canadian architect - 2008 august
TRANSCRIPT
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
1/40
PARTICIPATORY DESIGN
$6.95 AUG/08V.53 N.08
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
2/40
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
3/40
KAWNEER CURTAIN WALLS
Choosing Kawneer means you never
have to sacrifice sustainability for creativity.
Kawneers comprehensive line of curtain
wall products and systems provide
proven performance and endless design
possibilities including unitized curtain
wall solutions. Our corporate commitment
to sustainability ensures that building
with Kawneer products means building
for tomorrow.
Every day you make a choice.Make a choice that counts.
MAKE A CHOICE TO CONSERVE. AND TO PROMOTE CREATIVITY.
Architectural Aluminum SystemsEntrances + FramingCurtain WallsWindows
kawneer.com
CIRCLE REPLY CARD 12
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
4/40
ReducedEnergy
Dem
and
ReducedEn
vironmentalImp
act
ReducedOperati
n
The Road To A Greener Planet
Starts With Dryvit
29 Ringwood Drive
ouffville, ON L4A 8A2
05) 642-0444
ww.dryvit.ca
At Dryvit being green is nothing new. Since
being introduced to North America in 1969, Dryvit
Outsulation has been helping the environment
by increasing the effective R-value of the building
envelope and reducing energy demand.
Contact Dryvit Systems Canada to learn what is new
in the effort to reduce your projects environmental
footprint and allthe benets of Dryvit Outsulation
Systems. Energy savings is not even the beginning.
Tiny Footprint HUGE
CIRCLE REPLY CARD 13
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
5/40
200
8Georgia Pacifi
cGypsu
mLLC
.Th
eGeorgia Pacifi
clog
oan
dal
l trademark
sar
eowne
db
yo
rlicense
dt
oGeorgia Pacifi
cGypsu
mLLC
.Al
lright
sreserved.
1 8 3876823
Managing moisture? Good luck with that, considering its ability to defy natural law at will. You might
arrive, as many architects have, at the conclusion that the flip side of designing energy efficient structures is
moisture forgiveness: a materials ability to compensate for moisture in the environment. Georgia-Pacific
accomplishes this by substituting fiberglass mats for traditional paper facings. A process weve been perfecting for
20 years and offer for both the building envelope and interior wall systems. Moisture forgiveness. Adding
life to buildings. Reducing exposure to risk of delay and remediation. Slicing days from schedules. You owe
it to yourself to get the whole story.
DENSGLASS GOLDEXTERIOR SHEATHING
DENSDECKROOF BOARDS
DENSARMOR PLUS INTERIOR DRYWALL
DENSGLASS ULTRA SHAFTLINER
DENSSHIELD TILE BACKER
DENSARMOR PLUSABUSE GUARD INTERIOR DRYWALL
WHY MANAGE
MOISTURE WHEN YOU CAN
SIMPLY FORGIVE IT?
CIRCLE REPLY CARD 14
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
6/40
CIRCLE REPLY CARD 15
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
7/40
CONTENTS
08/08CANADIAN ARCHITECT 7
STEVENE
VANS
STEVENE
VANS
11 NEWS
Raymond Moriyama appointed as a Com-panion of the Order of Canada; winners of
the Canada Council for the Arts architec-
ture awards announced.
14 REPORT
Alan Boniface provides details of the con-
tentious EcoDensity initiative in Vancou-
ver that seeks to address climate change
issues as they relate to city-building.
34 TECHNICAL
Douglas MacLeod asserts that Building
Information Modelling could be the most
important development in CAD, trans-
forming our approach to design and docu-
mentation.
37 CALENDAR
Shanghai Kaleidoscope exhibition at the
Royal Ontario Museum; 10th Docomomo
conference on the Heritage of the Modern
Movement.
38 BACKPAGE
Leslie Jen reviews theSacred Space exhibi-
tion at Torontos York Quay Centre.
18 THREE CAMPUS PROJECTSTHREE RECENT UNIVERSITY BUILDING PROJECTS LED BY MACKAY-LYONS SWEETAPPLEARCHITECTS ILLUSTRATE THE PARTICIPATORY DESIGN PROCESS ON UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES IN
CANADA. TEXT CHRISTINE MACY
28 YOU YOU DEVELOPMENTTHIS MASSIVE MIXED-USE PROJECT BY B+H EXEMPLIFIES THE TYPICAL PROCESS OF DESIGN ANDCONSTRUCTION TAKING PLACE IN SHANGHAIS CURRENT CLIMATE OF TERRIFYINGLY RAPID
DEVELOPMENT. TEXT DAVID STEINER
COVERUPEI SCHOOL OF BUSINESS BY MACKAY-LYONS SWEETAPPLE ARCHITECTS IN ASSOCIA-
TION WITH N46 ARCHITECTURE AND DAVIDPREMI ARCHITECT INC. PHOTOGRAPH BY
STEVEN EVANS.
STEVENE
VANS
KERUNI
P
THE NATIONAL REVIEW OF DESIGN AND PRACTICE/
THE JOURNAL OF RECORD OF THE RAIC
AUGUST 2008, V.53 N.08
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
8/40
EDITOR
IAN CHODIKOFF, OAA, MRAIC
ASSO CIATE EDITO R
LESLIE JEN, MRAIC
EDITORIAL ADVISORS
JOHN MCMINN, AADIPL.MARCO POLO, OAA, MRAICCHARLES WALDHEIM, OALA(HON.), FAAR
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
GAVIN AFFLECK, OAQ, MRAICHERBERT ENNS, MAA, MRAICDOUGLAS MACLEOD, NCARB
REGIONAL CORRESPONDENTS
HALIFAX CHRISTINE MACY, OAAMONTREALDAVID THEODOREWINNIPE G HERBERT ENNS, MAAREGINABERNARD FLAMAN, SAACALGARYDAVID A. DOWN, AAAEDMONTON BRIAN ALLSOPP, AAA
PUBLISHER
TOM ARKELL 416-510-6806
SALES MANAGER
GREG PALIOURAS 416-510-6808
CIRCULATION MANAGER
BEATA OLECHNOWICZ 416-442-5600 EXT. 3543
CUSTOMER SERVICEMALKIT CHANA 416-442-5600 EXT. 3539
PRODUCTION
JESSICA JUBB
GRAPHIC DESIGN
SUE WILLIAMSON
VICE PRESI DENT OF C ANADIAN P UBLIS HING
ALEX PAPANOU
PRESIDENT OF BUSINESS INFORMATION GROUP
BRUCE CREIGHTON
HEAD OFFICE
12 CONCORDE PLACE, SUITE 800,TORONTO, ON M3C 4J2TELEPHONE 416-510-6845FACSIMILE 416-510-5140E-MAIL [email protected] S ITE WWW.CANADIANARCHITECT.COM
Canadian Architect is published monthly by Business Information Group,a division of BIG Magazines LP, a leading Canadian information companywith interests in daily and community newspapers and business-to-business
information services.The editors have made every reasonable effort to provide accurate andauthoritative information, but they assume no liability for the accuracy orcompleteness of the text, or its fitness for any particular purpose.
Subscription Rates Canada: $51.95 plus applicable taxes for one year;$81.95 plus applicable taxes for t wo years (GST #809751274RT0001).Price per single copy: $6.95. Students (prepaid with student I.D., includestaxes): $32.50 for one year. USA: $101.95 U.S. for one year. All otherforeign: $101.95 U.S. per year.
US office of publication: 2424 Niagara Falls Blvd, Niagara Falls, NY 14304-5709. Periodicals Postage Paid at Niagara Falls, NY. USPS #009-192.US postmaster: Send address changes to Canadian Architect, PO Box 1118,Niagara Falls, NY 14304.
Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Circulation Dept., CanadianArchitect, 12 Concorde Place, Suite 800, Toronto, ON Canada M3C 4J2.
Postmaster: please forward forms 29B and 67B to 12 Concorde Place,Suite 800, Toronto, ON Canada M3C 4J2. Printed in Canada. All rightsreserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced either inpart or in full without the consent of the copyright owner.
From time to time we make our subscription list available to select companiesand organizations whose product or service may interest you. If you do notwish your contact information to be made available, please contact us via
one of the following methods:
Telephone 1-800-668-2374Facsimile 416-442-2191E-mail [email protected] Privacy Officer, Business Information Group, 12 Concorde Place, Suite 800,Toronto, ON Canada M3C 4J2
MEMBER OF THE CANADIAN BUSINESS PRESSMEMBER OF THE AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATIONSPUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT #40069240ISSN 0008-2872
8 CANADIAN ARCHITECT 08/08
VIEWPOINT
COURTESYCITYOFVANCOUVER
that the City wants to encourage include, for
example, its ongoing policy for laneway housing,
as well as the removal of zoning and other barri-
ers preventing the existence of secondary suites
in single-family houses.
Beyond incentives associated with small-scale
urban infill projects, EcoDensity promotes othermore impactful initiatives that introduce a more
varied, sustainable and affordable range of hous-
ing in all areas of the city, such as the Housing
Demonstration Policy or the Neighbourhood
Centres Program, which is located in 18 city-
defined areas and which encourage higher-
density housing. Additionally, new large-scale
developments like Southeast False Creek and the
East Fraserlands are being touted as models for
EcoDensity development, which collectively fea-
ture sustainable architecture, renewable energy,
water management, fish and wildlife habitat
enhancement, and urban agriculture. Without the
help of the provincial or federal governments tosupport Vancouvers EcoDensity, there may not
be enough economic clout backing the political
will. As land and construction costs continue to
rise, somebody has to make up for the roughly
25% shortfall in financing typically required to
make a non-market housing initiative viable.
