbs do.

home theaters, gaming and media roomsMany homeowners are building performance audio and video systems into mixed-use rooms rather than a dedicated theatre room. Trends include:

• An all-immersive entertainment environ-ment with motion chairs, 3D surround sound and giant 3D screen, offering the ultimate movie-watching experience.

• Covert speaker and display installations. The system comes alive when called upon, but is not apparent in the room when not in use.

• Home theatre audio is dominated by in-ceiling and in-wall speakers. Together these speakers account for 75 per cent of speakers installed for home theater audio.

• Integration with mobile devices and tab-let PCs, allowing homeowners to adjust volume, choose movies and share content streaming to their TVs.

Many of these systems can live in har-mony with a room’s design and aesthetic appeal. One does not need to detract from the other. Careful planning and coordina-tion of all trades and design-build profes-sionals is required to ensure the system is carefully designed and implemented. The ultimate goal of any system is to be easy to use and add to the homeowner’s comfort, enjoyment, and peace of mind with their home. DQ

Shane Wamboldt is the owner of uberHome Technology Integration, an award-winning systems integration firm in Nova Scotia. The Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA) is the leading authority on home electronic solutions. It is comprised of companies that specialize in the design and installation of residential electronic systems. P

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::::::: :::::::multimedia

Much has been made of evolving technology and its use in business. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and oth-er forms of electronic media

are garnering a great deal of attention, and rightly so. They are changing the fabric of our social landscape.

They are also changing how we do busi-ness. It is far more common for people to look up on Google the address or phone number of a business, rather than revert to the Yellow Pages. There are blogs that feed us informa-tion that we follow regularly. And whether it is a Blackberry, an i-Phone or an Android, we are constantly connected.

As design professionals providing profes-sional services rather than products, how do you use this digital phenomenon to your ad-vantage in the growth of your business? One way is to use one or more of these media to build or enhance your professional community.

We live in a world where we seem to be-come more isolated than ever. Building com-munities using online tools will not only keep you connected with other like-minded peo-ple, they may also increase your profile and credibility. Many professional service provid-ers have used social media communities to become considered as “Thought Leaders” in their respective fields of expertise. This may be very powerful for your business too.

social media: powerful connection tool

Notwithstanding the increased popular-ity of social media, there is a huge risk of wasting time with technology. It may be exciting and sexy to have 850 Facebook or LinkedIn contacts, or to have daily entries on your blog, it is also very time-consuming to engage in these efforts. The key is to use social media for the purpose that it was in-tended. That is to be an avenue for connec-tion. Building a professional community is one very powerful tool, in support of busi-ness growth.

building your professional communityWhen building an online community, there are a number of criteria to consider. These are similar to criteria that people would fol-low in choosing to participate in any com-munity, online or otherwise. People read through veiled attempts to sell. If you really want to tap the power of online media, then the community you build needs to address these 5 key questions.

Is there a common purpose that is larger than any one person in the group? A com-mon purpose gives people good reason to want to stay connected. A purpose that is larger than any one person generates a com-munity that is based upon the collective good. This can be quite compelling.

Are there shared or common interests and values among the people in the com-munity? Birds of a feather tend to flock to-gether. What really resonates for people is an alignment of values. Instead of trying to be all things to all people, by focusing on people who share similar interests, and val-ue similar things, the nature of the commu-nity you build will be far more sustainable, and allow for stronger interactions within the group.

Is the community based upon mutual re-spect and contribution? If there is not mu-tual respect (if, for instance, you are clear that your audience doesn’t know, and you will teach them, because you know better), then there may be little sustainability to the group. Access for people to contribute adds signifi-cantly to a community’s success. People are far less interested in joining a group unless their opinions count, and where they can feel a sense of contribution and belonging.

Are there a number of sources of wisdom, based upon complementary strengths within the group? Attracting people of complementary strengths allows for mu-tual learning and growth, which will make this whole experience more rewarding for all concerned.

Is there a positive orientation, and does the community progress toward its com-mon goal or purpose? People like to expe-rience progress. Positive progress feels good, and generates increased confidence, which in turn, supports more positive progress.

