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Volume 60 Number 5

october/november 2010

Editor

Peter Sobchak Legal Editor

Jeffrey W. Lem Contributors

Dan Brown, Stephen Carpenter, David Forgione, Pamela Green, Richard Griffin, Marti Mueller, Rhys Phillips, David G. Reiner, Thomas Scott Art Director

Andrea M. Smith Circulation Manager

Beata Olechnowicz Tel: (416) 442-5600 ext 3543 Reader Services

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Features 12. Testing the Liability Shield / The Supreme Court of Canada revisits the strength and scope of exculpatory provisions in the context of tendering contracts. By Jeffrey W. Lem and David G. Reiner 14. Finding Top Talent During Economic Recovery / How the building and construction industries can rise to the challenge. By Dan Brown 16. What’s Old Can Be New / Municipalities can take advantage of surplus public buildings to not only strengthen and enliven the public realm, but also raise much needed revenues.

By Richard Griffin and Thomas Scott

18. Housing the Spark / A diverse portfolio of underutilized buildings across Toronto that Artscape has transformed into multi-tenant space for the arts and culture sector illustrates the power of the artistic impulse in creative city building. By Rhys Phillips

22. Giving the Past a Future / Intended to transform the way we think about our cities, the revitalized Evergreen Brick Works aims to demonstrate and promote practical solutions that make communities sustainable and more livable. By Peter Sobchak

24. An Object for their Affection / Stantec Architecture was tasked with repurposing a university campus gathering place that, far from living up to its name, students rarely used. By Marti Mueller

26. Here Comes the Sun / How rooftop solar panel “farms” can turn sunshine into dollars. By Pamela Green and David Forgione

28. The Power of Bubbles / Concrete slabs filled with plastic balls are helping build a new think tank in southern Ontario. By Peter Sobchak

Departments 6 Editor’s Notes

8 Upfront

29 Infosource

30 Viewpoint

COVER: Building 4 of the Evergreen Brick Works, in Toronto. Image © Peter Sobchak Above images courtesy of: Artscape; Peter Sobchak; Philippe Roulston, Stantec; Enfinity Canada Ltd.

editor’s notes

Stepping into the conservation conversation It has been said that any recent building project, whether a completely new composition or the modification of a previously existing structure, is like stepping into the middle of a conversation and then stepping away before it is finished. I like this portrayal because it helps remind us that these conversations occur both beyond us yet are affected by us. This is why when we introduce a new piece into a setting whose character is highly valued we must proceed with caution and delicacy.

However this doesn’t mean change should be avoided in favour of placing benevolence and respect ahead of originality and newness, and crippling innovation to produce characterless, static replication. What often bothers me is when building within an urban district with a strong historical character requires that all new projects promote compliance, and an instinctual avoidance of interventions that would alter or redefine the pre-existing character, however fascinating they may appear.

I obviously still believe that in preserving the historicity of buildings, either individually or as an ensemble, we also contribute to the wholeness of a city. But I want to stress that cities are always in the process of being built and rebuilt. Which is why what Evergreen has done to the Brick Works, and the diverse

portfolio of underutilized buildings across Toronto that Artscape has transformed into multi-tenant space development for the arts and culture sector, is so compelling. This is a paradigm that reflects the thinking of Toronto’s adopted daughter Jane Jacobs – a diversity of not only uses and inhabitants but also of the buildings themselves are key in creating new and healthy urban places.

Daring formal experimentation, programmatic innovation, and technological progress are not only inescapable but a necessary part of the maturation of neighbourhoods — something that never ends. Obviously they should not be pursued in ways that injure the fabric of historic buildings and cities, but should also not be stymied by a nostalgic evocation of historical models and traditional building materials that seem to characterize the conservation ethic.

As David Lowenthal said in his book The Past Is a Foreign Country, “When we realize that past and present are not exclusive but inseparable realms, we cast off preservation’s self-defeating insistence on a fixed and stable past. Only by altering and adding to what we save does our heritage remain real, alive, and comprehensible.” B

Peter Sobchak

Building welcomes your opinions.