Without additional political support, the long-
term fate of the EcoDensity Charter may be in
jeopardy. EcoDensity was the 2006 initiative of
current Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan, whose
political party, the Non-Partisan Association
(NPA), is headed for a municipal election this
fall, albeit without Sullivan as the mayoral candi-date. In early June, the NPA voted to change its
leadership. Thanks to the support of Vancouvers
downtown business establishment, NPA council-
lor Peter Ladner narrowly beat the incumbent
Sullivan by a margin of only 80 votes1,066
to 986.
What remains to be seen is how Vancouver, a
municipality granted limited revenue-earning
opportunities, can afford to leverage its Eco-
Density Charter to create a higher-density city
approaching carbon neutrality, and to decrease
its reliance on fossil fuels.
During a speech in 1967, Prime Minister Lester
B. Pearson said, Urbanization with all its prob-
lems has become the dominant social and eco-
nomic condition of Canadian life. Pearson knew
very well that a lack of adequate tax revenue and a
poorly defined accountability structure between
levels of government had exacerbated problemsin many Canadian citiesproblems such as hous-
ing, traffic, pollution, poverty and urban sprawl.
Over 40 years later, despite the rhetoric of sub-
sequent political figures who pretend to be con-
cerned about the fate of our cities, federal and
provincial politicians continue to hold our
municipalities hostage, stifling their abilities to
devise financially innovative ways to raise money
and fund a long list of projects, the result of
which ultimately affects the health of the archi-
tectural profession.
Many of the difficulties inherent in the ability
of our cities to raise sufficient revenue to finance
and support new initiatives are convincingly dis-cussed in Alan Broadbents recently published
book Urban Nation, which argues for a redefini-
tion of municipal powers given to Canadas
largest cities while noting that existing political
and legal systems (some dating back to the time
of Confederation) inhibit funding for new con-
struction in our urban centres. Despite these
obstacles, there continue to be initiatives such as
Vancouvers EcoDensity Charter that attempt to
circumvent the perennial challenges of limited
revenue-earning powers granted to municipali-
ties. Unanimously adopted by Vancouver City
Council on June 10th, the EcoDensity Charter is aprocedural tool designed to promote a variety of
sustainable issues ranging from public transit to
affordable housing (see page 14). Incentives such
as the Interim EcoDensity Rezoning Policy help
encourage urban-intensifying projects so long as
they achieve a minimum LEED Silver rating.
Vancouvers EcoDensity Charter is intended to
serve as a performance-basedrather than a
checklist-basedapproach to sustainable devel-
opment. Inherent in the EcoDensity plan is the
support of housing in Vancouver in a variety of
ways, such as the provision of affordable housing
and sufficient rental properties. Other initiatives
ABOVE ARBUTUS WALK IS AN EXAMPLE OF A HIGH-DENSITY MIXED-USE COMMUNITY THAT UPHOLDSTHE TENETS OF VANCOUVERS ECODENSITY CHARTER.
IAN CHODIKOFF [email protected]
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
9/40
B-3944, B-3961 Convertible Towel Dispensers Waste Receptacles.Interchangeable folded and roll-towel modules, and 12- and 18-gallon waste receptacles give you the freedom and
flexibility to easily respond to changing building occupancy requirements. Also to change damaged modules without
replacing the cabinet. 2007 Bobrick Washroom Equipment, Inc. 800/553-1600, bobrick.com.CIRCLE REPLY CARD 16
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
10/40CIRCLE REPLY CARD 17
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
11/40
Winners of the Nova Scotia Association of
Architects Lieutenant Governors DesignAwards announced.
Two Lieutenant Governors Medals of Excellencewere given to WHW Architects Inc. for the Joggins
Fossil Centre, and to Susan Fitzgerald for theHome on Elm Street in Halifax. Two Awards of
Merit were given to WHW Architects Inc.(Architect of Record) and Maclennan Jaulkans
Miller Architects (Collaborating Architect) for theSummerside Wellness Centre in PEI, and to
MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects for theBrock University Plaza Building. MacKay-Lyons
Sweetapple Architects were also given twoCitations for Regan House and for the Creighton
Street Townhouses. Two additional Citations weregiven to Kenneth J. Dacey & Associated Architects
for the Hollis Street Gate at Government House,and to William Nycum & Associates for the HFX
Airport Arrivals Escalator Replacement, Enfield.Lastly, an Honourable Mention was awarded to
Solterre Design Inc. for the Tack Shop.
Winners of the Canada Council for the Arts
architecture awards announced.
The Canada Council for the Arts announced that
Toronto landscape architect Pierre Blanger isthe winner of the Professional Prix de Rome in
Architecture for 2008, and that WILLIAMSON-WILLIAMSON of Toronto has won the Ronald J.
Thom Award for Early Design Achievement. TheProfessional Prix de Rome in Architecture, val-
ued at $50,000, is awarded to a young architect orpractitioner of architecture, an architecture firm
or an architectural design firm that has com-pleted its first buildings and demonstrated ex-
ceptional artistic potential. Blangers projectwill explore the reciprocity between water sys-
tems and mass urbanization around the world.He will travel to three critical regions in Asia,
Europe and the Middle East to investigate howthe field of landscape architecture can contribute
to watershed change. A landscape architect and
Associate Professor at the Faculty of Architecture,Landscape and Design at the University of
Toronto, Blanger focuses on the convergingfields of landscape, infrastructure and urbanism.
The Ronald J. Thom Award for Early DesignAchievement was established in 1990. The
$10,000 prize is awarded every two years to acandidate in the early stages of his or her career
who demonstrates outstanding talent or potentialin architectural design and a sensitivity to archi-
tectures allied arts, crafts and professions, in-cluding landscape, interior and furniture design,
and decorative and graphic arts. The projects of
this years laureate, WILLIAMSONWILLIAMSON,range from furniture and installations to build-
ings and urban proposals. WILLIAMSON-WILLIAMSON INC. is a Toronto-based architec-
ture and design studio founded in 2002 by BetsyWilliamson and Shane Williamson, Associate
Professor at the University of Torontos Faculty ofArchitecture, Landscape and Design.
Design Exchange Awards Call for Entries.
The Design Exchange Awards, presented byCanadian Business, promotes Canadian design
excellence and recognizes the critical role ofdesign in all types of organizations including
commercial entities (large and small), not-for-profit organizations, and the public sector. The
Awards celebrate the success stories achievedthrough close partnerships between clients and
designers. A jury of leading business executives,designers and community leaders will select
Award of Excellence and Award of Merit winnersin each of the 12 categories, with one project
PROJECTS
Joggins Fossil Centre located on UNESCO
World Heritage Site.
The Joggins Fossil Centre by WHW ArchitectsInc. is sited on the recently designated UNESCO
World Heritage Site of Joggins Fossil Cliffs, a689-hectare palaeontological site along the
coast of Nova Scotia that boasts a wealth offossils from the Carboniferous period (354 to
290 million years ago). The site chosen forthe Centre was the location of a coal mine that
had existed from as early as 1650 until 1961.The mine had been the raison dtre for the
town of Joggins, and the cultural legacy the
mining history represents is entwined withthe geologic history. Both aspects are reflected
and interpreted in the Centre, as the plan, formand materials of the building derive expressly
from the cliffs and the mine. In addressingsustainability issues, the Fossil Centre utilizes
a number of strategies to reduce operatingcosts such as the employment of innovative
energy technologies and sources. The Centreuses 38% less energy than a comparable tradi-
tional building, as 20% of the constructionmaterial is from recycled sources, nearly
25% of which was harvested or manufacturedlocally. The rate and quantity of storm water
leaving the site have both been reducedcompared to the pre-development state, and
the quantities of suspended solids and phos-phorus in that water have been reduced by
80% and 50% respectively. The amount ofwater col lected from the roof for non-potable
use represents many times the Centres actualwater requirement. Measuring 13,250 square
feet in total, the Fossil Centre cost $5.2 millionto construct, and opened in May of 2008.
It was recently awarded a Nova Scotia Associa-
tion of Architects Lieutenant Governors Medalof Excellence.
AWARDS
Raymond Moriyama appointed as a
Companion of the Order of Canada.
On July 1, 2008, Her Excellency the Right
Honourable Michalle Jean, Governor Generalof Canada, announced 75 new appointments to
the Order of Canada. On the recommendationof the Advisory Council of the Order of Canada,
she announced that Raymond Moriyama ofToronto was appointed as a Companion of the
Order of Canada for his contributions to thefield of architecture, and for inspiring a new
generation of young architects through hisdesigns of some of Canadas most innovative
urban structures. The 75 new appointeesinclude five Companions (C.C.), 26 Officers
(O.C.), and 43 Members (C.M.), as well as oneHonorary Officer.
08/08 CANADIAN ARCHITECT 11
NEWS
ABOVE THE JOGGINS FOSSIL CENTRE OVER-
LOOKS THE FAMOUS SEASIDE CLIFFS LOCATEDON THE RECENTLY ANNOUNCED UNESCOWORLD HERITAGE SITE IN JOGGINS, NOVA
SCOTIA.
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
12/4012 CANADIAN ARCHITECT 08/08
winning Best of Category in each. DXA winnerswill be listed in Canadian Businesss best-selling
December issue (the annual Rich 100 edition),and featured in a major exhibition at the Design
Exchange. The submission deadline is September26, 2008.www.dx.org/dxa/index.html
WHATS NEW
Experience tomorrows architecture today
at IIDEX/Neocon Canada 2008.
