Building December 2019 January 2020

Urban Development / Architecture & Design / Innovation

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Ottawa LRT Post-Election Housing Hyperconnected Cities

CHANGE COMES THROUGH CONNECTIONS

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

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WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER The importance of design in creating communities that are better equipped at facing the effects of climate change.

By Michelle Xuereb

MOVING RIGHT ALONG Ottawa banks on LRT for its transit future.

By Jennifer Hunt

ELEVATE THE SMART CITY PLANNING GAME A survey of 100 metro centres around the world revealed some smart city best practices to get hyperconnected.

By Nancy MacDonald

GETTING ACTIVE ON PASSIVE How Passive Design is changing the future of residential and commercial construction.

By Natalie Leonard

05 06 08 10 11 29 32

Editor’s Notes Market Watch Legal Briefs Powers That Be The Home Front Site Visit From the Bullpen

BUILDING.CA READ Getting Active on Passive Natalie Leonard explains how Passive Design is changing the future of residential and commercial construction.

READ What’s Old is New With wood buildings on the rise, Tim Preager explains why acoustics should be considered.

BUILDING.CA

3

To learn more, visit SavingsByDesign.ca

Dig deeper into sustainability and earn incentives for your building project.

North York Women’s Shelter, 24,000 SQUARE FOOT CENTRE

Evergreen Brick Works, KILN BUILDING AND CENTRE FOR FUTURE CITIES

Savings

by Design Affordable Housing Program Savings

By Design Commercial Program

By participating in the Enbridge Savings by Design Workshop, we were able to discuss real costs of choices, both for construction and long-term operating. The overall building massing and layout was set by very complex program and siting restrictions, so the areas in which we benefited greatly were in rethinking storm water management on site, window type and performance, exterior wall assembly, and healthy materials.

The mechanical engineering part was also indispensable and so instructive; highlighting important and easy changes, discussing more complex upgrades, and understanding the long-term and performance impacts of our systems, both as climate change worsens and as building systems need replacement and upgrades.

The Enbridge charrette provided the perfect opportunity to make clear and informed choices that brought our project to the next level of energy, health and operating performance. It saved construction and operating costs and made for a healthier building.

— Chantal Cornu, LGA Architectural Partners

In 2018, Evergreen Brick Works was in the midst of an ambitious effort to transform the historic Kiln Building – and make it carbon neutral by using the right energy at the right time. Early in the process, Enbridge led a Savings by Design workshop for the project. On a fast track project, this provided a tremendous opportunity for the integrated design team to reflect on the early trajectory set in the project, and obtain informed perspectives from invited experts on enhancing it.

The workshop also provided a spring board to brainstorm how the Kiln Building project could serve as a catalyst to transform the entire Brick Works campus to be carbon neutral, which has been a longstanding vision of Evergreen.

The Savings by Design workshop struck a great balance between both blue sky and detail level thinking. It was informative, fruitful, and an overall positive experience. We’d highly recommend Enbridge’s Savings by Design workshop program for anyone thinking about making more sustainable buildings.

— Drew Adams, Associate, LGA Architectural Partners

Volume 69 No. 6

Editor in Chief Peter Sobchak Art Director Roy Gaiot Legal Editor Jeffrey W. Lem Contributors Jennifer Hunt, Megan J. Lem, Nancy MacDonald, Allen Moon, Shannon Moore, Ben Myers, Kevin Powers, Michelle Xuereb Customer Service / Production Laura Moffatt, 416 441 2085 x104 Press Releases pressroom@building.ca Circulation Manager circulation@building.ca Sales Manager Faria Ahmed, 416 441 2085 x106 fahmed@building.ca Vice President & Senior Publisher Steve Wilson, 416 441 2085 x105 swilson@building.ca President, iQ Business Media Inc. Alex Papanou Design Consultation BLVD Agency

Building magazine is published by iQ Business Media Inc. 101 Duncan Mill Road, Suite 302 Toronto, ON M3B 1Z3 (416) 441 2085 x104 info@building.ca www.building.ca SUBSCRIPTION RATE: Canada: 1 year, $30.95; 2 years, $52.95; 3 years, $64.95 (plus H.S.T.) U.S.A.: 1 year, $38.95 USD. Overseas: 1 year, $45.95 USD. BACK ISSUES: Back copies are available for $15 for delivery in Canada, $20 USD for delivery in U.S.A. and $30 USD overseas. Please send prepayment to Building, 101 Duncan Mill Road, Suite 302 Toronto, ON M3B 1Z3.

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THE SAME BOAT EMERGENCY SITUATIONS due to extreme weather are moments we experience collectively, and not just on the granular community level that Michelle Xuereb eloquently discusses in her op-ed when referencing the ice storm of 2013, but also on a consciousness-shifting level of city building, like when municipalities realize they can design and run themselves in ways that are better at facing the effects of climate change. This type of civic awakening is happening globally, as evidenced by almost 1,200 jurisdictions and local governments in 23 countries declaring a state of climate emergency by November of this year.

“Fossil fuel centered economies make it difficult for national governments to put climate concerns front and center, with the result that globally we are not on track to meet the Paris Agreement. This truth is hard to face: countries collectively fail to stop growth in global greenhouse gas emissions. The gap between targets and reality is only growing.” said Rana Adib, REN21’s Executive Secretary, at the presentation of their first Renewables in Cities 2019 Global Status report in Paris.

Deeper and faster cuts are required now, but they’re not going to come from our nation’s leaders. Which is why it might come as a surprise, but according to REN21’s report the pattern emerging across the world now is: it is cities driving the transition towards renewable energy. “They understand that renewables mean less lung and heart diseases, more local jobs and relief for the municipal budget,” says Adib. “If cities alone were to decide, today’s climate and energy politics would look totally different.”

REN21´s report shows that 70 per cent of all cities are already feeling the impact of climate change, primarily because increased prosperity and living standards causes an insatiable hunger for energy. “If cities don’t do something about the way they produce and use energy, they are going to wreak their own destruction. And with more than one billion people worldwide living in urban

Peter Sobchak Editor in Chief We welcome your feedback. Send your questions and comments to psobchak@building.ca

slums and informal settlements, the poorest will be the hardest hit,” says Adib.

Keeping the energy infrastructure working, once the flood or storm arrives, is essential to secure continued operation of rescue services, hospitals and information systems.

According to the report, we are seeing businesses and industry investing in renewable energy to avoid disruptions, and cities adopting energy systems based on distributed renewable generation because they are more flexible and resilient to those central shocks which are becoming more frequent with climate change.

“Cities can actively drive the fight against climate change at the national and global level. They are able to tap into opportunities that other levels of government do not have, including a more direct relationship with local citizens and businesses,” notes Germany’s Minister for the Environment, Svenja Schulze.

“Citizen engagement and public pressure have raised cities’ level of ambition on renewables around the world, reaping economic, social and environmental benefits.”

In a very real way, cities are run at the community level, which is why if cities are to take climate action into their own hands, it can only come from as Xuereb says, “a city of people who are connected, engaged and active in their communities.”

BUILDING.CA

5

market watch Spotlight: Commercial Property Tax

Canadian Small Businesses Bearing the Brunt of Property Tax Imbalance

Year-Over-Year Commercialto-Residential Tax Ratios

6

December 2019/January 2020

It is well-known that property taxes are paid by both business property owners and residential property owners, however the rates they pay vary because they are set at the discretion of taxing authorities.

