Architecture

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5 Percent for the Planet
 
Anyone who follows the environmental press knows that the climate change situation is getting worse fast. Last year the density of greenhouse gas in our atmosphere increased by 2.3 parts per million to 398 ppm, well over the 350 cut off that climate scientists have long warned would mark a tipping point.

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Philosophies in Hospital Design
 
The Canadian health care system is under the microscope. Medical experts contend that the current model is not responsive to patients’ needs and that the system is straining to cope with the demands placed on it by an aging population.

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Upgrading Aging Buildings
 
The Teck Building (formerly called “Fording Place”) is a concrete, steel and glass office building originally built in 1968 in downtown Calgary. It is one of many examples of this era of high-rise buildings, now approaching a juncture of rehabilitation in the form of upgrades and modernization to their interior spaces in order to maintain functionality.

Winery Architecture: It’s all about the Dirt
 
“It’s all about the dirt”, explains Mick and Pam Luckhurst, in describing their wines. The Road 13 vineyard proprietors believe that great wines begin in the vineyards and are a product of the land. Similarly it’s the dirt that influenced the architecture for Road 13’s expansion. Our winemakers understood the need for process driven design that links the building as much to the natural environment as is the wine.

Designing the Almost Pub
 
Getting into hospitality design was a happy accident for our young architectural firm. Like so many previous nights, I was sitting at a bar downtown, quietly sipping a drink, waiting for my business partner to join me for a few more over some aimless conversation. Uncharacteristically, he was a bit late, so I was sitting alone. As you would expect in a pub or bar, the person seated at my right struck up a conversation with me, and, as it turned out, became my first restaurant client – he was the general manager of the bar at which we were seated. We were excited for the opportunity to work on restaurants and bars. Not just as genuine pub lovers, but also as architects who understand the great urbanizing affect pubs have on cities.

Wood and Sustainable Architecture
 
Since the first aboriginal peoples crafted longhouses from the forests of coastal British Columbia, wood in its many forms has played a pivotal role in our built environment. As a young British architect in the early 70s, I was drawn here by the seemingly limitless design freedom offered by post-and-beam and platform-frame construction — the liberation of space from the restrictions of load-bearing masonry familiar to me. This freedom of spatial expression central to the West Coast modernism of the day was strengthened further through the often seamless connectivity between interior and exterior spaces — between man and nature.

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Designing Sustainable Communities
 
The influence that the sustainable design movement has had on the design of buildings is beginning to make a positive impact. Progressive Canadian cities such as Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver have mandated LEED standards for their facilities. The effect of private development has also begun to be felt, however greater opporunities for sustainable design can occur with the design of communities.

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Solar Shading Application: Vancouver Olympic Village
 
Solar building shading has become an increasing consideration of exterior building design as interest has grown in conserving energy and improving building comfort levels. At the 2010 Olympic Athletes Village in Vancouver, 16 new buildings are emerging, all with highly sustainable mandates, and all deploying an array of solar screening devises.