IIDEX/NeoCon Canada 2008 will premiere aunique lineup of special exhibits on all aspects of
architecture including Canhome, a cut ting-edgetravelling exhibit on sustainable living; a sustain-
able health-care pavilion and symposium featur-ing a 400-square-foot Green Patient Room
designed by Anshen + Allen Architects; Material
World, a 1,000-square-foot hands-on materiallibrary curated by Material Connexion; and the
launch of Light Canada, Canadas largest lightingexpo and conference with over 100 exhibitors,
sponsored by the IES Toronto Section. On theeducation front, the 2008 show will be another
blockbuster year with more learning opportuni-ties for architects such as: Architecture Keynote
Kim Herforth Nielsen, international award-winning partner and principal architect of
Danish firm 3XN Architects; over 100 CEU-accredited seminars including Strategies for
Sustainable Facilities, Toronto Apartment Tower
Architecture in CanadaRegion, Culture, Tectonics,an exhibition co-curated by architectural profes-
sors John McMinn (University of Waterloo) andMarco Polo (Ryerson University) and organized
by Cambridge Galleries, presents a selection ofcontemporary buildings organized within six dis-
tinct cultural and geographic regions of Canada.A second contribution to the 2008 Biennale
involves An Te Liu, a member of the Faculty ofArchitecture, Landscape and Design at the
University of Toronto, who has been commis-sioned to create an installation for a group exhi-
bition at the Corderie of the Arsenale in Venice.The exhibition is comprised of the work of 18
international architects and designers including
Zaha Hadid, Greg Lynn, UN Studio, Droog, CoopHimmelb(l)au, Asymptote, and MVRDV. And the
third Canadian contribution to the 2008 Archi-tecture Biennale is also a commission to the
group exhibition at the Corderie dellArsenalean interactive multimedia environment involving
Montreal-based new media designer ChrisSalter, a member of the Faculty of Fine Arts at
Concordia University, in collaboration with SanFrancisco-based designer Erik Adigard of
M-A-D. Betsky selected the project due to Salterand Adigards collaborative work on the inter-
national scene in the areas of graphic design,new media and interactive environmentsa key
strategy in Betskys examining of the theme ofarchitecture beyond building.www.labiennale.org/en/architecture/
Renewal Projects, LEEDEB Case Study, DrivingDown Energy Costs, OBC Alternative Solutions,
BIM, Building Beyond LEED, International Re-tailA Global Perspective on Trends and Con-
cepts, The Lies LEDs Have Told Me, UniversalDesign, Driving Down Energy Costs, Greening
the Patient Experience, DBFM Case Study,Succession Planning, and a special workshop by
Innovation Keynote Jeremy Gutsche on How toReinvent your Architecture Firm. Toronto Society
of Architects (TSA)-sponsored exhibits andevents include the Unbuilt Toronto book launch,exhibit and seminar; TSA poster competition
winners; Ontario Association of Architects (OAA)and Royal Architectural Institute of Canada
(RAIC) Awards exhibit; a career exchange forarchitecture students; and new for 2008, an
architecture student charrette. Additionally,there will be hundreds of new products on dis-
play from around the world for interior, exterior,commercial and residential applications.www.iidexneocon.com/2008/
Canadian contributions to the 2008 VeniceBiennale 11th International Architecture
Exhibition.
Three significant contributions will represent
Canada at the 2008 Venice Biennale 11th Inter-national Architecture Exhibition. This years
Biennale, entitled Out There: Architecture Beyond
Building, takes place from September 14 to
November 23, 2008 in Venice, Italy.41 to 66:
CIRCLE REPLY CARD 18
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
13/40
CIRCLE REPLY CARD 19
08/08 CANADIAN ARCHITECT13
CIRCLE REPLY CARD 28
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
14/4014CANADIAN ARCHITECT 08/08
REPORT
as they relate to city-building and with a specific
focus on density as the vehicle to deliver com-
pact, walkable communities with smaller foot-
prints. It is premised on the fact that climate
change represents the most significant environ-
mental, economic, social, liveability and quality-
of-life threat to the citys future. It sets out ini-
tiatives to manage change, to choose and design
our future, in the face of these threats. It estab-
lishes sustainable strategies for transportation
and parking, green energy and waste systems,affordable housing, parks and the public realm,
food systems and urban agriculture, heritage
conservation and urban health.
The ultimate threshold is carbon neutrality in
all buildings by 2030, but carbon targets and
other numeric measures are not specified, repre-
senting a potential weakness of the document in
the minds of some.
Among these, it is the density component
that has spurred the most debate. Density has
triggered a plethora of fear-based responses. The
discussion, therefore, has strayed from purely
intellectual discourse to positions often centredupon ones opinion of the politics of the Mayors
office. With this as a contributing factor to the
Mayors demise, the adaptation of EcoDensity, in
policy terms, remains a very open question lead-
ing into Vancouvers fall municipal elections.
One cant help but be amazed at the prepon-
derance of NIMBYism and the seemingly endless
biological imperative of humans to protect the
here and now in the face of daunting, perhaps
catastrophic change. And similarly, how local
politicians have turned on the Mayor irrespective
of the merits of the initiative, in an aggressive
and at times disrespectful attempt to discredit
him. This acrimony has occurred, despite over-
whelming evidence about the benefitsboth
socially and ecologicallyof appropriately con-
sidered increased density and its profound real-
ization in Vancouver itself, where it has been
illustrated that density can be dramatically in-creased with a simultaneous reduction in car
traffic, commuters and crime rates. This is a
well-documented phenomenon of the downtown.
In specific terms, this can be seen in statistics
produced by Environment Canada, which has
noted that Vancouver is the only Canadian city
with declining commute times, due in part to
40% of downtown residents using public transit.
An additional 25 to 30% walk or bike to work.
Moreover, an important element is that design
regulations have required that fully 25% of new
units in the downtown are designed for families.
Contrast this with its sister city Seat tle, wheredowntown units for families make up only 6% of
new housing.
The result is that Vancouver residents seem
supportive of density on the downtown peninsula,
but not in the pristine grassy backyards of the
citys other neighbourhoods, where densities can
be as low as 2 units per acre. Which is not to sug-
gest that this is the ultimate destination of
EcoDensity as the rhetoric might suggest. Indeed,
recent revisions to the draft Charter are profound
in their attempts at integrating public input,
addressing misinformation and providing aggres-
sive methods for carbon reduction. The City is
poised, for example, to incorporate in its officiallanguage the statement that it will make environ-
mental sustainability a primary consideration in
decisions about density, design and land use.
Additionally, the revised draft includes specific
language about mandating greener performance,
not bonusing it, and a directive to require all
buildings to be LEED Gold-equivalent by 2010.
A lack of clear communication of the intent of
the initiative and the lack of an emergent cham-
pion beyond the Mayor has caused delay but also
pause for important public input. As the docu-
ment evolves as the result of public engagement
and dialogue, it has become clear that the current21 components of the plan will require both
strong direction and strong political leadership
to manifest its important goals.
Vancouveritesand indeed the nationappear
to be postponing and politicizing a decision that
requires quick and meaningful action. Despite
the obvious problems associated with urban
sprawl and the negative effects of inaction, the
City along with many Vancouverites seem unable
to set aside historic divisions or self-serving
views, blissfully ignoring the fact that Vancouver
is using 300 times its own footprint ecologically
and thus contributing heavily to the global prob-
Vancouver is often regarded as a city that made
the right decisions; dense urban living, no free-
ways, miles of public waterfront and a walkable
and liveable downtown. So when Mayor Sam
Sullivan set out to engage the citizenry in an
exercise that sought to add an ecological compo-
nent to the citys longstanding acceptance of
downtown density, one would have assumed that
the debate would have been fairly one-sided.
Observers would likely surmise that Vancouvers
laid-back sandal-clad beach crowd would be ripe
for action. Reality has embraced a different
stereotype; one of a city and province split along
political and philosophical lines. The endeavour
has exposed that many Vancouverites have proven
no less short-sighted or unwilling to tackle the
most significant issue of our time in a deter-mined and meaningful manner than most other
Canadians and much of the nations leadership.
However, recent moves by British Columbias,
Ontarios and Quebecs premiers are signs of an
important shift.
EcoDensity is a well-reasoned proposal. It is
an ambitious document which captures a series
of initiatives undertaken by the Vancouver Plan-
ning Department under the direction of the
Mayor and Council. The draft Charter lays out a
series of neighbourhood planning and building
regulations to be implemented over the next few
years that seek to address climate change issues
TOP BUSBY PERKINS+WILL CONSIDERS INCREASED DENSITY WITHIN THE CITY AS AN INTEGRAL STRAT-
EGY TO REDUCE OUR IMPACT ON CLIMATE CHANGE. THIS SKETCH ILLUSTRATES HOW DEVELOPMENT
ALONG VANCOUVERS CANADA LINE CAN EVENTUALLY RESPOND TO THE ADJACENT URBAN CON-TEXT WHERE LEVELS OF DENSITY CORRESPOND TO EACH NODE/RAIL STATION. AT A LENGTH OF
NEARLY 19 KILOMETRES, THE CANADA LINE WILL BE AN AUTOMATED RAIL-BASED RAPID TRANSIT SERV-ICE CONNECTING VANCOUVER WITH CENTRAL RICHMOND AND THE VANCOUVER AIRPORT. IT IS
EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETE BY 2009.
VANCOUVERS QUEST FOR ECODENSITY
ECODENSITY, VANCOUVERS PLAN TO HELP
DENSIFY AND DECREASE ITS ENVIRONMENTAL
FOOTPRINT, IS NOT WITHOUT ITS CHALLENGES,DETRACTORS AND FAULTS.
TEXT ALAN BONIFACE
BUSBYPERKINS+WILL
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
15/40
Vancouver. Peter Busby has produced a well-con-
ceived commentary on EcoDensity, but overall
these initiatives remain the minority.
Whether one promotes consensus or a top-
down approach, the latter is likely to be the only
viable method for quick action in order to avert
significant climate-induced problems. In this era
of minority governments and carefully scripted
speeches, it is difficult to see how any leaderprofessional or politicalwould be able to take
the strong stance required (witness the politically
safe US election debates and the paralyzing plat-
form espoused by our federal government).
EcoDensity is a current example of this as it
shifts from strong idea to strong policy and per-
hapsdepending on the outcome of the upcom-
ing municipal electionto nothing more than a
lengthy debate. In the meantime, the city has
produced 6.8 million additional tons of carbon,
and the region 38.4 million tons.