The ongoing challenge that governments face is to find ways to fund municipal budgets while at the same time balancing the perceived fairness between commercial and residential taxpayers. According to findings in the newly released 2019 Canadian Property Tax Rate Benchmark Report, produced by Altus Group Limited in partnership with the Real Property Association of Canada (REALPAC) and which analyzed commercial and residential property tax rates in 11 major urban centres across Canada, businesses continue to be weighed down by the disparity.

For over 16 years, Altus Group has conducted this report analyzing the differing tax ratios between commercial and residential properties. The 2019 report found that eight of the 11 cities surveyed have a commercial rate which is at least double that of the residential tax rate. This means that a commercial property would incur property taxes more than twice the amount of an equally valued residential property, having dramatic impacts on Canadian small businesses.

2019

Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver posted the highest commercial-to-residential ratios in the country, for a twelfth consecutive year.

However, Calgary and Montréal saw the highest ratio increases in 2019, indicating a growing burden on commercial rate payers in those cities.

“Despite seeing some major shifts this year, the commercial-to-residential tax ratio is still an issue of relative fairness as we continue to see several cities across Canada shifting the burden of property taxes to business owners,” said Terry Bishop, president of Property Tax Canada at Altus Group. “Expecting businesses to shoulder the same burden while values decline, or taxes increase beyond business growth, is unsustainable. Measures that compress the gap between residential and commercial tax rates are positive steps that can help the viability of all businesses.”

Market-By-Market Trends •M ontréal’s commercial-to-residential tax ratio first rose above the average in 2008 and has been steadily climbing since, now sitting at 3.93, the highest of all of the cities surveyed; • Toronto continues an 11-year trend of lowering commercial rates with a decrease

2018

% CHANGE

3.931 3.782 3.942 3.703 3.783 -2.093 VANCOUVER 3.643 4.398 -17.166 QUÉBEC CITY 3.434 3.568 -3.749 CALGARY 3.310 3.056 8.305 HALIFAX 2.870 2.798 2.542 AVERAGE 2.838 2.898 -1.353 OTTAWA 2.509 2.595 -3.322 EDMONTON 2.406 2.443 -1.491 WINNIPEG 1.962 1.985 -1.143 REGINA 1.742 1.744 -0.126 SASKATOON 1.713 1.722 -0.576 MONTRÉAL TORONTO

COMMERCIAL TAX RATES ARE AT LEAST DOUBLE THOSE OF RESIDENTIAL TAX RATES. of 5.29 per cent; however, it maintains the second highest commercial-to-residential tax ratio; • For the first time in 20 years, Vancouver posted a commercial-to-residential tax ratio below 4:1, with a decrease of 17.17 per cent, the largest decline of all 11 cities surveyed. This is attributed to a decrease of 14.05 per cent in the commercial tax rate combined with a modest increase of 3.76 per cent in the residential tax rate; •Q uébec City’s commercial-to-residential tax ratio is the fourth highest of all cities surveyed. It has been steadily climbing for 15 years; however, it decreased by 3.75 per cent this year; • For the second consecutive year, Calgary saw the largest ratio increase of all 11 cities at 8.31 per cent. Calgary also saw the largest increase in commercial tax rates for the fourth year in a row, jumping by 13.36 per cent in 2019, representing a 55 per cent overall increase in Calgary’s commercial tax rate over the last four years; •H alifax’s commercial-to-residential tax ratio has remained relatively stable since 2006 but has slowly been increasing over the past few years. It now sits above the average for the first time in six years;

2019 estimated commercial property taxes per $1,000 of assessment

• O ttawa’s commercial-to-residential tax ratio of 2.51, sits just below the average ratio for the 10th consecutive year; • Edmonton sits just below the average with a ratio of 2.41 and has remained relatively stable over the last four years; • Although Winnipeg’s ratio has remained fairly stable for three years, it posted the highest 2019 residential rate at $12.33, an increase of 1.76 per cent from last year; • Regina remains quite stable posting a 1.74 commercial-to-residential tax ratio, with only slight increases in both commercial and residential tax rates in 2019; • Saskatoon continues to show the lowest commercial-to-residential tax ratio at 1.71, a slight decrease from last year.

Increased Pressure on Small Business The rising valuations on commercial properties in Vancouver, Toronto and more recently Montréal, have begun to put more pressure

on the sustainability of small commercial businesses. While small retail in these markets is being impacted by rising values, Calgary retailers are being equally impacted, but by declining values. In Calgary, the rapid decline in values of downtown core office buildings has caused a similar redistribution of taxes to small commercial properties which have not declined in value at the same rate.

Although each city is addressing this issue with their own unique approach, these solutions will compound the problem of inequities in commercial property taxes and create further disparities in commercial tax rates.

Assessment phase-ins and tax mitigation measures such as capping, rebate programs and graduated tax rates, only serve to compound the existing inequities in taxation and prolong the inevitable tax increases. Reducing the gap between residential and commercial tax rates is a measure that can help the viability of all businesses.

$40

$ $

35 30

$

25

$

20

15.25

$

22.02

22.77

$

24.20

$

24.23

$

37.98

34.82

27.01

16.97

$

$

15 10

21.85

$

34.32

$

9.33

5 0 Vancouver Saskatoon

Regina

Edmonton

Calgary

Toronto

Winnipeg

Average

Ottawa

Halifax

Quebec City

Montreal

Figures in this chart are calculated by multiplying the commercial tax rate by1,000 to give the taxes paid per $1,000 of assessment.

Where mill rates are applicable, the mill rate is multiplied by the mill rate factor before calculating the ratio.

BUILDING.CA

7

legal BRIEFS The “Real” Ontario Construction Lien Amendment Act

Ontario’s new construction lien reforms come with a new prompt payment regime.

By Megan J. Lem

IN 2017, ONTARIO PASSED extensive amendments to its legislative regime for construction liens. The Construction Lien Amendment Act was enacted on December 12, 2017, and immediately changed the name of the underlying Construction Lien Act to the Construction Act. Readers of Building are probably already familiar with the changes to lien rights brought about the legislation that came into force on July 1, 2018, including: • special rules allowing condominium unit owners to delete construction liens against common elements from their individual units; • t he extension of lien rights to including landlords’ freehold interests in many circumstances, even when the improvements were contracted for by tenants; •c larification that only “capital repairs” (and not routine minor maintenance) could be liened; • extension of the lien deadline from 45 to 60 days, and the litigation “perfection” deadline from 45 days to 90 days; • new rules for construction liens on municipal property; and

Megan J. Lem practices corporate securities law at Kirkland & Ellis LLP and is called to the bar in New York and Ontario.

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December 2019/January 2020

• deeming of multiple projects under a single construction contract to be treated like individual sites with individual contracts; etc.

Notwithstanding these amendments, it is arguable that the real impetus of the Con­ struction Lien Amendment Act had very little to do with construction lien mechanics.

The legislation was enacted primarily to aid contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers in lessening the length of time that such parties have to wait to receive payment following the submission of an invoice, and the overwhelming bulk of the legislation is dedi-

cated to the implementation of a detailed new “prompt payment” system for payments under construction contracts in Ontario.

Greatly summarized, the prompt payment protocol specifies: (i) proper invoicing; (ii) strict payment timelines and prescribed notices for disputing invoices; and (iii) mandatory tribunal-like dispute adjudication in the event that parties cannot agree, including the formation of a brand-new dedicated authority tasked with overseeing such adjudications.