E-mail your comments to editor@building.ca

READ Preventing the Next Urban Water Crisis / In a chapter from his new book Dry Run, Jerry Yudelson discusses the vital linkages between water, energy use, urban development and climate change, and best practices for achieving “net zero” water use in the built environment.

Construction Law in Canada / In an excerpt from the new edition of Construction Law in Canada, Timothy J. Murphy discusses Construction Delivery Methods, where parties entering a construction project contractual relationship seek to assign responsibilities and allocate risk.

EXPLORE The diverse portfolio of underutilized buildings across Toronto that Artscape has transformed into multi-tenant space development for the arts and culture sector in neighbourhoods such as West Queen West, Liberty Village, Parkdale, the Distillery District, and Toronto Island.

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upfront

Ontario’s unionized ICI construction sector settles contracts without work stoppages

Parking is not getting any cheaper as rates continue to climb

TORONTO — Canadian drivers continue to feel the pinch when pulling into the parking lot, as parking rates across Canada kept climbing over the past year according to Colliers International’s 10th Annual Parking Rate Survey. The median monthly parking rate reached $224.10 while the median daily rate rose to $14.83, both inching by two per cent. This represents a moderate rate gain compared to the 9.9 per cent rate increase experienced during the 2008/2009 period.

“Parking garages are one of the only commercial real estate sub-sectors that seemed to remain stable even during an economic turmoil,” says Wayne Duong, Director of Research with Colliers International in Canada. With the economy in recovery mode, a stronger labour market, renewed office leasing activity and limited new parking supply, Colliers expects parking rates to continue their upward trajectory, especially toward the second half of 2011. “Additionally, the limited supply of only ten new parking garages with 1,800 spots added over the next 24 months will contribute to the expected rate increases,” says Duong.

Of the 12 major cities surveyed across Canada, Calgary maintained its top rank as the most expensive city to park with a median unreserved monthly parking price tag hitting $453.38.

The city was also the only one that made it into the global list of the priciest cities to park, ranking 14th. Toronto ($336.25), Montreal ($280.62), Edmonton ($275.00), and Vancouver ($266.81) round up the top five priciest Canadian cities to own an unreserved monthly parking spot.

However, what may seem to Canadian consumers as outrageously high parking fees can be considered a bargain when compared to parking rates in some U.S., European, Asian and even Australian cities. Globally, London ranked as the most expensive city in the world to park, with an astronomical US$933 median price for a monthly spot. Hong Kong (US$744.72), Tokyo (US$654.00), Zurich (US$605.64) and Sydney (US$591.28) completed the group of top five most expensive cities to park. The Big Apple (midtown US$538.00, ranked 8th), Boston (US$425.00, ranked 18th) and San Francisco (US$375.00, ranked 22nd) were the three U.S. cities to enter the global top 25 priciest cities to park.

8 building

october/november 2010

TORONTO — Ontario’s unionized industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) construction industry has recently completed a round of collective bargaining with no work stoppages. Patrick Dillon of the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario indicated that he was “encouraged by the fact that negotiations were completed relatively smoothly, especially in light of the economic uncertainties that the industry faces.” Meanwhile, David Brisbin of the Construction Employers Coordinating Council of Ontario noted that there was a certain “maturity to the process” and added that “all parties, on both sides of the table, wanted to get down to work on agreements that provide stability going forward.” Sean Strickland, CEO of the Ontario Construction Secretariat (OCS) remarked that “he was encouraged but not surprised by the ability of all parties to work together and accomplish the common goal of obtaining an agreement without a strike or lockout.”

While most trades will see steady or successively higher wage increases through their three year agreements, there are a few trades which have taken a more conservative strategy. For instance, some trades have opted to allow a more subdued wage increase in the second year of their agreements, compared to year one. Others have settled on a more moderate wage gain occurring in the final year of their agreements.