The reality is that the current City administra-
tion has waded into politically fraught territory inpursuit of some fairly benign goals. As Trevor
Boddy has noted, There is little a guilty SUV-
driver or even a Northern Alberta oil sands oper-
ator could not sign on to.
The Mayor, Council and staff have initiated a
debate into which all Canadians must enter,
especially at the local level, and moreover have
done the heavy lifting for the outlying municipal-
ities most of whom have much less desire to walk
a green walk through their predominantly single-
family neighbourhoods.
Where does this leave the debate as the munic-
ipal election and the final draft of the EcoDensity
Charter near? Brent Toderian, the Citys recent
ascendant to the Director of Planning throne, has
been the one charged with shepherding
EcoDensity through two years of public and
internal debate. He has inherited not only a
loosely defined policy statement, but the very
large boots of the former Director, Larry Beasley.
It is an unenviable position. Given this, Toderian
and his team have done a remarkable job. TheCitys recent seven nights of public input illus-
trated nothing if not a growing knowledge base
attributable to the debate, a truly positive sign. It
also illustrated some of the likely implications;
for affordable housing, for pressures on local
amenities, and for a rethinking of the way the city
conceives of its neighbourhoods, its travel pat-
terns, its food distribution and its energy use.
EcoDensity is, at its core, a plan to direct a city
and its inhabitants through a domain of immi-
nent change with the goal of ensuring its ability
to thrive, if not actually survive. As long as citi-
zens remain preoccupied with a vision of theworld as beginning and ending with their own
life span rather than the shaping of its future,
they will not be able to truly debate an issue like
EcoDensity with the critical mindset necessary to
judge its applicability. The debate rages on,
which is a great start, but the community and the
nation need a stronger voice. Perhaps a voice
intent on defying an apathetic body politic will
rise up, as our most animated Prime Minister
once did, and say, Just watch me. CA
Alan Boniface is a partner in Hotson Bakker Boniface
Haden architects + urbanistes in Vancouver.
lem. The truth, seldom noted in the success story
that is Vancouver, is that suburban growth has far
outpaced the seemingly endless pace of rising
towers in the downtown core.
The rhetoric has at times been extreme, as
exemplified in this statement from one oppo-
nent: The development industry is salivating at
EcoDensity because it basically gives them
bonusing for putting in a green roof or putting ina flower garden. Many have accused the current
City administration of a hidden agenda. The
accusations range from the pursuit of a develop-
er-focused profit-oriented agenda on the one
hand, to an ideology focused on bulldozing sin-
gle-family homes and instituting a draconian
LEED reality on the other. Clearly, there is always
emotion and polarized positions in important
debates, but in a city where the Downtown
Eastside remains the most impoverished part of
the country, the degree to which energy and cre-
dence is spent on such views is disquieting.
To this point, with the initiative still awaitingCouncils approval, the design and development
community is testing the waters with very little
certainty as to what a projects green initiatives
might mean or cost. The current version of the
draft has sufficient teeth to make meaningful
change if applied, promoted and supported by
the community. The proof, however, will be in
the communitys willingness to see the big pic-
ture and create leadership with follow-through.
Upcoming projects which will put EcoDensity to
the test include a reworking of the Arbutus
Village commercial area on the west side, and the
large provincial renewal of the Little Mountain
housing development on the east side. Previousinitiatives which have collided with the begin-
nings of EcoDensity include a housing project in
the Dunbar neighbourhood which spawned the
insanely titled EcoPreservation organization,
and the Norquay project which called for slightly
increased housing densities along Vancouvers
Kingsway corridor, the most logical destination
for density in the city.
If architects are to participate significantly in
the realization of EcoDensity, there needs to be a
recognition of the role of bold, reasoned commu-
nication. Where is this larger role in the
EcoDensity debate? Why is it that the design com-munity and consumers can support outrageously
consumptive icons of design which evidence no
intention of a sustainable economy of means?
Where is the urgency from the profession and
equally, from the highest levels of government?
Certainly, there are some younger developers and
many designers pushing in the right direction in
Vancouver. Robert Brown, a local green propo-
nent, and Mark Sheih have initiated small proj-
ects, but no one has emerged from the more
established firms. Windmill Development has
produced Dockside in Victoria and is initiating
projects across the country, but not, notably in
08/08CANADIAN ARCHITECT 15
ABOVE THE ARBUTUS NEIGHBOURHOOD IN KITSILANO IS A PIVOTAL EXAMPLE OF RESIDENTIAL INTEN-SIFICATION. THE REDEVELOPMENT OF A FORMER BREWERY AND SEVERAL FACTORIES HAS CREATED A
MEDIUM-DENSITY, LOW- TO MID-RISE PRECINCT ADJACENT TO A WELL-ESTABLISHED NEIGHBOUR-HOOD CONSISTING OF PRIMARILY ONE- AND TWO-FAMILY DWELLINGS.
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
16/40
British Columbia Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba Ontario Quebec Atlantic Provinces
w w w . v i c w e s t . c o m
Res i d e n t i a l
Comme r c i a l
I n du s t r i a l
Ag r i c u l t u r a l
When you need to achieve LEED
certification Vicwest has the products and technical
teams to help you tackle the most challenging sustainable building designs. For a
range of metal building products and responsive service you wont find anywhere,
visit us online. Vicwest helps you push the LEED
building envelope.
Emerging energy efficient
metal building products from Vicwest
CIRCLE REPLY CARD 20
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
17/40
CIRCLE REPLY CARD 21
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
18/40
PARTICIPACTION
18 CANADIAN ARCHITECT 08/08
Architects like to talk about their designs in
terms of intentionswhat they hope to achieve in
a building, and how they make sense of it, partic-
ularly to other architects. But if we think about
architecture like some critics think about cinema
or other art forms, the notion of reception is an
interesting one. How does the general public see
and experience architecture? How do they make
sense of it?
One name for this is reception theory, and
generally it only appears in architectural discus-
sions as post-occupancy evaluations, when
inhabitants are interviewed once a building is
complete. But what if the public could contribute
their views to a work being designedwhen a
building is still just a program, full of expecta-
tions and hopes for a certain use and site?
In this article, Id like to explore the juncture
where architect and end user meet. One critical
area where this happens is in the very first
encounter between an architect and a user, an
encounter that in some offices is given a primary
PROJECTS NSCAD UNIVERSITY PORT CAMPUS,HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA
PLAZA 2006 BUILDING, BROCK UNIVERSITY, SAINTCATHARINES, ONTARIO
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, UPEI, CHARLOTTETOWN,PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
TEXT CHRISTINE MACYPHOTOS STEVEN EVANS, UNLESS OTHERWISENOTED
THREE RECENT UNIVERSITY BUILDINGS LED BY MACKAY-LYONSSWEETAPPLE ARCHITECTS ILLUSTRATE THE PARTICIPATORY DESIGNPROCESS ON UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES IN CANADA.
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
19/40
place in the design process. This is participatory
design.
Participatory design has a history that goes
back to the 1970s, when landscape architect
Lawrence Halprin developed a collective creative
workshop process he called Take Part planning.
Its innovation was in being participatory and
cyclical rather than hierarchical and linear.1
Charles Moore, an early collaborator of Halprins,
was influenced by Take Part planning, in devel-
oping his own approach to participatory design.2
08/08 CANADIAN ARCHITECT 19
Moores advocacy of user participation in the
design process influenced a whole generation of
designers. One of these, Brian MacKay-Lyons of
MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects (MLSA),
brought these lessons to his own work and has
increasingly employed them over the past decade
in public commissions. Of his former teacher, he
writes: In the late 1980s, the American architect
Charles Moore said that the only architectural
truth that he had discovered was that participa-
tory design always works.3
UPEI School of Business, University of
Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown,
Prince Edward Island (2008)
The School of Business at the University of Prince
Edward Island involves a new building carefully
sited near a former university residence, Marian
Hall, also renovated as part of the project. The
new addition was placed to create two new court-
yards framed by existing buildings, effectively
extending the network of quadrangles on the
UPEI campus.The Centre for Enterprise & Entrepreneurship
is comprised of a pair of lecture theatres flanked
by double-height hallways filled with daylight. A
Market Street to the east serves as an informal
meeting place for students and faculty, while the
public atrium at the buildings southern en-
trance, Schurman Market Square, accommo-
dates ceremonies and larger events. The renovat-
ed Marian Hall contains offices and meeting
rooms for the school and other organizations.
At the outset of the project, the university had
completed its programming and even developed a
preliminary scheme, which they used to preparetheir Request for Proposals, expecting firms to
follow suit. Yet from the very beginning, MLSA
were critical of this scheme. They were con-
cerned that its block-like massing didnt take
into account the quadrangles, an important fea-
ture of the campus plan they felt should be
strengthened.
For this reason, MacKay-Lyons and Sweetapple
used the first site planning workshop to step
back and look at the larger campus. They showed
that the existing School of Business corridors
framed a quadrangle and that if the new building
was oriented a certain way, it would reinforce this
and strengthen the quadrangle idea over theentire campus. According to associated architect
David Lopes of North 46 Architecture, Thats
how they got away from the original design con-
cept that everyone had signed on for.
Subsequent participatory design sessions cov-
ered a wide range of issues with many different
constituents and user groups. The major build-
ing design session was directed towards School
of Business members. The goal was to have an
exchange about design ideas with School faculty,
but these sessions also had to work out classroom
numbers, sizes and seat count. Lopes reflected,
When someone is hired to do a job in PEI, peo-ple are ready to be asked for technical feedback,
but not qualitative issues.
Although the audio-visual and acoustic ses-
sions were strictly informational, the LEED ses-
sion conducted in collaboration with consultants
Enermodal enjoyed a vigourous back-and-forth
dialogue with knowledgeable facilities manage-
ment staff from the university. One result is a
well-developed mechanical design strategy for
the facility, utilizing geothermal heating and
cooling in radiant floors, abundant daylighting in
all spaces, and sensor-activated switches in hall-
ways and washrooms.