By developing a strong community, you will strengthen your connections with others and enhance your credibility as a professional designer, as you continue to grow in this pro-fession. And don’t be surprised if, with these new and evolving relationships, life gets rich-er as well! DQ

Michael Walsh is founder and president of Kaizen Consulting, a firm dedicated for the past 16 years to supporting business owners and professional to grow their business in-terests in support of their goals and commit-ments in life. He may be reached at [email protected]

By MiChael Walsh


:::::::appliances:::::::

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Many consumers are aware of how kitchen appliances have evolved over the past decade to fit the needs of the modern day household;

what they might find shocking are the chang-es to traditional laundry technology.

The laundry process today is easier than it has ever been. With the modern conveniences we are now afforded, it is easily forgotten how tedious washing clothes once was. We are far from the days of simply choosing between a hot and cold cycle, with new technological features taking on the majority of the work. New laundry settings have been developed and customized to make the laundry process user-friendly and effortless for the consumer. The revolutionary addition of steam technol-ogy to the washer and dryer has made the need to pre-soak stains obsolete.

While technology has propelled mod-ern laundry machines to new heights, the exteriors of washers and dryers have gone through an extensive transformation as well. As personal style continues to change, appliance manufacturers incorporate style trends into laundry pairs. In modern con-dominiums and apartments, laundry rooms are no longer confined to basement corners

By valerie Malone

and laundry areas occupy more central spots in the home. In a concerted effort to fulfill consumer desire to refresh the laundry room, bold colour options were introduced for washers and dryers.

As consumers become more environmental-ly responsible, specifying energy efficient ap-pliances is now a requirement — not a luxury. Responding to consumer demands, laundry appliances are now more efficient at saving en-ergy and water and continue to improve.

Laundry pairs will continue to evolve and adapt as the daily demands of consumers’ lives change. With the recent addition of In-ternet technology in appliances, it is easy to imagine what the future of washers and dry-ers will entail. DQ

Valerie Malone is brand manager of Whirl-pool Home Appliances, with three years expe-rience managing premium business and the Whirlpool brand.

Celebrating its 100th anniversary, Whirlpool brand

continues to be at the forefront of appliance in-

novation. Its latest laundry innovation - 6th sense

technology — is a unique combination of advanced

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::::::: :::::::appliances

the kitchen is the heart and soul of the home and emerging tech-nology and design trends will make it more so. According to Bresslergroup, a national prod-

uct research and development firm, three major trends are driving near future kitchen innovation: connectivity, eco, and modular-ity. Each presents opportunities for bringing people together, eliminating wasted space and time-consuming chores and making ap-pliances more energy and user friendly.

“These trends combine to cut down on drudgery, boost organization, facilitate social connectivity, and save money,” says Rob Tan-

nen, Ph.D., Bresslergroup’s director of prod-uct research. Here’s a look at what’s coming:

Connectivity: Interactive technology is assisting throughout the home, and now it comes to the kitchen. “My Spice” is a smart phone application concept designed to pro-vide useful information to shop, inventory and share food with your network in the most affordable and enjoyable way. Imagine head-ing out to the grocery store with your smart phone and seeing what you need via “Fridge View ” which utilizes a camera inside your re-frigerator. When you purchase items, the re-ceipt is sent to your My Spice app, providing inventory and expiration dates. Next, you can

appliance design innovationchoose to share your pantry and perishables with others in your My Spice network and, possibly, decide to combine forces — and in-gredients — for a group meal. My Spice will be particularly useful for sharing large quan-tities of a single item purchased from farm-er’s markets, farm shares or discount clubs.

Eco: Beyond the materials used to manu-facture cabinets and appliances, there is the actual use of energy in the home and the maximization of resources and the reduc-tion of waste. On the energy front, induction cooking already uses less energy than tradi-tional gas or electric ranges. Induction cook-ing is popular in Europe and is finally mak-ing headway in the North American market. The near future induction cooktops can be expanded to include charging circuits for small, cordless kitchen appliances, like mix-

ers and flashlights. This integration allows cooking surfaces to blend seamlessly with the countertop, allowing you to cook, work or charge virtually anywhere on the surface. Refrigerators, with their ready supply of water and energy, may soon include a small herb garden tray on the front door, bringing welcome greenery and fresh ingredients to city-dwellers.