Looking back through history, there have been a number of measures undertaken which have improved labour-management relations and lessened labour disruptions. In 1977, legislation was passed requiring province-wide, single trade ICI negotiations. This helped make the process more organized by eliminating the fragmented nature of bargaining. The advent of this bargaining system proved immediately beneficial as the number of construction work stoppages dropped to 93 over the period of 1980-1989 from 259 in the prior decade.

This positive trend towards fewer labour disruptions in the construction industry has continued. For instance, there were over one million person-days lost to work stoppages from 1989-1992, according to the Ministry of Labour. However, from 1993 to 2010 — spanning 18 years — there were a little over 490,000 persondays lost, a reduction of over 50 per cent compared to 1989-1992.

Enermodal named one of fastest growing firms in North America

KITCHENER, Ont. — Enermodal Engineering was named to the ZweigWhite HotFirm 2010 list. This is Enermodal’s second time on the list and one of only a handful of Canadian-owned firms. The annual list of 150 North American architecture and engineering companies calculates the fastest growing firms based on the percentage and dollar increase in revenue over the past three years. “We are pleased that the continuing interest in energy efficiency and green buildings has translated into sustainable corporate growth in our industry,” said Stephen Carpenter, president of Enermodal Engineering.

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upfront

Waterfront Toronto selects Hines to develop next downtown neighbourhood

Rendering courtesy of Hines.

TORONTO — Real estate firm Hines has been chosen to develop Toronto’s waterfront neighbourhood of Bayside into a mixed-use neighbourhood of 1,700 homes with a retail, restaurant and entertainment corridor, and office and employment space for 2,400 jobs. Situated in the emerging East Bayfront waterfront district, the Bayside site consists of four hectares of underutilized city-owned land south of Queens Quay Boulevard between Lower Sherbourne and Parliament streets. Hines’ winning proposal included a design team led by architect Cesar Pelli, partnering with Toronto-based Adamson Architects, and is expected to be completed by 2021.

The Bayside site will be the single largest parcel of land developed to date by Waterfront Toronto. Backed by an $800-million private sector investment, the development will result in approximately $1.6 billion in total economic activity and $20 million in development charges for the City of Toronto. To promote lasting economic development, Bayside is being targeted as an employment hub on the waterfront, particularly for knowledge-based industries such as information and communication technology companies and the creative sector.

In addition to meeting or exceeding Waterfront Toronto’s Mandatory Green Building Requirements, Hines is planning a number of strategic green programs for Bayside, including the implementation of the Hines GREEN OFFICE Tenant Program, which enhances the sustainable features and operations of employer spaces in commercial buildings. The firm has also proposed the creation of an ENERGY STAR pilot program for commercial construction, which would see Hines partner with Natural Resources Canada to expand the Canadian Building Standard for single-family residential construction into commercial development.

Bayside Bonnycastle Street at night.

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october/november 2010

Hines’ plans for Bayside will deliver a significant retail and entertainment destination on Bonnycastle Street that will provide connections to neighbouring public spaces, including the soonto-be-completed Sherbourne Common, Queens Quay linear park, and the Water’s Edge Promenade. To ensure the neighbourhood is just as vibrant during the colder months, the design team drew inspiration from successful winter environments like Québec City, Montréal and Stockholm. These considerations are evident in the area’s non-linear street network, which creates a variety of intimate and weather protected spaces, and the planned construction of a winter garden.

Green Key Eco-Rating Program reaches 1,500+ participants

OTTAWA — The Hotel Association of Canada has announced that more than 1,500 hotels are now actively engaged in the Green Key Eco-Rating Program — which ranks, certifies and inspects hotels and resorts based on their commitment to sustainable “green” operations — following the signing up of Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Accor North America, MGM Resorts International, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and Carlson US properties.

The Green Key Eco-Rating Program evaluates hotels on a scale of one to five Keys, with five Keys being the highest ranking.

Results are based on a comprehensive evaluation of the hotel’s sustainability efforts. Upon completion of the Green Key audit, the property is awarded a Key ranking, as well as a comprehensive performance report that includes recommendations, best practices and potential areas for improvement and savings.