The construction lien reforms were introduced last year, but on October 1, 2019, the prompt payment provisions of the Construc­ tion Lien Amendment Act came into effect, represent the culmination of earlier (failed) attempts by the Ontario government in 2011 and 2013 to implement similar reforms for the construction industry. This makes Ontario a rather unique jurisdiction in that it has both advanced construction lien rights as well as a comprehensive prompt payment regime: most jurisdictions have one or the other strategies to help contractors and tradesmen get paid; Ontario has both.

Under the prompt payment regime, everything is triggered by the issuance of a “proper invoice” — an invoice issued at an agreedupon time (or monthly, if not specified) — which then triggers a cascade of payments: in 28 days, the owner pays the general contractor; a week later, the general contractor pays the subcontractor; and a week after that, the subcontractor pays the sub-subcontractor, and so on: the so-called “28-7-7” timeline. This 28-7-7 timeline cannot be altered or eliminated in the contract.

If a party in the chain wants to dispute an invoice, then the party has to give a “Notice of Non-payment” setting forth the reasons the invoice is being disputed. The owner has 14 days from the receipt of the proper invoice to issue the dispute notice, and the general contractor has a week thereafter to notify its

subcontractor that the payment is not coming, and so on down the line. If a contractor receives a Notice of Non-Payment but does not issue a downstream notice, then it must pay its subcontractors, even if the owner is disputing payment upstream. A contractor can also be paid in full but then dispute payments downstream.

The reforms that came into effect in October of this year also introduced a formal adjud­ication process intended to be a quick and efficient dispute resolution mechanism for payment-related construction contract disputes. Any party (owner, general contractor or subcontractor) can demand an adjudication by simply giving written notice requesting adjudication to the other party with an electronic copy of the notice sent to a new central dispute resolution authority referred to in the legislation as the “Authorized Nominating Authority” (the “Authority”).

The inaugural Authority is, perhaps surpris-

ingly, not a government entity at all. Instead, it is a division of ADR Chambers, a private entity with former judges and lawyers on its roster for hire as adjudicators.

If the parties cannot agree on their own adjudicator, the Authority will appoint an adjudicator from its roster of available adjudicators. The complaining party has to deliver documents to that adjudicator within five days of the adjudicator’s appointment, and the non-complaining party has to provide any responding documents on the same day. The adjudicator is to make his/her decision within 30 days of receiving the documents.

The lien preservation timelines are also extended if the parties are adjudicating. Accordingly, construction liens do not have to be preserved until 45 days after the adjudicator receives the documents for adjudication.

Ontario is not alone in this new prompt payment experiment. The Federal Prompt

Payment for Construction Work Act recently passed as part of the larger federal budget and became law on June 21, 2019, implementing a similar prompt payment program for all federal construction projects.

Furthermore, both Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia are considering similar legal reforms of their own.

By the time this article is in print, the first adjudications will have been conducted. Like all of these sorts of mandatory alternative dispute resolution protocols, the biggest concern is that these outsourced minicourts, which are supposed to be faster, cheaper and more efficient than the regular courts, end up being just as slow, just as expensive, and just as bureaucratically cumbersome as going to court (notwithstanding legislation ostensibly forcing performance deadlines!). That said, it’s a brave new world — prompt payment, in some form or another, is probably here to stay.

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BUILDING.CA

9

powers that be What’s New is Old Again

Sidewalk Labs: a glimpse at a utopian future for city-building?

Not really.

Still politics as usual.

By Kevin Powers

Kevin Powers is managing principal of Project Advocacy Inc., a subsidiary of Campbell Strategies, and is focused on helping project developers facing public and government opposition.

Find him at www.projectadvocacy.ca or email him at kevin.powers@ projectadvocacy.ca

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December 2019/January 2020

On October 17, 2017, it appeared as though the future of city-building had arrived in Toronto. On that day, the Prime Minister, the mayor and then-executive chairman of Alphabet stood side by side to announce a plan to turn a derelict 12-acre strip of land on Toronto’s eastern lakefront into “the city of the future.”

Sidewalk Labs, the arm of tech giant Alphabet, was proposing a futuristic neighbourhood with all the latest smart city technologies built in: a smart power grid that utilizes thermal energy; a freight delivery system using underground tunnels and “smart containers;” dynamic streets that can serve a range of purposes given traffic flows; and “smart” sidewalks that adjust to pedestrian traffic.

Sidewalk’s CEO, Dan Doctoroff, promised to transform the way cities operate. Sidewalk Labs would, he said, “create the neighbourhood of the future in the right kind of way, with people at its centre, and with cutting-edge technology and forward-thinking urban design combining to achieve ambitious improvements in the urban environment and in the way we all live.”

For several months the project ran virtually unopposed, a glimpse at a utopian future for city-building. And even when opposition did arise, it had a distinctly futuristic look and feel. Opposition groups to Sidewalk Labs abandoned familiar titles like “Friends of the Waterfront” with names like Tech Reset and #Blocksidewalk. These groups weren’t led by retirees or near neighbours, either. Tech Reset, for example, was run by Bianca Wylie, a self-described “open government advocate with a dual background in technology and public engagement.”

Gone too were the standard complaints about noise, dust and traffic. #Blocksidewalk was primarily concerned with the project’s “power asymmetry.” Its counterpart didn’t want lower building heights, they wanted “a national discussion about our data, related public infrastructure, and the degree to which we want big tech influencing our governance and public services.”

Viewed from afar, the proposal and its opponents appeared to herald a new genera-

t­ ion of land-use battles, with carefully calibrated social media campaigns focused on the role of technology and the importance of privacy in the surveillance city.

But a closer look behind the scenes shows a battle fought on familiar ground, using age-old tactics in a clear sign that no matter what form our future cities take, politics will always shape it. Indeed, the front line in the battle for what one newspaper called the “most contentious piece of land in North America” was being waged in the trenches of Toronto City Hall.

A look at the City of Toronto Lobbyist Registry reveals a ground war of epic proportions. A study by the CBC earlier this year revealed 32 lobbyist registration records for the company at the City of Toronto. There, lobbyists including CEO and former New York Deputy Mayor, Dan Doctoroff, have lobbied dozens of officials and councillors on everything from transportation to public health.

Records show Sidewalk Labs has registered 40 people to lobby the government in meeting records that stretch for pages and pages over just the past couple months.

Provincial and federal records show that the company is busy across Ministries and Departments, all the way up to the Premier’s and Prime Minister’s offices. In addition to the many former politicians and political staffers on Sidewalk’s payroll, Sidewalk even hired former city councillor MaryMargaret McMahon to act on its behalf.

The opposition groups calling for greater transparency from the tech giant appear to be exempt from publicly registering as lobbyists.

But anecdotal evidence points to an aggressive lobbying effort at City Hall among likeminded councillors and important staff.

City council has even divided along familiar fault lines. Councillors often opposed to development projects have found new reasons to oppose this one; ditto the city-builders on council. In short, building the city of the future looks a lot like building the city of the past. No matter the technology, the buildings or the lofty rhetoric around it all, land-use battles will forever be political.

the home front Housing and a Liberal Minority Government

How will the new minority government affect access to affordable housing?

By Allen Moon

Allen Moon is General Manager at Real Estate Wire (REW.ca), a real estate marketplace and information hub. According to Moon, “At REW, we’ll be watching Prime Minister Trudeau and the Liberals’ next steps closely. Stay tuned.”