Modularity: The use of upper cabinet/wall space provides opportunities for space opti-mization and healthier ergonomics. We are already seeing modular refrigerator and dish-washing drawers. Gaggenau’s “Lift Oven” sets your oven at upper cabinet height, out of the way, when not in use. Next up? Customizable and upgradable units. Multiple refrigerator cabinets could be customized for baby, teen or parents. The fridge modules might even-tually “learn” what is needed at a particular time. And imagine an all-in-one dishwasher/upper cabinet. Mounted on the wall, it elimi-nates the unloading and re-loading chore. Clean, washed dishes remain in place, await-ing the next use, where you actually use them.

“There are opportunities here for large ap-pliance manufacturers, small appliance mak-ers and architects and developers to work together,” says Mathieu Turpault, Bressler-group design director. DQ

…three major trends are driving near future

kitchen innovation: connectivity, eco, and

modularity.

the Gaggenau Lift

oven is set at upper

cabinet height for

space optimization.


::::::::::::::appliances

singular branding advantagesappliance specification By glenn anDerson

the look of kitchen appliances, and how they integrate with the visu-als of the kitchen design, is equally as important as the performance of the appliances. Regardless of

budget, ‘singular branding’ of kitchen appli-ances is the easiest way to achieve a continu-

…’singular branding’ of kitchen appliances is

the easiest way to achieve a continuity of

appearance…

ity of appearance and a sense of visual com-fort within the kitchen.

Whether the kitchen design and budget suggest the Miele, Sub-Zero/Wolf, Monogram or Bosch premium performance and fashion brands, or KitchenAid, Whirlpool or GE value brands, the simplest way to achieve continuity

is to make all appliance choices within a single brand. The stainless steel quality and grain, the handles, the control panels, knobs and graph-ics will all match — and they will instantly look like they belong together in the kitchen.

Choosing the brand is generally dictated by the design of the kitchen, and the reputation, performance and appearance of the brand’s products. Most manufacturers produce a full-range of products so it’s generally not a com-promise to make choices within a single brand.

The specification/selection process is less complicated and easier to finalize when choosing from one brand of products. The design of the kitchen often suggests whether

the appliance ‘look’ will be a ‘Euro’ contem-porary, fully-integrated appearance or a bold and shiny commercial ‘working’ kitchen.

When that has been decided, the brand choices are narrowed and the decisions about range or wall oven/cooktop, island or wall hoodfan, fully-integrated panelled or stainless fridge become more focused for the client.

In other cases, the brand choice is dic-tated by a particular product or specific per-formance requirements. For example, if a steam oven and a coffee machine are ‘must haves’, the overall kitchen brand selection is quickly narrowed to those manufacturers producing those products: Miele. If a fully-integrated fridge and matching-height full size wine storage unit are required with a cooktop/wall oven layout Sub-Zero/Wolf. Or Miele, Monogram, Viking — depending on the design look.

Whether the final brand choice is deter-mined by reputation, overall kitchen de-sign or specific product requirements, the advantages of singular branding raise the kitchen visuals and add substantially to the sense of aesthetic well-being when cook-ing, entertaining or just hanging out in the kitchen area. DQ

Glenn Anderson is general manager of Ed-monds Appliances, Burnaby and Y.Franks Appliances, West Vancouver.


::::::: :::::::special supplement 2011 aiBC awards of excellence

2011 aiBC awards of excellenceCreative community development and groundbreaking space-making exemplified this year’s award-winning submissions. nine projects stood out, including two winners of the prestigious lieutenant governor of British Columbia Medal awards in architecture; four recipients of the lieutenant governor of British Columbia Merit awards in architecture; and three aiBC special Jury awards.

LIEUtENaNt GoVERNoR oF B.C. aWaRD IN aRCHItECtURE — MEDaLBeaty Biodiversity Centre / aquatic Ecosystems Research Laboratory Patkau architectsLead Design architect: John Patkau MaIBCSituated on the University of British Columbia campus, the Beaty Biodiversity Centre and Aquatic Ecosystems Research Laboratory form a complex for the study and practice of modern environmen-tal science. The facility includes research labs, resource collections, and office, meeting and support spaces. Central to it all is a natural history museum, with its main exhibition space designed as a glass lantern and featuring an 85’ Blue Whale skeleton exhibit. The three-sided design allows for a central courtyard that also invites public curiosity and engagement. It is an impressive, modern learning en-vironment that perfectly reflects UBC’s commitment to becoming a world leader in biodiversity research.