OPPOSITE WITH ITS GLAZED FAADES, SOUTH-FACING TERRACE AND A SIMPLE MATERIAL PALETTEACKNOWLEDGING THE EXISTING BRICK BUILDINGS ON CAMPUS, THE NEW SCHOOL OF BUSINESSAT THE UNIVERSITY OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND IS BOTH AN INVITING AND FRIENDLY EDUCATIONALFACILITY FOR STUDENTS. TOP FACILITATING SOCIAL INTERACTION AMONGST STUDENTS, THE INTERI-OR CORRIDORS OF THE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS OFFER IMPROMPTU PLACES TO MEET WHILE MAXI-MIZING OPPORTUNITIES TO CAPTURE THE MARITIME LIGHT.
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
20/4020 CANADIAN ARCHITECT 08/08
NSCAD University Port Campus, Halifax,
Nova Scotia (2006-07)
The new Port Campus for NSCAD University
(formerly the Nova Scotia College of Art and
Design) was carved out of a continuous industrial
shed that forms Pier 21 on the Halifax waterfront.
With the construction of modern terminals in the
1980s, this area was largely neglected until the
creation of the Pier 21 Immigration Museum in
1990 (designed by Lydon Lynch Architects).
Since then, much of this industrial district hasbeen renovatedfor cruise ships, artisan studios,
and retail spaces. In 2005, NSCAD University
arranged for a long-term lease of a section of the
pier building, ensuring space for expansion.
Before preparing their Request for Proposals,
NSCAD worked out the users of the new facility,
mostly departments displaced from their former
homes in historic buildings downtown. The
largest cohort included the equipment-intensive
crafts (such as ceramics, foundry, sculpture and
metal shop), that couldnt be moved into the col-
leges other facilities. This core group would be
augmented by the Colleges Foundation Programand Continuing Education, and possibly other
craft departments as well. NSCAD had also gone
through a year-long planning exercise with
Education Space Consultants from Toronto, to
identify their space requirements, and they
incorporated this document into their RFP.
After MLSA was hired in late 2005, one big
meeting in November got everything off to a start.
People were divided into groups of 10 persons at
each table, with a mix of disciplines represented,
along with one university administrator and one
architect. MLSA had prepared three boards with
footprints of the existing building and rough
floor plates for the upper floors. They hadcolour-coded the program functions (as lecture,
office/administration, studio, or support space)
and scaled them to the floor plates. At this point
in the process, says MacKay-Lyons, the program
is incomplete and atomistic. The aim of the
workshop, according to MLSA partner Talbot
Sweetapple, is to look for adjacencies, what goes
where, how it should be organized, and to figure
out what makes an art school, in terms of its
identity.
After two hours of work arranging the blocks in
various ways, the groups gathered together to
review the results. Certain commonly heldassumptions had emerged: 1) the heavy-duty
shops should be located on the main floor to
facilitate the movement of goods; 2) faculty
offices should be clustered near their teaching
areas (a decision that would distribute faculty
over all three levels); and 3) the vast unencum-
bered space of the warehouse shed was seen as a
positive aspect, not to be carved up to replicate
the small rooms of the schools historic down-
town campus. In Sweetapples words, the big
ideas for the building developed very quickly,
through widespread consensus on the basic
moves. After the workshop, MLSA took the
TOP MARKET STREET, AN ACTIVE STUDENT SPACE AT THE UPEI SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, PROVIDESINFORMAL TABLES AT WHICH TO WORK OR MEET, AS WELL AS ACCESS TO THE REQUISITE BREAK-OUT MEETING ROOMS FOUND IN MANY BUSINESS SCHOOLS. ABOVE ENTITLED MARKET SQUARE,THIS NORMALLY ACTIVE STUDENT LOUNGE PROVIDES A PERFECT OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS TONETWORK BETWEEN CLASSES.
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
21/40
boards back to their office to draw up the
schematic design.
This design workshop was followed by many,
many others specific to certain programs,
departments, operational, and facilities issues,
held with the architects, engineers, project man-
agers and members of the college. Public meet-
ings had as many as 500 people, while smaller
working sessions ranged from several dozen par-
ticipants to one-on-one conversations in coffee
shops. Artists, says NSCADs Academic Vice-President Barbara Lounder, are not by inclina-
tion used to the participatory process, preferring
rather to forge ahead on their own. A big part of
why we liked MacKay-Lyons Sweetapples pro-
posal was their willingness to work with artists
and really learn about their needs and require-
mentsthat we really appreciated.
The renovated building provides a 6,503-
square-metre new Port Campus, serving as the
primary academic centre for first-year students
and housing the industrial crafts programs. It
maintains the spacious feeling of the original
sheds, with six-metre-high ceilings and abun-
dant daylighting. An uninterrupted view of theharbour from the seafront workshops and studios
along 53 metres of glass curtain wall is among the
best in Halifax. The street side of the building is
clad in inconspicuous metal siding, in keeping
with the industrial aesthetic of the district and to
shield artists from the curious gaze of cruise-ship
passengers heading toward the citys waterfront
boardwalk.
Plaza 2006 Building, Brock University,
Saint Catharines, Ontario (2001-05)
This project, for Brock University in the Niagara
region of Ontario, had its start in 2004 under thechancellorship of the architect Raymond
Moriyama. The initial brief called for two build-
ings to be located directly south of Moriyama &
Teshima Architects Mackenzie Chown Complex
and Taro Hall, adjacent to his Alumni Student
Centre. One was to be a 4,100-square-metre
Campus Store Building that would serve as a
gateway to the campus, linking to the Student
Centre on multiple levels. A second 2,800-
square-metre Lifespan Development Research
Centre was planned for an adjacent site connect-
ed to the Mackenzie Chown Complex. The build-
ings were to be let out as a single design contract,
08/08 CANADIAN ARCHITECT 21
UPEI LONGITUDINAL SECTION AA
UPEI PLAN LEVEL 2
UPEI PLAN LEVEL 1
UPEI SITE PLAN
A A
A A
0 350
0 50
1 MARKET SQUARE2 SOUTH TERRACE3 MARIAN HALL BOARDROOMS4 OFFICES5 MARKET STREET6 BREAKOUT ROOMS7 BREAKOUT STUDY BENCH
1
2
3
3
4
44
5
66
7 8
9
10 10
4
11
12 13 13 14
SOUTH-WEST QUAD
NORTH-EAST QUAD
8 LECTURE THEATRE9 WEST HALL
10 TIERED CLASSROOMS11 MEZZANINE12 LECTURE THEATRE13 CLASSROOMS14 STUDY
PROJECT UPEI NEW SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, CHARLOTTETOWN, PRINCEEDWARD ISLANDARCHITECTS MACKAY-LYONS SWEETAPPLE ARCHITECTS LTD. (DESIGNARCHITECTS AND PRIME CONSULTANTS) IN ASSOCIATION WITH N46ARCHITECTURE AND DAVID PREMI ARCHITECT INC.CLIENT UNIVERSITY OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLANDARCHITECT TEAM BRIAN MACKAY-LYONS, TALBOT SWEETAPPLE, KEVINREID, CHAD JAMIESON, DAVID LOPES, EDITH GRANDBOIS, ERIC STOTTS,
JASON WARD, MATT SEEGMILLER, RAOUL KLUGE, GREG RICHARDSON,DIANA CARL, SAWA ROSTKOWSKA, MARCIN SZTABA, JEFF ATCHISONSTRUCTURAL HARLAND & ASSOCIATESMECHANICAL MCA CONSULTANTSELECTRICAL RICHARDSON CONSULTANTSLANDSCAPE EKISTICS PLANNING & DESIGNINTERIORS MACKAY-LYONS SWEETAPPLE ARCHITECTSCONTRACTORMARCO MARITIMES LTD.ACOUSTICS ACOUSTICS CONSULTANTSENVELOPE BALANCED SOLUTIONS INC.AREA 22,500 FT2 (NEW), 26,000 FT2 (RENOVATION)
BUDGET $9.6 MCOMPLETIONJANUARY 2008
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
22/40
CLIENT NSCAD UNIVERSITYARCHITECT TEAM BRIAN MACKAY-LYONS, TALBOTSWEETAPPLE, ERIC STOTTS, KEVIN REID, SAWA ROSTKOWSKA,MELANIE HAYNE, EDITH GRANDBOIS, MARC MACCAULL, JEFFATCHISON, JASON WARD, PETER BLACKIE, MORGAN CARTER,ALEX BOLEN, GREG RICHARDSONSTRUCTURAL CAMPBELL COMEAU ENGINEERINGMECHANICAL/ELECTRICALFC ONEILL SCRIVEN ANDASSOCIATESCIVIL OHALLORAN CAMPBELL CONSULTANTS LIMITEDCOSTING HANSCOMB LIMITED
22 CANADIAN ARCHITECT 08/08
NSCAD SITE PLAN 0 350
LEED CONSULTANT ENERMODAL ENGINEERINGENVIRONMENTAL JACQUES WHITFORDCODE DOUGLAS WHITEENVELOPE HALSALL ASSOCIATES LIMITEDFIRE RJ BARTLETT ASSOCIATES LIMITEDGENERAL CONTRACTORPCL CONSTRUCTORSCANADAAREA 2,000 FT2
BUDGET $10 MCOMPLETION SEPTEMBER 2007
PROJECT NSCAD UNIVERSITY PORT CAMPUS, HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIAARCHITECT MACKAY-LYONS SWEETAPPLE ARCHITECTS
TOP LOCATED IN THE UPPER LEFT OF THE PHOTOGRAPH, PARTNERTALBOT SWEETAPPLE OVERSEES A PARTICIPATORY DESIGN SESSIONWITH NSCAD STUDENTS AND FACULTY TO DETERMINE THE FINALSHAPE OF THE NEW DESIGN SCHOOL. MIDDLE A NIGHT VIEW OF THENEW NSCAD UNIVERSITY PORT CAMPUS CAPTURES THE REAR OF THEBUILDING. ABOVE LOOKING OUT AT HALIFAX HARBOUR, THE NSCADUNIVERSITY PORT CAMPUS MAINTAINS A WAREHOUSE/PIER ARCHITEC-TURAL AESTHETIC.