It’s early days, but across the country, Canadians have had real concerns about the real estate and housing industry with affordability the most significant issue both pre-and post-election. Although the impact of the election to the housing market is still to be determined, home buyers and sellers in Canada and abroad will want to stay informed.

There’s no doubt Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s minority government will need to work quickly to develop a plan that addresses Canadians’ housing concerns. It will be far more of a challenge this time around because in his second term, the Liberals’ 157 seats are well-short of the 170 seats they needed for a majority. In the House of Commons, the opposition could reject any proposed legislation, something they couldn’t do as easily under a majority government. In addition, overall economic uncertainty is a possibility because minority governments are generally considered less stable simply because they rely on the support of other parties to stay in power. In fact, at the federal level, no minority government has lasted the standard four-year term, with the majority lasting less than two years and typically averaging just 18 months.

The current reality is Prime Minister Trudeau and the Liberals will have to cooperate and even compromise to stay in power and pass legislation. With the NDP holding the balance of power, we expect Jagmeet Singh will help push forward initiatives that address key topics discussed in the federal election, including housing affordability, a crack-down on real estate crime and possibly tax credits like the proposed Green Tax credit.

Not surprisingly, during the federal election, housing affordability was a key issue for all parties and a point of discussion for every Canadian. Support for affordable housing is expected from the federal government and a significant funding commitment to this crucial, high-profile aspect of the minority government’s housing plan.

The Liberals wanted to build 100,000 affordable homes in a decade compared to the NDP’s 500,000 affordable housing

units in the same period. The Liberals also planned to offer a first-time home-buyer subsidy of 10 per cent on new homes and five per cent on resales.

In the real world, existing legislation had a profound impact. The mortgage “stress test” certainly created major hurdles for many first-time and uninsured homebuyers, although it did provide some relief in terms of home prices. While campaigning, the Liberals and NDP took a hands-off approach to the stress test, but the Conservatives wanted to change the controversial mortgage stress test for first-time buyers.

The NDP and the Conservatives may also push the reinstatement of 30-year amortization mortgages for uninsured buyers to make monthly mortgage payments more affordable. In some cases, this could reopen housing markets to a segment of the population that had faced significant barriers to entry. In fact, removing or adjust­ ing the stress test and raising the amortization limits to 30 years would rapidly spark activity in most markets.

Meanwhile absentee foreign homeowners may have faced a surtax under the Liberals, while the NDP hoped to propose a 15 per cent surtax on foreign buyers. Such action could have further slowed market activity and stalled price increases in large markets that appeal to overseas investors, for example, Toronto, Vancouver and Montréal.

In B.C., we’re just seeing foreign investors and their money return after a slowdown that lasted more than two years. While the foreign buyers’ taxes certainly adds to the cost of real estate in Canada, Canadian real estate is a tangible asset in a stable country, so it’s seen as relatively low risk compared to real estate in other countries as well as less liquid alternatives.

Barely into his second term, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberals know they have to address the many challenges faced by homebuyers and sellers as soon as possible, while also considering the impact on development and the real estate service industry as a whole.

BUILDING.CA

11

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THE IMPORTANCE OF DESIGN IN CR EATING COMMUNITIES THAT AR E BET TER EQUIPPED AT FACING THE EFFECTS OF CLIM ATE CHANGE .

By Michelle Xuereb

BUILDING.CA

13

Do you remember where you were when the ice storm hit in 2013? If you weren’t here, imagine waking up to a city coated in ice. The tree branches were hauntingly beautiful, shimmering while making an unnerving creaking sound. We’d woken up to a cold house with no power and the temperature was dropping quickly. There were fallen tree branches and hydro lines in the street. Neighbours were slowly emerging.

Gathering on the sidewalk, we figured out that the power was only out on half the street, so people offered up their homes for warm ups and hot showers. It took about 30 hours to get the power back on and to resume our normal lives, but it got me thinking about

14

December 2019/January 2020

our vulnerability and about how lucky we were to have the neighbours that we did.

I chose architecture as my path at the age of 17. School challenged me to think about the technicalities of building science, the beauty of design and the social philosophies of living.

I worked hard to balance my logical left brained self with my right brained creative that they were calling. Year after year, I worked hard to keep up and year after year I persisted and eventually graduated.

Two years into practice, I took a year off to study Zen shiatsu therapy — the next logical step in an architectural career! It was taught much like a martial art: the

breaking down of the ego; long meditation; endless sit-ups and push-ups. As a healing art, we were called to connect with the people we were working with, to hold the space for them. My tendency as a type A was to precisely locate pressure points and hold them for exactly the right amount of time. My Sensei was onto me though and before long, he had me working blindfolded.

He’d tease me, “How will you find the points, Michelle? Did you bring your measuring tape?” By teaching me to listen with all my senses, he changed the way I think about architecture. As an architect, I spend my days thinking about buildings and how people live in them, and what I discovered during this time in shiatsu was not just that most people don’t think about buildings: what I discovered is that what people most need and crave is connection.

In this time when change seems to be accelerating exponentially, it is these connections with one another that will ground us. Architecture provides opportunities for people to connect.

The biggest change that brought me and my neighbours onto the sidewalk on that icy cold day was climate change: it’s big and scary and though we’re all talking about it, none of us really wants to think too hard about it.

But the climate has changed and the climate is changing. Once in a lifetime weather, like hundred-year storms, are happening annually. Going forward, we need to not only mitigate future changes to our climate, but we also need to work together on how to adapt to the changes that have already happened and to plan for the changes to come.

What if I told you that buildings are one of the keys to both mitigating and adapting to climate change and that connecting with people in your community is the other key?

To mitigate climate change, we have to cut emissions from fossil fuels in half by 2030.

In this city, buildings account for 52 per cent of our greenhouse gas emissions and globally they account for 40 per cent. That makes buildings both the largest contributor and the key solution to mitigating climate change.

Why is it that we don’t all know this? I suppose, most people don’t find discussions about insulation and triple-pane windows exciting dinner party conversation, like I do! Maybe that’s why buildings have flown below the radar for so long, hidden in plain view! Now we understand how to build low-carbon buildings, and some people are even building them.

What worries me is that is the exception, not the norm, in my industry.

The real estate market focuses on selling people a lifestyle. People romanticize living in glass towers with expansive views and for builders, all glass buildings are familiar, quick and inexpensive to build. Unfortunately, when you live in a place where temperatures vary by 60 degrees Celsius over a year, glass boxes can do little to keep us comfortable unless it means blasting heat or air conditioning, and no one is even talking about that.

No discussion is taking place in the sales centres about how a building will perform or how it will function during a power failure.

Imagine if we could read the label on any building and understand its carbon impact as easily as reading a food label.

CONNECTED COMMUNITIES ARE RESILIENT COMMUNITIES AND RESILIENCE IS WHAT WE NEED IN THIS TIME OF ACCELERATING CHANGE. Buildings emit carbon in two ways: the emissions from the lifecycle of the materials, or “embodied carbon,” and the emissions from the fuels needed to operate them, otherwise known as “operational carbon.” To reduce embodied carbon, we select durable, adaptable materials, with the lowest possible footprint.

Most large buildings are made of concrete which has very high embodied carbon. Wood, on the other hand, is the only structural material that actually sequesters carbon. The codes are evolving to permit taller wood structures to be built. In fact, we are just completing the first timber office building built in this province in a century.