LIEUtENaNt-GoVERNoR oF BRItISH CoLUMBIa aWaRD IN aRCHItECtURE — MEDaLarena Stage at the Mead Centre for american theatre Bing thom architects Inc.Lead Design architect: Bing thom CM MaIBC FRaIC aIa LLDThe grand plan for the Arena Stage at the Mead Centre for American Theatre in Washington, D.C. involved refurbishing two original historic theatres while adding a modern performance space. In doing so, the team challenged many of the usual assumptions of theatre design. The new theatre, Kogod Cradle, is an oval-shaped room that boldly and successfully breaks theatrical convention. Performance spaces were ex-panded, and acoustics improved dramatically. To pull it all together, all three buildings are wrapped in a 45-foot-high glass skin and capped by a distinctive cantilevered roof. Almost as impressive as the finished project is the intensive public consultation process that preceded it.

Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia award in architecture — Merit the Cordova Street Stables | Gair Williamson architect Inc.Lead Design architects: Gair Williamson MaIBC, Chris Woodford MaIBC LEED aPThe Cordova Street Stables, a three-story building made of brick, stone and heavy timber, was constructed in Vancouver’s Gastown district in 1902. Originally used for horses and carriages, the passage of time and the evolution of industry had seen it fall into an extreme state of neglect and disrepair. The brave decision to rehabilitate the space would require an intensive two-stage adaptive reuse program. The result is a unique mixed-use site featuring an open uncluttered environment, well-suited for modern offices, and retail space that still offers a hint of the building’s historic past.

LIEUtENaNt-GoVERNoR oF BRItISH CoLUMBIa aWaRD IN aRCHItECtURE — MERIt SaIt ParkadeBing thom architects Inc.Lead Design architect: Bing thom CM MaIBC FRaIC aIa LLDThe new, three-level garage on the campus of the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in Calgary takes what is typically mundane and infuses it with both functionality and flare. By strategically en-sconcing the structure in a hillside, the design team was able to con-centrate on-campus parking and make optimal use of a challenging space while respecting existing view corridors. Most striking is the art element, a pixelated facade that captures and transforms the prairie sunshine.


:::::::special supplement 2011 aiBC awards of excellence:::::::

LIEUtENaNt-GoVERNoR oF BRItISH CoLUMBIa aWaRD IN aRCHItECtURE — MERIt Creekside Community Centre Walter Francl architecture Inc and Nick Milkovich architects Inc.Lead Design architects: Nick Milkovich MaIBC FRaIC, Walter Francl MaIBC FRaIC P.Eng LEED aPPart of a major waterfront redevelopment needed for the hosting of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the facility was trans-formed post-games to a central hub for an emerging neighbourhood. While a full-size gymnasium, exercise space and multipurpose rooms fill the fitness quota, boating facilities, a two-level restaurant, signifi-cant residential space and a community daycare take it beyond the average community centre. Completed on a challenging schedule, the project achieved LEED® Platinum certification. An effective blend of concrete and glass, light and space, the centre conveys a simple expres-sion that speaks to activity, interaction and community.

LIEUtENaNt-GoVERNoR oF BRItISH CoLUMBIa aWaRD IN aRCHItECtURE — MERIt Sauder School of Businessacton ostry architects Inc.Lead Design architects: Russell acton MaIBC aaa FRaIC and Mark ostry MaIBC aaa FRaICLocated at the geographic centre of the University of British Co-lumbia campus, this project is an upgrade and expansion of sev-eral dated post-secondary spaces going back nearly four decades. With the stylish new structures comes a modern functionality, with state-of-the-art lecture theatres, interactive study rooms and thoughtful student social spaces. The new facade cleverly suggests a barcode — universal symbol of digital information and modern commerce. With design elements and images that convey con-nectedness while blending people, place and business, the school breathes new life into UBC.

SPECIaL JURY aWaRD For outstanding Programming and Place-making the Woodward’s Redevelopment | Henriquez Partners architectsLead Design architect: Gregory Henriquez MaIBC MRaIC aIa RCaBuilt in 1903, the Woodward’s building at the corner of Hasting and Abbott became one of Vancouver’s most beloved community land-marks. However, time, trends and economic troubles lead to it even-tual demise in 1993. Still, local community leaders clung to a vision of how the former site could be rebuilt, and with it the struggling down-town east side community where it rested. Henriquez Partners helped shape that vision, one built around a genuine commitment to ethical urban renewal, and brought it to life. Today, the Woodward’s Building stands tall as a testament to both what was, and what can be.