PROGRAMMATIC DIAGRAM
MLSARCHITECTS
ALVIN
COMITER
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
23/4008/08 CANADIAN ARCHITECT 23
NSCAD PLAN LEVEL 3
NSCAD PLAN LEVEL 2
NSCAD PLAN LEVEL 1
NSCAD SECTION A
1 ENTRY2 GALLERY3 LOBBY4 OFFICE5 WOOD SHOP6 SCULPTURE7 METAL SHOP8 WOOD FINISH
9 SLURRY ROOM10 FOUNDRY11 PATINA12 PLASTIC13 PRODUCT DESIGN14 MULTIPURPOSE15 PHOTO16 COMPUTER CLUSTER17 STUDIO18 EXHIBITION19 STUDENT LOUNGE20 SUPPORT/SERVICES21 CERAMICS22 KILN ROOM23 GLAZING24 MOLD MAKING25 CLAY MIXING
44
4
20 20
20
20 20
2122
2323
24
25
4 4 4 4 4 4444
1212 13
1415
16 16
17
17
1819 19
20
20
20
20
1 1
2
3
4
4
4
4
4
4 4 4 4 4444
5
5 6 7
8
9
1011
A
A
A
A
A
A
0 30
and were envisioned as key elements in campus
expansion southwards. The raised pedestrian
circulation system continues a network that is
well-established at Brock.
MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple was selected as the
design architect, in association with Rounthwaite
Dick and Hadley Architects (RDH). At the outset
of the project in the summer of 2004, they held
two design workshops at Brock: one for site plan-
ning, followed by a building workshop the day
after. In the first of these, a few dozen peopleworked with dry-erase markers and cut out
building footprints on maps of the campus, to
locate the new buildings in relation to the cam-
puss major features and its pedestrian and
vehicular circulation systems. The second work-
shop was much larger, involving over 80 people
divided into three teams, facilitated by architects
Talbot Sweetapple and Melanie Hayne from
MLSA, and Dave Premi from RDH. Brian
MacKay-Lyons and Bob Goyeche served as roving
critics, as did the engineering and landscape
consultants. Premi reflects on his experience in
the process: This was really the Integrated TeamApproach people talk about. You have to be open
to what comes out of the workshop, and not have
a pre-determined design. What I find remark-
able about this process is how Brian MacKay-
Lyons remains open to the look of the project
until very late into the process, even into
schematic design. By really listening to workshop
participants, you tend to get a much higher
degree of buy-in to the project.
In their workshops, MLSA want to understand
the users views on the spatial relationships
between different program elements and the
hierarchies of space (public, semi-public, pri-
vate) that are implicit in them.Well into the design phase, project cost esti-
mates were showing a significant escalation in
materials and labour costs, threatening the via-
bility of the project. The team went through a
complete redesign, maintaining the internal
hierarchies and spatial adjacencies within each
building by stacking the Lifespan Development
Building on top of the Campus Store. In this way,
the architects replaced two three-storey build-
ings, with all their associated foundation and
envelope costs, with one five-storey building.
One consequent challenge was bringing light into
the central area of the block. While on mostfloors, this zone could be programmed with labs
or transient functions, on a few floors, offices
had to be located in these areas. The solution was
to provide translucent panels next to the doors to
peripheral offices, so that light would pass into
the inner offices. Another economy was achieved
by switching to the Thermodeck system, which
supplies warm air through plenums built into the
structural decking. In Sweetapples words, This
allowed us to get rid of the ceilings and ductwork,
and delete three feet from each floor.
We see then, through these three university
buildings designed by MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
24/4024 CANADIAN ARCHITECT 08/08
BROCK UNIVERSITYTYPICAL FLOOR PLAN
BROCK UNIVERSITYGROUND-FLOOR PLAN
1 ENTRY2 ATRIUM3 COURTYARD4 STREET5 DISPLAY
1
2
3
4
5
6
7 8
8
9
10 10 1111
12
13
14
0 10M
8
BROCK SITE PLAN 0 30M
ARTHURSCHMONTOWER
TARO HALL
JUBILEECOURT
MACKENZIECHOWNCOMPLEX
PLAZA 2006ALUMNISTUDENTCENTRE
IsaacBrock
Blvd.
East
IsaacBrock
Blvd.
East
University Road WestMeterRoad
University Road
6 CHECK-OUT7 CAMPUS STORE8 BENCH9 SHIPPING/RECEIVING
10 CLASSROOM
TOP INSIDE BROCKS NEWEST CAMPUS BUILDING, THE STEEL STRUCTURE IS
CLEARLY EXPRESSED WHILE THE SPATIAL QUALITIES OF THE ATRIUM DEFINETHE LIMESTONE-CLAD SERVICE CORRIDORS AT EACH END OF THE FACILITY,
SERVING AS ARCHITECTURAL BOOKENDS. ABOVE THE CAREFULLY DETAILEDSTONE AND COPPER ELEMENTS CREATE A SOBER YET ELEGANT STUDENT
FACILITY AMIDST A CAMPUS LARGELY DOMINATED BY PARKING LOTS.
11 COMPUTER ROOM12 STUDY LOUNGE13 SEMINAR ROOM14 OFFICES
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
25/4008/08 CANADIAN ARCHITECT 25
FACULTY OFFICES(COPPER)
CAMPUS STORE/ATRIUM(GLASS)
CAMPUSSTORE/ATRIUM(GLASS)
FACULTY OFFICES(CHERRY WOOD)
SERVICE CORES(ESCARPMENTLIMESTONE)
SERVICE CORES(ESCARPMENTLIMESTONE)
PROGRAMMATIC DIAGRAM
Architects, that participatory design is a highly creative and evolving
process. Dave Premi reflects on this, looking back on his experience of the
collaboration: I have been involved with MacKay-Lyons SweetappleArchitects participatory design process on a number of buildings. Each
time we created a new process, since every client has its own requirements.
You have to mold the process each time to suit the requirements. Its not a
one-size-fits-all method.
The resulting buildings reflect each unique condition. While the projects
share a simplicity and clarity of form that mark them as distinctively
MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple works, they appear to have left behind a large
body of satisfied users, people who will inhabit these dwellings and appre-
ciate them, having had a part in their conception and making. CA
1 Lawrence Halprin and Jim Burns, Taking Part: A Workshop approach to Collective Creativity
(Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1 974) 27-29.2 The idea of participatory design has been developed further by Randy Hester, Henry
Sanoff, and architects such as Lucien Kroll and Giancarlo di Carlo. See Randolph T. Hester,Community Design Primer(Caspar, CA: Ridge Times Press, 1990); E. Henry Sanoff, Designing
With Community Participation (Stroudsburg, PA: Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, 1978); Nan
Ellin, Participatory Architecture on the Parisian Periphery: Lucien Krolls VignesBlanches in theJournal of Architectural Education 53, no. 3 (February 2000): 178-183.3 Malcolm Quantrill, Kenneth Frampton, Glen Murcutt,Plain Modern: the Architecture of
Brian MacKay-Lyons (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2005) 176.
Christine Macy is the incoming Dean at the Faculty of Architecture and Planning
at Dalhousie University, where she has taught since 1993. Her books include
Architecture and Nature (2003), Festival Architecture (2007) and the forth-
coming Dams (2008).
CLIENT BROCK UNIVERSITYARCHITECT TEAM BRIAN MACKAY-LYONS, TALBOTSWEETAPPLE, BOB GOYECHE, DAVID PREMI, MELANIEHAYNE, SANJOY PAL, JUSTIN BENNETT, SHELLEY VANDERWAL,CHAD JAMIESON, SAWA ROSTKOWSKA, KEVIN REIDCONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DAVID PREMI ARCHITECTINC.STRUCTURAL HALSALL ENGINEERS AND CONSULTANTSMECHANICAL/ELECTRICALJAIN AND ASSOCIATES
LANDSCAPE NAK DESIGN GROUPINTERIORS GHA DESIGN STUDIOS (CAMPUS STORE)CONTRACTORMERIT CONTRACTORS NIAGARAOTHER SPECIALIST CONSULTANTS TERMODECKCANADA, ENERMODAL ENGINEERING, CFMS-WESTCONSULTING INC.AREA 86,000 FT2
BUDGET $22 MCOMPLETION SEPTEMBER 2007
PROJECT PLAZA 2006, BROCK UNIVERSITY, ST. CATHARINES, ONTARIOARCHITECT MACKAY-LYONS SWEETAPPLE ARCHITECTS IN ASSOCIATION WITH ROUNTHWAITE, DICK & HADLEYARCHITECTS
TOP AND MIDDLE DERIVED FROM A SERIES OF CLEARLY STATED ORGANIZA-TIONAL PRINCIPLES (AND SEEN IN THE PROGRAMMATIC DIAGRAMSLOCATED ABOVE LEFT), THE NEW PLAZA 2006 AT BROCK UNIVERSITY DIS-PLAYS ITS STOIC COMPOSITION OF LIMESTONE, GLASS AND COPPER.ABOVE BRIAN MACKAY-LYONS LEADS A PARTICIPATORY DESIGN SESSIONWITH UNIVERSITY STAFF AND FACULTY.
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
26/40
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
27/40
TM
A sound investment fora sound environment
Sound-control and
crack-isolation membrane
Mapesonic SM
Mapesonic
SMMapesonic
SM
CIRCLE REPLY CARD 23
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
28/40
The Huang River flows north through Shanghai
toward the East China Sea. On its eastern bank is
the economic region of Pudong, a free-market
trade zone set up by the Chinese government in
the early 1990s. Technically part of the larger city,
Pudong functions semi-autonomously; it has
become cosmopolitan and wealthy. In little more
than 15 years, farm fields have morphed into a
city: teeming streets, high-rise apartments, con-
gestion, a giant airport, and a skyline thick with
construction cranes.