To reduce operational carbon, we must reduce our reliance on the fuels needed to heat, cool and ventilate them. This starts

with the architecture: orienting and shaping the building to encourage daylight while naturally shading from heat; well-insulated walls mixed with good quality right-sized windows that open. These are two passive design solutions that help a building to keep us warm when it’s cold and cool when it’s hot, even during a power failure.

When we design buildings, we create various models to simulate how a building will respond to weather data — temperature, rain, snow, wind. The inputs that we use are based on historical data. That’s how we’ve always done it and how our codes and standards require us to do it, even though studies have been done to predict future weather in most major cities. >>> 18

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changing the

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We should be designing buildings using all available information including future weather data. While we cannot predict exactly what weather is to come, we do know that modelling to historical weather is no longer enough. This is a time when action is more important than perfection. You know that frustration of buying a new cell phone only to have a newer version be released a week later? That’s what it feels like to be building buildings only using historical data!

Watching the youth take to the streets during the youth climate march shows us what they truly value. These are the future residents of the buildings we build today. So we can’t just keep building to minimum standards, because they’ve shown us that that’s not good enough and these buildings will hold less value. On September 20, 2019, Canadian architects across the country signed a declaration committing to the urgent and sustained action to combat climate change. That was step one, now let’s get to work!

I mentioned that buildings are one of the keys to both mitigating and adapting to climate change and that connecting with people in your community was the other key. Let me tell you what happened in Chicago. In 1995, a massive heatwave hit the city and 739 people died in five days. Those are tough numbers to stomach. A sociologist named Eric Klinenberg has written extensively on this heatwave and tied it into a concept called “social infrastructure.” This includes our shared spaces such as libraries, community centres, parks,

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sidewalks and grocery stores. According to the statistics gathered about the heatwave, economically and socially vulnerable people had higher mortality rates than white economically advantaged people. This isn’t really surprising. But, where things got really interesting was when he identified two neighbourhoods, side by side that both had all the same statistical markers to predict that the death toll should have been high, yet one of these two neighbourhoods had a lower mortality rate than most of the economically advantaged ones. The question was why?

What he discovered was that this particular neighbourhood had very strong social infrastructure. The sidewalks and buildings were well looked after. It had strong, active community groups. It had parks and shopping areas where people gathered and ran into one another, so there was a depth to the connections that people had. Instead of overheating in their un-air conditioned apartments, people gathered in their shared spaces and strategized. They noticed the people that were missing, and then they went and knocked on their doors. They sought out and helped each other. According to his research, it’s these factors that allowed this community to cope, learn and adapt in this time of crisis.

Communities are made up of people and systems that are connected and interdependent. To create a resilient community, we must understand and deepen this interconnection; be inclusive; create overlap; so that if one link breaks, it is barely felt by the whole.

Connected communities are resilient communities and resilience is what we need in this time of accelerating change.

On the morning of the ice storm, it was my neighbours that gathered and shared resources. Over the years, we’d built a network through chance encounters in our shared spaces. Thoughtful building design provides opportunities for people to be both public and private as well as those in-between spaces that allow for casual encounter. It’s that well-placed low wall that provides the perfect spot to sit and take a rest. It’s the distance between the porch and the sidewalk that is close enough to talk and far enough to give you privacy. This is the subtle beauty of design and its surprising ability to connect people and build community.

Not even knowing you, I would bet that all of you live in existing buildings and chances are that many of you will live in a new building in your lifetime. That makes you all part of the solution and uniquely qualified to identify what needs to change in the buildings that you live in. You know the issues that you’ve faced during extreme weather events. What will you do to prepare for next time?

As my Sensei taught me, connection to one another is what we all crave, and connection is also what we require to build our resilience in these changing times.

Buildings are not just shelter, they are key to mitigating and adapting to our changing climate and building connection is the other key. This is the moment to go all in, as an industry and as citizens.

Imagine a city of buildings, designed for a changing climate, a city of people who are connected, engaged and active in their communities. Now image that one of these people is you.

As Quadrangle’s Director of Innovation, Michelle has responsibility for working across all studio groups to broaden opportunities for innovation and thought leadership inside and outside the firm. A specialist in complicated projects with multiple layers of approvals, Michelle has become the studio’s ‘go to’ person for the planning and phasing of the most nuanced of Quadrangle’s renovation work and pioneer projects.

The preceding was an edited version of a speech Michelle gave as part of TEDxToronto.

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Moving Right Along OTTAWA BANKS ON LRT FOR ITS TRANSIT FUTURE. BY JENNIFER HUNT

CONSIDERED THE LARGEST infrastruc­

ture project in Ottawa, construction of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) project began in 2013 and was finally opened to the public on Septem­ ber 14, 2019. The Confederation Line (also called Line 1) is a 12.5-kilometre track that cuts through central Ottawa running east-west and features 13 stations/stops; running speeds of up to 80km/h; travel time for the entire route in less than 25 minutes; 17 cars with the capacity to move 21,400 people per hour; connections to more than 100 bus routes; and connection to the O-Train Trillium Line.

Major transit services such as Ottawa’s Line 1 have huge impacts on the city’s

Jennifer Hunt is Vice President of Research and Events at Langley, B.C.-based Real Estate Intelligence Network (REIN). www.reincanada.com

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economy as well as on real estate. According to REIN ’s Ottawa Transportation Effect Report, real estate prices increased roughly 39 per cent since the announcement of the Confedera­tion Line connecting to the existing north-south Trillium Line. This is compared to Ottawa’s gain of 37 per cent from 2008 to 2017 which translates to a two per cent premium.

According to the website WalkScore.com, Ottawa is the fifth most walkable city in Canada, with the most walkable neighbourhoods being Somerset, Rideau-Vanier and Capital. Ottawa’s Walk Score is 54, while its Transit Score is 50, suggesting it is current-

During the construction phases, prices of homes fall.

Noise, emissions, dust and traffic delays negatively impact the sale price of land in areas immediately adjacent to construction.

Construction Pre-construction

Post-construction

Pre-construction and construction phase values within a half mile [800 m] of stations increased home prices by almost 20%.

Once transit was operational those same home prices fell by almost 10% for a net positive increase of 10%.

ly a car-dependent city with only some errands able to be accomplished on foot and limited public transportation options. This is gradually changing, however, especially with the completion of Line 1 which has already made a positive impact on real estate prices in surrounding neighbourhoods.

In 2012, when the LRT construction was first announced, there was a spike in prices of 11 per cent based on anticipated benefits the LRT would bring. However, as is typical with transit and infrastructure announcements, they have an immediate positive impact on nearby real estate, followed by a slight decrease during the construction phase, then followed by a long-term increase in both rents and values.

The neighbourhoods surrounding the stations on Ottawa’s Line 1 were no exception.

During construction — with its noise, inconvenience and air pollutants — enthusiasm dampened for living in the area and prices either dropped and/or stagnated. However values can be expected to increase roughly 10 per cent by 2021 over other areas of Ottawa without access to LRT. Transportation & Property Values

Generally speaking, all major transportation infrastructure influences property values because, as we know, increased population leads to an increase in demand for real estate, both housing (to rent and to buy) and places to work (commercial, retail and office). An increase in demand typically leads to an increase in rents and values or a buffering of

rents and values in a depressed market. This works in reverse too. The removal of critical transportation infrastructure can negatively impact the abovementioned demographic and economic factors, leading to a reduction in real estate rents and values.

This formula, applied in different contexts within Canada, reveals that transportation infrastructure delivers a 10 to 20 per cent enhancement of real estate values within 800 metres of a train station or highway access.