SPECIaL JURY aWaRD In Recognition of Ingenuity John tizya Cultural Centre | Kobayashi + Zedda architects Ltd.Lead Design architect: antonio Zedda MaIBC“Harsh” is an apt description for life in Old Crow, Yukon. Located 67˚ north latitude, it is a land where 30˚ sparkling summer days give way to winter temperatures reaching -60˚. Accessible only by air, it is a tough environment in the best of times for its 250 residents. For a design team dealing not only with unique project specifications but added transpor-tation and construction constraints, this project raised a whole new set of challenges. Its ultimate success underscored two enduring architec-tural credos. Sometimes simpler is better, and persistence counts.

SPECIaL JURY aWaRD For Elevating Infrastructure to architecture ty-Histanis Community Infrastructure | David Nairne + associates Ltd.Lead Design architects: Dave McIntyre MaIBC MRaIC CP LEED® aP and Jeff Gravistin MaIBC MRaIC LEED aPSituated on the Tofino Peninsula on B.C.’s rugged west coast, Ty-Histanis is a model for sustainable First Nations community development. Work-ing closely with the local First Nations community, the project team set out to create a model community respectful of the area’s unique cultural history and spectacular natural surroundings. Modern infrastructure in the form of a postal kiosk / bus shelter and pump house / energy plant serve to bridge the past and present, and lay the groundwork for a 25 year community plan.


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the long-held belief that a lush lawn is the pinnacle of an ex-emplary yard is losing its grip on the psyche of the typical new home buyer. Increasingly, urban

homeowners are willing to let go of conven-tion and envision an outdoor experience that sets the bar higher.

Most new home buyers expect their yard area will look something like a green postage stamp. But by challenging that norm, urban yards can become about so much more than just grass.

NORR’s latest project, a series of show homes in Calgary’s sought after urban in-fill community of Currie Barracks, does just that. In abundant contrast to the ironically-named new suburban “Greenfield” commu-nities that often struggle to excel beyond re-petitive or sparsely vegetated yards, Currie Barracks has given landscaping a meaning-ful role within a densely developed, urban setting. Beyond aesthetic motivation, the approach calls for a high standard of sus-tainable design that emphasizes resource conservation. And as exciting and attractive as the community’s expansive public green spaces are, it’s the continuity of these same

high quality standards at each individual homeowner’s yard that is most striking.

To implement their vision, community developer Canada Lands Company has a strict set of landscape guidelines to which every home owner/ builder must adhere. These guidelines limit the amount of grass allowable for each home to a maximum of 50 per cent in the back yards, and 25 per cent in the front yards.

Once you take the easy default option of sod out of the equation, the design starts to be about colour, texture, and tons of variety in terms of materials such as shrubs, ground cover, colourful rocks and mulches. By limiting grass area the result is unique to each home and homeowner, and an overall community experi-ence that is far more aesthetically pleasing.

Importantly, this new approach to urban yards delivers more than variety and curb appeal. In the case of Currie Barracks, land-scape architects who work in the community are also challenged by Canada Lands to en-sure that each building lot can store and re-use 90 per cent of their stormwater, instead of discharging it off site via underground pipes. Homeowners benefit from the strategy when collected rainwater is connected to a well de-

letting go of grassBy anna laWrenCe anD serene ho

signed irrigation system that automatically manages ‘over’ and ‘under’ watering, since this smart system can virtually eliminate a homeowner’s need to use “purchased” mu-nicipal water to irrigate their yards.

To enable good water management, de-signers can draw on a variety of strategies. One of these involves using permeable sur-faces when constructing driveways or out-door patios. ‘Permeable hard surfacing’ al-lows rainwater to percolate through the hard surfaces instead of quickly washing away into storm drains. By allowing rainwater to work its way down slowly, soils become rich-er and plants can remain healthier. Other tools, such as rain gardens or French drains, work similarly to collect rainwater and slow-ly release it underground. Such filtered rain-water is much cleaner than the water enter-ing rivers and streams from storm pipes, because it has not travelled over roadways and accumulated pollutants.