In 1989, Toronto-based B+H, formerly known
as Bregman + Hamann Architects, set up an officein Shanghai. With great foresight, they entered
the Chinese market at an auspicious time. One of
the legacies of the Cultural Revolution was the
eradication of technical knowledge related to
building science and construction. As certain
aspects of the Communist grip on the economy
relaxed, the country began looking to foreign
firms whose expertise and knowledge could bring
an international quality to the infrastructure they
were rebuilding. And in the beginning, B+H
worked on large government-sponsored civic
projects like hospitals, universities and airports.
Chinas economic boom allowed already large
Shanghai to grow rapidly. In an effort to modern-ize, the government began expropriating farm-
land around the city, where housing and industry
could be built without constraint. At the same
time, ginseng, an herbal plant which was once
little known outside Asia, became popular in the
West for its reputed healing powers. Demand for
it caused prices to spike. A wealthy ginseng
farmer known as Mr. San (or Mr. Big to his staff
and clients), convinced the government to spare
his land from development. His farm was used as
a showcase to mitigate the media outcry over land
seizures. As development increased in the sur-
rounding area, so did the value of his land.San began to develop his property in 2004. His
parcel of land was now in the middle of a growing
urban area, and was located above a future subway
station. The project undertaken by San is named
the You You International Plaza, and called for
2.1 million square feet comprising a hotel, resi-
dences, office and retail space. An international
ONLY YOU YOUPROJECT YOU YOU INTERNATIONAL PLAZA,PUDONG DISTRICT, SHANGHAI, CHINAARCHITE CTS B+H ARCHITECTS AND ECADITEXT DAVID STEINERPHOTOS KERUN IP
RIGHT A WOMAN WALKS BENEATH THE SER-RATED BUILDING ENVELOPE OF THE NEWRENTAL TOWER. OPPOSITE THE ATRIUM OF THEBUSTLING SHOPPING CENTRE LOCATED IN THEYOU YOU INTERNATIONAL PLAZA.
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
29/4008/08 CANADIAN ARCHITECT 29
HAVING OPERATED A SIZEABLE SHANGHAI OFFICE FOR MANY YEARS, TORONTOFIRM B+H HAS DESIGNED AND BUILT SEVERAL PROJECTS IN CHINA, ONE OF WHICHIS THIS $250-MILLION COMPLEX ON THE SITE OF A FORMER GINSENG FARM.
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
30/4030 CANADIAN ARCHITECT 08/08
GROUND FLOOR 0 10M
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
1 SUBWAY ENTRANCE2 MAIN ENTRY3 ACCESS TO BELOW-GRADE PARKING4 HOTEL LOBBY5 FRONT DESK6 80-SEAT RESTAURANT7 CAF8 LOADING AREA9 COURTYARD
10 PUBLIC PROMENADE11 300-SEAT RESTAURANT12 APARTMENT DROP-OFF13 ENTRY TO APARTMENTS14 APARTMENT LOBBY15 ENTRY TO CONFERENCE CENTRE ABOVE16 ENTRY TO SPA17 PIANO BAR18 GIFT SHOP
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
31/40
competition was held, as mandated by the govern-ment, and B+H won. They partnered with a local
institutea quasi-private company comprised of
architects, engineers and draftspeopleto handle
the production drawings and site supervision. The
entry proposal consisted of two podium pieces
divided by a small road, and a series of four point
towers set on top. Three towers, oblong in shape,
were originally lined up on one podium, and
angled on the site to maximize views and sunlight.
The fourth tower was set on another podium and
would be twice the height and girth of the others.
The shorter three would be for housing, while the
fourth was to be allocated for a hotel and officecomplex. Retail space would be accommodated
beneath the towers.
Building codes are strict in Shanghai: all
rooms, including kitchens and bathrooms, must
have access to light and natural ventilation re-
gardless of their height from the ground. Primary
rooms, such as the master bedroom and living
area, are required to face south. Long, double-
loaded corridors are not valued by Chinese con-
sumers, and this results in compact, elegant
building forms. This is what B+H eventually
delivered for the You You project.
Ultimately, the design shifted from four towers
to three: one is currently a Sheraton Hotel, anoth-er is filled with rental apartments, and the third is
devoted to office space. The client is changing
the entire project all the time, said Toronto-
based Douglas Birkenshaw, the lead design part-
ner for You You. Nothing in the program was defi-
nite as the project pieces developed through an
iterative process. Construction financing is dif-
ferent in China: a solid business plan isnt needed
nor is a definitive timeline. It is far easier to
acquire financing, assuming you have the right
connections. San even began construction without
a hotel partnerthe prime tenant.
They are unusually cavalier about it all, saidKevin Stelzer, a senior associate in the Toronto
office, referring to the clients appetite for risk.
Meetings with San and his staff were filled with
brief presentations by B+H, social protocol, and
heavy smoking. San would speak the least and
always last. Wendy Qiu, a Chinese architect, led the
work in B+Hs China office. The studio is bilingual
and staffed mostly by local architects, though
translators were part of the project team. Despite
cultural differences, the client and the city are
serious about quality, both in urban design and
architecture. Many of the citys planners are young,
fluent in numerous languages, and educated in
08/08 CANADIAN ARCHITECT 31
RIGHT DESIGNERS AND LANDSCAPE ARCHI-TECTS HAD TO WORK HARD IN CONCEALINGTHE NUMEROUS MECHANICAL VENTS LOCAT-ED AROUND THE PERIMETER OF THE COMPLEX.MULTIPLE ENTRANCES SIGNALLED A NEED FORA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE SENSITIVE TOPEDESTRIANS. MIDDLE A VIEW OF THE ENTIREPROJECT. BOTTOM THE SITE PLAN ILLUSTRATES THELOCATION OF THE THREE TOWERS AND THESHOPPING PLAZA.
SITE PLAN
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
32/4032 CANADIAN ARCHITECT 08/08
Canadian who has lived there for five years. For
this reason, government control is strenuous.
A majority of the labour is unskilled, resulting in
increased legislation to deal with its quality. When
projects are complete, the contractor simply adds
more workers, compounding the difficulties of
quality control. Cvornyek believes that the regula-
tions in Chinas main cities are rigorous and that a
repeat of the rural building failures caused by the
earthquakes in May 2008 would be unlikely.
After four years of design and construction, theYou You International Plaza opened. B+Hs scheme
was taken to a level of advanced design develop-
ment and then detailed by the local institute in a
manner consistent with the design drawings. In
the hotel tower, an interior atrium garden carved
out of the south side rises up the height of the
building, and is defined on the exterior by a sub-
tle change in glass treatment. The atrium air
forms a dynamic buffer zone to reduce the mech-
anical loads. Displacement ventilation under the
raised flooring of the offices and a green roof over
the lobby of the hotel were also retained. A court-
yard garden set in the middle of the block intowhich the restaurants, apartments and hotel lobby
face, was built symmetrically. Originally not en-
dorsed by Birkenshaws team, it was nevertheless
well-crafted and in general conformity with B+Hs
intent. In recent years, Chinese building codes
have been published in a series of books and are
changing constantly, but have been adapted to
enforce greater energy savings. Insulation is not
common in Shanghai, a climate milder than
Vancouver, and the client asked that it not be in-
cluded. B+H advised to the contrary and installed
insulation to a thickness of 50 millimetres. The
windows, originally single pane, were installed as
double-glazed units.The You You Plaza is defined by mature land-
scaping, spare detailing, an urbane street canopy
at the hotel entrance, and sunny, skylit retail
spaces. All this signals a desire by Chinese clients
to create structures that depart from dreary con-
crete blocks or garish icons. Simple apartment
housing, considered old after only 10 to 20 years,
is being replaced with architecture that is con-
temporary and sophisticated. However, it is
important to note that the replacements evidence
high standards of quality and design. There is an
overwhelming optimism and excitement, says
Cvornyek. The majority of the country isinvolved in recreating the nation as a world
power, and there is certainly collective agree-
ment on realizing that vision. CA
David Steiner is a freelance writer living in Ontar io.
TOP A VIEW OF THE LANDSCAPED INTERIOR COURTYARD. ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT A SCULPTURAL STAIR TAKESVISITORS UP TOWARD THE CONFERENCE CENTRE; THE CENTRAL TOWER WITH A VIEW OF SHANG-HAIS PUDONG REGION IN THE BACKGROUND.
other places, often North America.
Much of the sophistication comes from a will-
ingness to improve. The spirit of the place, says
Birkenshaw, is about embracing the future and a
young culture that is keen on experimentation.
Working with consultants like B+H, the Chinese
construction industry is reacquiring an inter-
national expertise. Quality materials are now
locally available, and much of the You You complex
was fabricated nearby. A penchant by Chinese
engineers for outsized, conservative concrete
structure has given way to steel and curtain-wall
construction. It also helps that labour is cheap.
The skin of the You You towers would be too
expensive for a rental building anywhere other
than perhaps New York or London. It takes on a
zig-zag shape where the operable windows are
located on the short, projecting side, and a frit
pattern covers the top and bottom of each glass
panel. Any piece of construction is dependent on
the individual assembling it, said Karen
Cvornyek, principal of B+Hs China office and a
CLIENT SHANGHAI YOU YOU INTERNATIONAL PLAZA CO., LTD.ARCHIT ECT TEAM KAREN CVORNYEK, DOUGLAS BIRKENSHAW, WENDYQIU, MARK BEREST, KEVIN STELZER, SUSAN JIANG, YOUSUN XIE, BIN LIN,PHILIP SHEN, KAIYAN SU, HAZEL CHENG, CHRISTINE LUK, GEOFFHODGETTS, GABRIELA SAVU, TANTAN LISTRUCTURAL/MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL/LANDSCAPEECADIINTERIORS HONGKONG HBACONTRACTORSHANGHAI CONSTRUCTION GROUP DIVISION 1AREA 200,000 M2
BUDGET $251.5 M/1,700,000,000 RMB (INCLUDING INTERIOR)COMPLETION 2007
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
33/40
EligibilityProjects must be in the design stage, scheduled for construction or underconstruction but not substantially complete by September 16, 2008. Allprojects must be commissioned by a client with the intention to build thesubmitted proposal. All building types and concisely presented urbandesign schemes are eligible.