Multi-family residential units are also observed to demonstrate 27 to 99 per cent increase in values within 400 to 1,600 metres of a station or highway access. In addition, residential units near LRT stations tend to sell more quickly and at higher price points compared to units not served by transit access.

Properties in these areas also fetch rent premiums of about 10 per cent for apartments, and 16 per cent for two-bedroom rental units.

A 2007 meta-analysis also found that there is a 12.2 per cent premium on commercial properties within 400 metres of a commuter rail station. In the same vein, office spaces located within walking distance (about 500 metres) of a rapid transit station had lower vacancy rates by 34 per cent compared to office spaces without immediate access to a rail station. Price premiums also reached 28 per cent within a 500 metre-walking distance for office spaces.

The range of these effects varies depending on numerous factors including distance to downtown, and median income of the neighbourhood as well as other demographic and economic factors.

increased purchase price

decrease vacancies

VACANCY

FOR SALE

increased demand

population growth

higher accessibily

increased transportation

REIN’s Transportation Formula Access to a public transport system is integral in the economic life of any city. Key to understanding how public transport systems work in the context of Ottawa is the compensation principle. The compensation principle suggests “reduced transportation costs allow households to spend more on housing and, in turn, bid up the rents or prices of homes located in areas with low commuting costs; this is precisely what creates the land value/density gradient.” In other words, people living near transit save about $1,250 per year on transportation and often re-allocate those dollars to housing costs in order to gain from

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the benefits of ease of access and proximity, making real estate nearest transit often more expensive, either to purchase or rent.

Station Cases Studies

Ottawa’s Centretown neighbourhood, within which sits Carling Station and often described as offering the best public transportation options in the city, demonstrated a five to 11 per cent increase in property values compared to other Ottawa neighbourhoods without LRT access. By comparison, in 2002 Hampton Park to the west of Carling Station increased in value by 10.4 per cent, while West Centretown increased by 21.5 per cent, showing that a neighbourhood with access to LRT increased by 11.1 per cent over a non-LRT neighbourhood. Even in 2008, Hampton Park increased in value by 6.4 per cent and West Centretown by 11.3 per cent, which is an additional increase of 4.9 per cent even during a year when real estate values struggled.

Ottawa’s Transit Plans

The City of Ottawa has three key plans that together guide the city’s growth through 2031 and include the Transportation Master Plan; the City’s Official Plan; and a Transit-Oriented Development Plan. A Transportation Master Plan was first created in 2008 and updated in November 2013 with reportedly minor changes. The guiding principles of the document include: reducing automobile dependence; providing an integrated system of multi-modal options for transportation; integrating transportation with land use; protecting public health and safety; protecting the environment; and enhancing the economy.

At the core of Ottawa’s Transportation Master Plan is the conclusion of the Confederation Line which the city believes will assist the economy in becoming more competitive and dynamic. The City of Ottawa reported that “the Confederation Line [will be]…a catalyst for the development of more populated mixeduse communities that require less infrastructure per capita, reduce demand for road traffic and encourage walking, cycling and transit.” The city believes it is critical for the urban environment to densify in order to enable an efficient and cost-effective transit service.

Based on the city’s Official Plan, which provides a policy framework to guide the city’s physical development and vision for growth, Ottawa is moving towards developing transportation infrastructure that features high-fre-

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quency service, respect for the environment, and hubs that promote business growth and essential services to enable densification. The 2013 updates included the construction of new cycling paths and pedestrian walkways, plus direction on developments that are located within 600 metres of a rapid transit station.

According to REIN’s research, transport infrastructure projects could be categorized into four tiers according to the status of the project: under construction; funded; approved by city council; and in the planning stage with no committed funds. Depending on the tier, impacts on real estate also vary. As Ottawa continues to increase in size, the city along with the government at all levels is continuously working to upgrade infrastructure to accommodate these changes.

In its long-term plans, the city is focusing on quality-of-life for its residents, to make commuting by public transit seamless, to have green spaces and pedestrian walkways for active transportation, and to build infrastructure responsibly in terms of tax dollars. As noted in the city’s transport plans, the latest focus of urban planning is densification around transit areas.

Although Ottawa does not appear to have mandated specific numbers for densification, urban planning projects do have a focus on multi-family development co-located with transit. In the past few years, Ottawa has made significant developments in constructing sustainable transportation infrastructure such as pedestrian and cycling pathways and bridges that transit major roadways. These projects appear to have been completed.

For real estate investors, opportunities align with the newly-built LRT and other existing Tier One transport projects. As other planned and funded projects come to fruition, land values in nearby neighbourhoods are bound to increase. As for the Confederation Line, the progress of repairs and improvements will need to be monitored and decisions to acquire property made at the right time.

Whether plans for expansion and future construction of transport infrastructure continue, one thing is certain: Ottawa’s transit future is dependent on the success of the Confederation Line, which will have a significant ripple effect on the city’s real estate economy for years to come.

Forthcoming transit infrastructure projects (as of June 2019) FIRST TIER

SECOND TIER

THIRD TIER

FOURTH TIER

LRT STATION UPGRADES

Bayview; Carling; Carleton; Mooney’s Bay; Greenboro

LRT NEW LINE & EXTENSIONS

Trillium Line Extension South; Confederation Line Extension East; Confederation Line Extension West; Macdonald-Cartier International Airport Spur

BRT to LRT conversions:

Joanne D’Arc Boulevard Bridge rehabilitation; Ridaeu River Bridge rehabilitation; Dow’s Lake Tunnel rehabilitation

Highway 417 Kent Street Overpass Replacement

HIGHWAYS & BRIDGES

Flora Footbridge; Richmond/McBean Street Bridge; Queensway Expansion East – Highway 417 lane-widening and associated works

Tremblay Station Upgrade Confederation Line, Stage 1

Kanata LRT Moodie LRT Barrhoven LRT

Merivale Road Bridge rehabilitation BUS RAPID TRANSIT

RECENTLY COMPLETED

Baseline Road Bus Rapid Transit Corridor

Vinny Memorial Bridge

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Elevate the Smart City Planning Game

ABOVE Nearly all smart city leaders in the study have adopted real-time traffic management technologies, which was also reported to have the highest ROI.

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IN CONVERSATIONS with cities and municipalities looking to launch their own smart city plan, there seem to be two main questions that rise to the surface: why should we become a smart city; and how do we become a smart city?

A â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;smart cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is so much more than a buzz word. The power of data and new technologies can truly help us design com-

munities that work better for people. Smart city initiatives can improve mobility in urban centers, increase energy and resource efficiency, build resiliency, and improve the public realm. In fact, many cities around the world are already smart, or have deployed numerous smart technologies. The next step in the evolution of cities is to become hyperconnected in key elements of

Image courtesy of Stantec

A SURVEY OF 100 METRO CENTRES AROUND THE WORLD REVEALED SOME SMART CITY BEST PRACTICES TO GET HYPERCONNECTED. BY NANCY MACDONALD

the urban landscape like transportation, the public realm, energy, and sustainability.

The evidence to back up the return on investment (ROI) on smart and hyperconnected cities is still being gathered, and best practices are very much still in development. That’s why we partnered with ESI ThoughtLab and other industry partners on a year-long research project, titled Building a Hyperconnected City.