For homeowners at Currie Barracks, a comprehensive system of below-ground cisterns work in concert with a variety of drought resistant planted materials and per-meable surfaces to achieve the required sus-tainability and aesthetic goals. This approach is typical of the firm’s preferred methodology, where bringing together a variety of tools and strategies is part of an effective collaborative relationship between the designer and the homebuilder or homeowner.

Designing a home’s landscape at the same time as the rest of the house also makes great sense. You don’t build a home with empty kitchen, so you should look at a yard in the same way. These spaces will be important continuations of the individual’s home and lifestyle, and thinking about the landscape de-sign early will enable better sustainability tech-niques and better maintenance down the road.

The landscape design controls at Currie Barracks are challenging, not because they are difficult but in the sense that they challenge convention. It’s provided a very welcome op-portunity for designers, builders and home-owners to think harder and do better in terms of sustainability and aesthetic results. DQ

Anna Lawrence, B.LA, CSLA, AALA and Serene Ho, B.EVDS are landscape architects with the Calgary office of NORR Architects Planners. Their collective expertise includes sustainable residential and commercial landscapes, playgrounds and green roof sys-tems. www.norr.com.

urban landscapes get greener without sod

Choosing combinations

of plant materials in favour

of sod creates pleasing

variety in texture, colour

and even sound.


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marketing for interior designers By JuDy henDerson

in these slower times, it is not enough to base new business solely on referrals. Marketing is key to the consistent genera-tion of business a successful design firm needs. When designers get busy, market-

ing tends to get put on the backburner for more immediate tasks. However, marketing should take high priority or you may find yourself running out of work.

This is in fact, one of the biggest mistakes design firms make; only marketing when they are slow. If you track your time accurately, you will find that your business cycles respond to your activity cycles. If you’re marketing now, it may take months to see the results. Therefore, if you start marketing when times are slow it could be a significant amount of time before you start to get projects again.

Marketing can also help to target the type of clients you want to work with. Start by de-fining your “perfect client” and think about their needs. Research what these clients read, where they go, and what their interests are. Find out the best way to reach your target market and from there formulate a budget and plan to best target this client.

If you need help understanding your target market, outsource this task to a marketing firm that has access to the research you need. If this isn’t an option, there are often great

articles online or at a local library that can help you to understand the market as well. It may be as easy as researching companies on-line that fit your profile and taking cues from what they say about themselves.

A good website is a key component to any marketing plan. Your website should be made with your target audience in mind. If you want to attract a high-end client your website

should look expensive (even if it’s not). The website should stand out from competitors and should show your personality as a firm. A good way to show this is to post videos of ongoing projects or create a blog that is up-dated regularly.

Web presence is an important part of busi-ness generation. Make sure your website is optimized in search engines so that it comes up when people type in the key words to search for design firms in your area. Having things like facebook and twitter can increase your web presence and give your clients mul-tiple chances to see who you are and what you have been up to.

They say it takes seven times in front of a new client per year for them to call you or ask about your services. Therefore it is important to stay in touch with your clients, whether it’s through speaking engagements or sending thank you notes. Your lowest chance of new work will be with cold or remote leads. This means that contacting current and past clients for referrals is crucial to success. Learn to ask for referrals before the end of a project. As soon as you feel comfortable with a client, make sure you let them know that you appreciate refer-rals and are able to take on new opportunities at any time. You never know what chance you might be missing out on if you wait until the end of a project to ask for a referral.

Designers are creative by nature. Use this creativity to create a marketing plan that stands out from the competition. Exceed the expectations of your clients and they will re-spond. A consistent effort in marketing will get you better projects and better clients. Get started today and see how great your business can be! DQ

Judy Henderson, RID, BID, is principal of Inside Design Studio Inc., a full service design firm in Vancouver that creates unique design solutions for functional, yet inspiring inte-rior spaces. www.insidedesignstudio.com

Web presence is an important part of business generation.

Showcasing your projects

with professional photography

is a great way to generate

interest.


design headlines::::::: :::::::

aDvertising inDeX2nd Century rug Co. iBCampco grafix 25Bartle & gibson 4BC hydro 8 & 9Bradford Decorative hardware 23Buildex 20 & 21Coast Wholesale appliances 5Colin Campbell 17Final touch Window Coverings 7Frances andrew/kate holland 11hari stones 31iDs West 13kohler 27odyssey Wall Coverings oBCrobinson lighting and Bath Centre iFCWindoworks 15

PRoPoNENt SELECtEDPerkings+Will in collaboration with Civitas Urban Design and Planning, Group2 Ar-chitecture, and landscape architects Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg, has been named the successful proponent for the Edmonton City Centre Airport Lands.