Judging CriteriaAwards are given for architectural design excellence. Jurors will consider theschemes response to the clients program, site, and geographic and socialcontext. They will evaluate its physical organization, form, structure, mate-rials and environmental features.
Presentation1. Anonymity. The designers name must not appear on the submission except
on the entry form. The project name and location should be identified.2. Each entry must be securely fastened in a folder or binder of dimensions
no greater than 14 17; oversized panels will not be accepted. One (1)copy of this entry form must be enclosed within an envelope and affixedto the front of each folder, preferably without the use of Scotch tape oradhesives. Clips are ideal.
3. Each project folder must include:a) first pagea brief description of the projectb) second pagea brief description indicating the projects ability to
address some or all of the following issues:i) context and/or urban design componentsii) integration of sustainable designiii) innovation in addressing program and/or the clients require-
mentsiv) technical considerations through building materials and/or sys-
temsc) drawings/images including site plan, floor plans, sections, elevations
and/or model views
4. Please do not submit any material in CD, DVD, or any other audio-visualformat not confined to two dimensions, as it will not be considered.
Entry Fee$50.00 per entry ($47.62 + $2.38 GST). Please make cheques payable toCanadian Architect. GST registration #890939689RT0001.
PublicationWinners will be published in a special issue of Canadian Architect inDecember 2008. Winners grant Canadian Architect first publication rightsfor their winning submissions.
AwardsFramed certificates will be given to each winning architect team and client.Details to follow upon notification of winners.
Notification of WinnersAward winners will be notified after judging takes place in October 2008.
DeadlineEntries will be accepted after August 14, 2008. Send all entries to arrive by
5:00 pm on Tuesday, September 16, 2008 to:
Awards of Excellence 2008Canadian Architect
12 Concorde PlaceSuite 800Toronto, OntarioM3C 4J2
Return of EntriesEntries will not be returned.
Name of Project
Name of Firm
Address City & Province Postal Code
Telephone Fax E-mail
Architect/Architectural Graduate submitting the project Signature
according to the conditions above
Client Client Telephone
2008 AWARDS OF EXCELLENCECanadian Architectinvites architects registered in Canada and architectural graduatesto enter the magazines 2008 Awards of Excellence.
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
34/4034 CANADIAN ARCHITECT 08/08
TECHNICAL
the junket itself revealed a great deal about the
future of architecture. Over 100 journalists
including myselffrom all over the world wereflown to San Francisco where we were wined,
dined and entertained at the luxurious MarkHopkins Hotel. There is little doubt that the
event was superbly organized. Theatrical lightingaccented well-prepared speeches and announce-
ments that rolled off teleprompters with clock-work precision. The PowerPoint presentations
were carefully designed with a high degree ofprofessionalism and sophistication, and each was
informative and to the point. A promotional ani-mation about Santiago Calatravas Spire in
Chicago was created by a rising Hollywood direc-tor using various Autodesk packages, and its
screening was worthy of consideration by theAcademy. Key Autodesk personnel made them-
selves readily available for carefully scheduledone-on-one interviews. There was even a bag of
swag that included a free graphics card.There was also much to admire in Autodesks
commitment to the critical issues of design. Theyare proactive in promoting and facilitating sus-
tainable design; they are committed to BuildingInformation Modelling or BIM; and they have
funded a research chair in design education and
innovation at the National Institute of Design inIndia.
It was so impressive that it made me long forthe days when dorks and weirdos would congre-
gate in poorly organized panels to rant about thefuture of CAD in forums such as the now-defunct
A/E/C Systems, to demonstrate software thatrarely worked (but which they had made them-
selves), and to show off awkward graphics in gar-ish colours that had taken days to render. These
were the days when Autodesks only real productwas AutoCAD and, as I often reminded readers, it
wasnt very good. Nonetheless, by bringing CADto the personal computer in 1982 at a price of
around $1,000 US, there is little doubt thatAutodesk revolutionized the world of CAD and
architecture.Autodesks current position was by no means
guaranteed in those days. Its early attempts todiversify with products such as Xanadu for hyper-
text and Cyberspace for virtual reality were fail-ures and its rat line for reporting illegal copies of
AutoCAD was an unfortunate exercise in publicrelations. Quietly (but aggressively), however,AutoDesk came to dominate the world of visuali-
zation through a series of strategic acquisitions.In 1998 they purchased Montreal-based Discreet
Logic, known for its digital special-effects soft-ware, for $520 million US in stock. In 2002 they
acquired Revit for $133 million US in cash. In2005 they purchased Toronto-based Alias for
$182 million US in cash, which gave them pack-ages such as Maya (for animation) and Studio (for
automotive and industrial design). And in 2007,they bought construction-management software
maker NavisWorks for $25 million US in cash.During World Press Days, they announced that
they would acquire both Green Building Studioand Carmel Software for undisclosed amounts to
strengthen their offerings in the area of sustain-able design. Combined with their own offerings
Writing about architecture and computers is not alucrative profession, nor is it filled with the perks
of more glamorous forms of journalism. In themore than 20 years that I have written for Cana-dian Architect, the free lunches have been few andfar betweenwhich at least keeps me honest. Last
spring, however, I was invited on what can onlybe described as a junket to attend Autodesks
World Press Days in San Francisco. What I saw
and heard surprised, delighted, amused andoccasionally disturbed me.
The nature of the event is worth noting since
TOP AND ABOVE LEFT DESIGNED BY FOSTER +PARTNERS AND THE ZEIDLER PARTNERSHIP, THE
ENCANA CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS INCALGARY WAS DESIGNED AND DEVELOPED
WITH THE HELP OF AUTODESKS REVIT, A BIMPROGRAM DESTINED TO OVERTAKE AUTOCAD
IN A FEW YEARS.
ROLL UP THE BIM TO WIN
SOFTWARE COMPANIES CONTINUE TO ROLL OUT
NEW BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING (BIM)SOFTWARE AS ARCHITECTS LEARN TO ADJUST TO
THE NEW REALITIES OF CAD PRODUCTION IN
THEIR OFFICES.
TEXT DOUGLAS MACLEOD
COURTESYZEIDLER
PARTNERSHIP
COURTESYZEIDLERPARTNERSHIP
-
8/10/2019 Canadian Architect - 2008 August
35/40
true of products such as Maya and 3ds Max.
Nonetheless, it is clear that they now have suf-ficient resources and market share to drive the
acceptance of BIM or any other approach theychoose. BIM could be the most important devel-
opment in CAD (and architecture) of this decadebecause it could transform our approach to
design and documentation. Theoretically, BIMwould allow architects to develop a data-driven
model that would not only form the source of allrepresentations of a building but would also be
shared across all phases and disciplines involved
in the design, construction and operation of abuilding. In effect, the model would be the con-
tract and its documentation. Such a model wouldinclude not only the geometries of building com-
ponents but also information such as their cost,performance specifications and even their car-
bon footprint. A complete model developed usingBIM would provide architects and engineers with
unprecedented opportunities for analyzing thebehaviour of a building before it was built. The
problem is that a complete model may be anunattainable goal.
Given that one piece of inaccurate data canundermine the integrity of the model, who
should enter, verify and maintain that data? Thearchitect? The engineer? The manufacturer? Or a
company such as Autodesk? Given the domi-nance of Autodesk, will BIM become a propri-
etary standard or an open-source format? Whatabout transferring data between models? Given
the vast array of Autodesk packages, it was not
surprising to find that files and data could not beeasily transferred between its own products, but
BIM demands that data be easily and accuratelytransferred between multiple packages by multi-
ple vendors. The profession needs to think verycarefully about BIM and its implementation.
BIM could add a whole new layer of functional-
ity to CAD, but it will probably mean more work(and perhaps liability) for architects and design-
ers as they try to maintain an accurate modelthroughout the life cycle of a building. Unfortu-
nately, if past history is any indication, the pro-fession probably wont be able to profit from this
development although Autodesk probably will.Architects gave away the store when they began
providing their AutoCAD files to clients at noextra cost so its hard to imagine that they wont
do the same with BIM. Unlike AutoDesk, archi-tects have a poor track record in understanding
the business of building. CA
Douglas MacLeod is the Executive Director of the
Okanagan Science and Technology Council and the
former Executive Director of the Canadian Design
Research Network. He invites you to participate in his
latest research project, the Architecture of Cyberspace,
by visiting the following URL and filling out the
online survey: http://websurvey.sfu.ca/survey/
13230518. For more information, please contact Doug
and packages, this means that Autodesk domi-
nates or has major products in every area of visu-alization from GIS to character animation. As
former CEO Carol Bartz is reported to have said,
Look around you: if God didnt create it,AutoCAD did.
The only challenge to Autodesk in the foresee-able future may come from open-source or free
products such as Google SketchUp. The latest ver-sion of AutoCAD retails for $3,995 US so while
SketchUp doesnt have anywhere near the capabil-ities of Revit or AutoCAD, it does have a distinct
price advantage and is popular with students.Today, however, according to company presi-
dent and CEO Carl Bass, the installed base ofAutodesk products is 9 million worldwide with
750,000 new users being added each year. In avery real sense, the future of computer-aided
design is the future of Autodesk. Such marketdominance is always worrisome but in this case it
is also confusing. AutoCAD and Revit, for exam-ple, would