The project surveyed 100 global cities at different stages of development to get a clearer picture of their real-world experiences and how they have been successfully managing digital innovation. What problems are they trying to solve by becoming smart? What are the measurable benefits they’re seeing from becoming a smart city? This is important to understand, as cities we spoke to planned to spend $141 billion on smart city projects in 2019, which amounts to an average investment of $1.4 billion per city. That investment is projected to rise an average of 14 per cent over the next year, the larger portion of which will come from more advanced cities, who will increase their investments by 21 per cent.

Cities reported that becoming more connected yields benefits across the urban ecosystem. For example, the research revealed that using technology to interlink different areas of public transit programs increases passenger satisfaction by 38 per cent, on-time arrival by 33 per cent, and transit ridership by 29 per cent. Digital public transit payment systems, used by 72 per cent of cities surveyed, are particularly effective, with advanced cities recognizing a 6.5 per cent ROI. More advanced cities also reported a higher average ROI from projects at five per cent, versus 1.8 per cent for cities cutting their teeth in digital innovation. This indicates a multiplier effect when it comes to smart city investments: the more connected a city becomes, the greater the benefits of those investments.

Of the cities surveyed, 25 of them are more advanced in deploying smart technologies to become hyperconnected. Those cities are engaging in some notable smart cities best practices that are contributing to their success. By distilling them down to a seven-step roadmap, we can start to see what might be applicable as industry-wide best practices.

•M ake the business case for smart technology Should cities develop a business case for investing in smart city solutions? They certainly should, and about two-thirds of more advanced smart cities already do.

Having clear metrics for ROI can help measure results of the investment made, guide any course corrections, and make the case for future investments.

•C alculate the full benefits of investment Enabling better planning using data can result in higher productivity, improved health and well-being, improved logistics, and increased economic growth and tourism, all of which make cities better places. Taking a more holistic view of results from investments will give a clearer view of their true impact.

•O rganize the right resources for program There are benefits to utilizing both internal and external staff to manage smart cities programs, and more advanced cities tend to use a combination of both.

They manage their programs through more centralized departments, with staff reporting directly into the mayor’s office.

• Capitalize on advanced technologies Of the 25 leader cities in the survey, 68 per cent said they have an innovation hub to manage and promote the city’s relationship with new technologies. Having a strategy to harness the power of new technologies helps with launching new smart city initiatives, as well as providing a better understanding of cybersecurity.

•U se the industry ecosystem effectively Working with technology providers, operators, and holistic consultants can be the winning combination that delivers projects that work. Partnerships can align strategic goals, generate continuous program improvements, and enable cities to do more with less resources.

• G enerate more value from data Leading smart cities in the study make around 620 data sets available to the public, while the average city only shares 400. Data can generate more value when utilized in collaboration with businesses, academia, and other third parties in ways that can inform city planning. Guiding proper data use with established policies is also critical to make programs work.

•E nsure all citizens are engaged and connected Some hyperconnected city leaders are starting to appoint chief citizen experience officers (CCXOs), responsible for the citizens’ experience with city websites, call centers, and mobile apps. This is one strategy that can strengthen communication with citizens. In general, hyperconnected cities are far more engaged with the public: 96 per cent reach out to stakeholders to demonstrate the value of projects.

The hyperconnected smart city is a better place Cities around the world are still trying to build vibrant economic and culturally rich communities that are desirable places to live, work, move, and play, and smart city technology isn’t going to change that. But smart city networks can help us increase efficiency, dedicate resources appropriately, and enable opportunities for wider segments of the population than ever before. Cities that embrace the conversation around technology, take the hard steps to build public trust, and lay out a roadmap to becoming hyperconnected will out-compete their peers when it comes to livability and economic investment. As we move into the hyperconnected era, the smartest cities will continue to put people first.

Nancy MacDonald is Director of Stantec’s Urban Places and the firm’s Smart Cities Lead. She loves the way cities change, grow, and fit together, combining diverse people and places to make something greater than the sum of its parts.

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Getting Active on Passive HOW PASSIVE DESIGN IS CHANGING THE FUTURE OF RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION BY NATALIE LEONARD PUBLIC AWARENESS of the global climate

crisis is increasing rapidly, and so is Net-Zero Passive House building in residential and commercial construction. Now is the perfect time for builders to specialize in this rapidly growing market sector. Builders with NetZero and Passive House construction skills can not only differentiate their companies from the masses, but enjoy prestige and unique advantages over their competition.

The Net-Zero Passive House approach to design and construction can be applied to small single-family homes and large commercial or residential buildings. Reducing energy use by to 70 to 100 per cent, these buildings make a significant reduction to the carbon footprint and carbon emissions.

With 50 per cent of energy savings accomplished in the design phase, and the remaining energy reduction coming from how the building is constructed, savings are achieved in multiple ways, for example by:

Natalie Leonard is the first Certified Passive House Consultant licensed to deliver Certified Passive House Builder training in Canada. As an engineer and the president of Passive Design Solutions, she has worked on over 100 Passive House projects that are net-zero ready and provided support to 30+ builders on their first Passive House projects.

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•S trategic use of building site to maximize solar gains; • Using compact building shapes that reduce exterior surface area; • Designing the roof for the installation of solar photovoltaic panels; • Ensuring the envelope is air-tight, super-insulated, has upgraded windows, doors and no thermal bridging; • Specifying mechanical ventilation systems that are ultra-efficient thus ensuring consistent indoor air quality without unnecessary energy loss; • Avoiding fossil fuels and utilizing high-efficiency heating and cooling systems.

The principles of Net-Zero Passive Design are quite straightforward, however the strategies to implement these principles require builders to change their conventional approach. Let’s look at how these strategies may impact conventional construction methodologies.

Air tightness: A Passive Design building is six times more airtight than a conventional one, but air tightness detailing may be the biggest change for builders, meaning conventional approaches to air sealing must be replaced with new materials and processes. A continuous air-tight layer connecting all assemblies and building components requires careful attention onsite. Air tightness is the secret sauce of high performance.

Super Insulation: A Passive Design building has significantly more insulation than a code-built one. These levels of insulation create very thick assemblies. Careful detailing is needed to comply with structural requirements, the elimination of thermal bridging, proper installation of flashing and the accurate installation of windows and doors. It is also important to choose low embodied carbon insulation materials, as some materials emit more carbon during manufacturing than they will save over the life in the building.

Upgraded Windows and Doors: Passive Designs typically use triple-glazed windows and doors with better insulated frames, and many projects specify European high-performance products (although triple-glazed North American products can also work).

Longer lead times can impact the construction schedule and remote suppliers tend to

1

2

3

4

1 Net-Zero Ready, Certified Passive House in Halifax, NS. 2 Thick walls with air sealing for Passive House. 3 Passive House with windows and weather barrier installed. 4 Completed interior with concrete floors and deep window sills.

leave the builder responsible for addressing any service issues onsite.

Thermal Bridge Free: Thermal bridging can result in significant energy use in a Passive building, meaning thermal bridge-free details require attention from the builder. Materials such as concrete and steel are highly conductive and must be covered with insulation to insure they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t create cold spots or condensation points in the building.

Ultra-Efficiency Mechanical Ventilation: Air-tight buildings require mechanical ventilation to supply fresh air and remove exhaust air. As humans we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t breathe through our skin, so our buildings shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t either.

A heat recovery ventilator (HRV) supplies constant fresh air while recovering the heat from the exhaust air. Although installing HRV systems will be new to many residential builders in the U.S., it is part of the building code in Canada.