The winning plan for Edmonton’s Airport Lands creates a 216-hectare sustainable com-munity focused on creating a vital and highly memorable new place within the city by pro-viding strong connections to nature, history, economic opportunity and surrounding neigh-bourhoods. Dubbed “Connecticity,” the plan evolved through a highly collaborative design approach that optimized the team’s consider-able interdisciplinary talents and expertise.

The master plan will create a new kind of community that draws deeply from its own unique attributes and spirit while provid-ing housing for approximately 30,000 resi-dents and an estimated 10,000 new jobs. This project represents one of the most sig-nificant urban design competitions to be held in Canada’s history, and the largest ur-ban design commission for Perkins+Will in Canada to date.

MUSIC CENtRE DESIGN REVEaLEDThe final design for a new National Music Centre slated for Calgary’s East Village neigh-bourhood was recently revealed. Oregon-based Allied Works Architecture collaborated with Calgary firm GEC Architecture on the plan for the National Music Centre, which will incorporate and expand on the historic King Edward Hotel on Ninth Avenue and Fourth Street S.E.

One of the more unique features of the 135,000 square foot building is a two-story bridge that spans 4th Street SE. The span not only creates interesting event and performance spac-es for NMC, but also serves as a very strong, visual gateway into a revitalized East Village. The $94-million building is slated to open in 2014, with groundbreaking expected this fall.

CUStoM RUGSFor the launch of its new custom rug section, Colin Campbell had special guest Malene b from New York present her new collection at its Vancouver showroom.

Malene b’s unique carpets, inspired by her international travels, boldly interpret cultural icons, landscapes and rituals in a fresh and personal way. Her signature style incorporates the use of three dimensional hand sculpting techniques in varied sur-faces, pile heights and textures.

PUBLIC aRt DISPLaY A towering new public art feature is complete at West Pender Place in Coal Harbour. The ever-changing display utilizes horizontal bars of LED lights to create art that changes co-lour and design in concert with the time of day and Vancouver’s beautiful setting. De-signed by Dutch lighting artist Tamar Frank, the feature is unique to Canadian architec-ture and is the result of a juried international competition to select a lighting artist.

The display uses 40 different pre-set colour combinations to ensure the lighting design changes gradually several times an hour. The computerized lighting feature extends up the 120-metre concrete face of the west tower and 30 metres up the face of the east building.

The lighting feature took two years to design and implement and is integrated into the de-velopment designed by noted Vancouver archi-tect Jim Hancock of IBI/HB Architects, who now lives at West Pender Place. The total cost of the project is approximately $400,000.

NEW VINEYaRDGround has been broken on Naramata’s Ter-ravista Vineyards in the Okanagan Valley. Designed by CEI Architecture, the 2,500 square foot facility will eventually produce 2000 cases of wine yearly. The progressive building design integrates diverse elements such as a wine lab and an artist studio; cast concrete stretches from the rooftop to a care-fully planted foundation that is below ground on three sides. The west wall consists almost entirely of grids of coloured glass panels patterned to be reminiscent of the work of Dutch painter Piet Mondrian, reflecting the interests of the owners. Terravista Vineyards is scheduled for completion in October 2011.

HaLL oF FaME oPENSCanada’s Sports Hall of Fame opened in Cal-gary in July, a showcase of the nation’s great-est athletes in a building inspired by Cana-da’s sports heritage.

Designed by Calgary firm Stantec, the 44,000-square-foot facility is composed of three main elements — the exhibit hall, re-tail and office space, and ancillary spaces for storage and loading — all connected by a two-and-a-half-storey atrium.

The building’s design was inspired by both the magnificence of world-class athletes and by the basic symbol of Canadian culture itself: the maple leaf. Its deep red and white façade re-flects the Canadian flag, while the cantilevered, somewhat “tilted” structure echoes the succes-sive elevated platforms athletes stand upon when receiving medals and other accolades.

CANA served as the project manager and design builder. The architecture, interior de-sign, structural engineering, and landscape architecture were led by Stantec.

Documents

Design Quarterly - Summer 2011