Heating and Cooling Systems: These systems in Passive buildings are a fraction of the size of those required in conventional buildings. New technologies such as ductless mini-split heat pumps and hot water heat pumps are electrical-based systems that work well. Typically, the heating and cooling systems in a Passive building are simpler for the builder than in code-built projects.

Renewables: With the super efficiency of a Passive designed building, reaching net-zero is easily achieved for most projects.

Net-zero can be defined as a building that generates as much energy as it uses annually. Photovoltaic (PV) solar systems are usually the most cost-effective technology to install. For small buildings, a simple electrical rough-in is required from the builder and a solar installer will install the PV panels.

There is no prescriptive method to building a Passive design. Building methods will depend on the local availability of materials, local climates, regional costs, and designer preferences. All aspects of the building envelope and mechanical systems change from those used in code-built projects.

Tackling your first Net Zero Passive Building project will require a willingness to learn and patience to implement. Builders usually find their stride for the Passive Design approach after three or four projects. It is rewarding work to learn new construction methods and build higher quality buildings that contribute to a healthier planet.

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BUILD A NEW FUTURE. A P P L I C AT I O N S N O W B E I N G A C C E P T E D F O R FA L L 2 0 2 0 P R O G R A M S T A R T.

site VISIT History in the Making

At a recreational facility in downtown Brantford, past and present merge into a conspicuous new design.

By Shannon Moore

THIS SPREAD The project — delayed 18 months due to an extensive archaeological dig — is meaningful to its site as it replaces vacant row houses and is inte­­grated into a sloped hillside to ensure it is visually pleasant and appropriate.

Photography by Adrien Williams

WHEN THE YMCA partnered with Wilfrid Laurier University to erect a new facility in downtown Brantford, the chosen site — a steep hill nestled between two parallel streets — revealed a rich and exciting past.

Some 400,000 artefacts dating as far back at 500 BCE were uncovered, marking Ontario’s most significant archaeological discovery in nearly three decades.

In more recent years, the plot was home to 41 (now-demolished) historic row houses, adding another level of character and interest to the site.

To pay homage to this multi-layered history, the project team, led by CannonDesign, opted for a contemporary yet considerate approach. “Although the building is distinctly modern, it blends into its existing

neighbourhood,” says James Lai, associate vice president at CannonDesign and project lead on the Laurier Brantford YMCA .

“It show­cases the community’s past through thoughtful reflection of its historic surroundings.”

On the exterior, the 120,000 sq.-ft. facility is defined by its dual bar body and pristine curtain wall mullion façade. Inspired by the themes of memory, movement and landscape, Lai says the team “studied the appearance of the row homes and developed a pattern reminiscent of their skyline,” drawing upon their once prominent rhythms and integrating their essence into the design.

Inside, gym spaces with retractable stadium seating, fitness class studios, weight rooms, a large aquatics centre, health clinic, student

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THIS SPREAD The 120,000-sq.-ft. building is characterized by abundant natural light and open views inside and out and houses multiple spaces including: a double gym designed for sports and competition with retractable stadium seating for 860 people and a supporting first aid and athletic therapy space; an aquatics centre for lane swimming, swim lessons, aquatic fitness and therapy and leisure.

Photography by Adrien Williams

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lounge, daycare, youth centre and inclusive change rooms are littered throughout.

Also inside is a central staircase that softens the dramatic height differential brought on by the sloped site — a 35-foot drop, to be exact. In addition to bridging access between the two streets, the staircase features a vantage point that “provides unique horizontal visual connections across

the entire interior of the 445-foot long structure,” says Lai. Soon, a selection of the uncovered artefacts will be on view in this central space.

Realized through nearly $40 million in funding from the Government of Canada, Ontario Government and City of Brantford, the facility is said to be the first-ever jointly owned and operated by a university and the

YMCA . It also marks a significant milestone

in Laurier’s ongoing plans to expand into Brantford’s downtown core. “It’s not just another typical YMCA ,” says Lai. “It creates partnerships and houses services unique to this project and is an exciting model for others to follow.” Clearly, the project sets precedent in its present, while still recognizing its esteemed past.

BUILDING.CA

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from the bullpen Don’t be Scared of Big Data A careful reading of it will show home buyer preferences and changing unit popularity.

By Ben Myers

Ben Myers is president of Bullpen Research & Consulting, a boutique real estate advisory firm that works with land owners, developers, and lenders to better inform them of the current and future macroeconomic and site-specific housing market conditions that can impact their active or proposed development projects.

Follow Bullpen on Twitter at @BullpenConsult or find Ben at www.BullpenConsulting.ca.

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December 2019/January 2020

The biggest change in the way I evaluate and analyze the new housing market for clients is via big data. New home listing portal Buzzbuzzhome produces tremendous data on user preferences by tracking every click on their website, and recently announced a partnership with Toronto-based ThinkData Works Inc., a data management platform. “New construction homes can tell us a lot about what’s happening in our communities,” said Lewis Wynne-Jones, head of partnerships for ThinkData. “From understanding home market trends to getting insight into up-and-coming neighbourhoods, BuzzBuzzHomes data is a game-changer for anyone who wants to understand the new home development landscape in the USA and Canada.”

Buzzbuzzhome often has the prices for a new development up on their website the same day that the project price list is released and sometimes prior to launch.

With monthly updates, my firm can stay on top of preferences faster than ever before.

After presenting some of this big data at a recent event hosted by Colliers, several folks in attendance were shocked by the result. As prices have steadily increased in the downtown Toronto condo market, prospective buyers are looking at smaller and smaller units. Data from Buzzbuzzhome showed a spike in online user activity for suites from 300 square feet to 400 square feet via their website in 2019. Price growth has backed up that data, as the average price per-square-foot (psf) for suites around 300 square feet in Toronto in 2018 was $936 psf, rising to $1,416 psf in 2019, a 56 per cent annual increase.

If developers had picked up on that trend earlier, they could have programmed more studios and micro-suites instead of some of the larger product that is sitting unsold, just waiting for a new incentive to grab purchaser attention (and reduce project revenue). In some markets in Canada, things

are selling so quickly, developers don’t know if they left money on the table or not.

The desire to hit the sales threshold required for financing while all eyes are on your project is hard to resist: it might be weeks or even days before the next hot project hits the market and people lose interest in your offerings.

I now ask audiences to use their own data wisely, release your unit floorplans in advance of the launch of your project and let your registration list know. Review the Google analytics for your website: which plans are popular? Ask for feedback via a survey; use the wisdom of the crowds and the knowledge of the brokers that have seen thousands of plans and their clients’ reaction to them.

Look at the Google stats to see where your website traffic is coming from and how long your visitors are spending on your site. What amenities are they looking at?

Perhaps you need to drop the yoga room and add a second guest suite. As the aging population trades down, they want space for visiting relatives, but since they don’t want to pay for a second or third bedroom, make sure they can lease the guest suite a couple times a year.

Put up blogs with relevant content for your users and track how much time users spend reading it: if they’re on that page for several minutes, chances are they’ve enjoyed your article or update and try to provide more of this content. Today’s buyers want transparency from developers, and they want all the information online and easy to access.

The old formula of providing no details to trick users to come to your sales office so you can magically convert them into buyers isn’t the way to go.

Get to know the market and what your prospective buyers want, and you’ll make sales, make higher profits, and you’ll get more repeat customers and referrals. Don’t be scared of big data. Instead, use it wisely.

Design: IA Interior Architects Client: McMillan LLP Scope: Large-scale contour-cut vinyl with knit textured laminate

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