Zurich’s North America Commercial Construction unit introduces enhanced professional liability coverage for architects and engineers

SCHAUMBURG, ILL. — Zurich, a property and casualty insurance provider globally and in North America, has introduced an enhanced professional liability policy aimed at design firms of all sizes that provide architectural and engineering services to the construction industry. Specialized coverage options are also available to mid-sized and large firms with annual fees in excess of $5 million. “With this newly enhanced policy, qualified customers are covered against claims alleging negligent performance, whether direct or incidental,” said Scott Rasor, head of Construction for Zurich’s North America Commercial business division.

Coverage enhancements include: technology coverage for Web site and database design, design and maintenance of computer programs, business information modeling and electronic data transmission when done in conjunction with professional services; an expanded definition of professional services to include scientists, technical consultants, technology services, and LEED accredited professionals; punitive damages where allowed by law; automatic newly acquired or formed entities coverage for 90 days; a deductible credit of up to $25,000 when mediation

upfront

is used. There are also a number of program options, including: intermediate and large deductibles; Specific Project Excess limits with no minimum number of endorsements; limits of liability for practice and project-specific policies up to $25 million.

Birdair selected to retrofit Canada Place’s sail roof

BUFFALO, NY — Birdair, Inc., a contractor of lightweight longspan roofing systems and tensile structures, has been selected to provide the updated tensile roofing system for Canada Place in Vancouver, which houses the Port Metro Vancouver cruise ship terminal and corporate office, the Vancouver Convention Centre East, the Pan Pacific Hotel Vancouver, the World Trade Centre office tower and the VINCI parkade.

As the manufacturer of Canada Place’s original sail fabric, Birdair will serve as roofing sub-contractor for the Vancouver landmark, replacing the structure’s current roof with 91,210 square feet of TiO2-coated PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) fibreglass fabric membrane that matches the original five-sail design installed in 1984. The fabric membrane material is highly durable, weather and fire resistant, and could have a project life expectancy exceeding 30 years. The $21-million project will be financed through the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund.

New-homeowner satisfaction with production builders increases in the GTA

TORONTO — After a sharp decline in 2009, overall satisfaction with new-home builders increased considerably in 2010 in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 Canadian New-Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Study.

Overall satisfaction improved to 699 on a 1,000-point scale — an increase of 25 points from 2009 — driven primarily by improvements in home readiness and the level of warranty service after move-in. Among GTA homeowners, 20 per cent report a defect-free home on delivery, increasing from eight per cent in 2009. Builders have also made significant improvements in all service-related measures, in particular, the timeliness with which they respond to homeowner concerns and their commitment to the cleanliness of the home at the conclusion of the service visit.

The study finds that the frequency of follow-up communication by homebuilders to assess the customer’s satisfaction with their new home has increased to 55 per cent from 49 per cent in 2009. Among customers who receive this type of communica-

tion, overall satisfaction averages more than 250 points higher than that of customers who do not receive any builder follow-up.

Similarly, providing consistent communication to home buyers throughout the sales and building process has a considerable positive impact on minimizing perceived misrepresentation.

The study finds that fewer homeowners perceive that an aspect of the experience was misrepresented — just 25 per cent of homeowners in 2010, compared with more than 33 per cent in 2009.

Among production builders with a minimum of 150 closings in 2009, Tribute Communities ranks highest in satisfying new homeowners in the GTA market, with an overall satisfaction score of 828. Mattamy Homes (819) and Monarch (808) follow Tribute in the GTA market rankings.

New-home sales volumes decreased considerably in late 2008 and early 2009, and subsequently the percentage of buyers who were offered price discounts has nearly doubled to 17 per cent in the 2010 study. In addition, blog usage among homeowners to research their builders prior to purchase has doubled from 2008 to 22 per cent in 2010, making this social media channel more influential on brand reputation and purchase decisions than ever before.

REIT Round Up Artis acquires office properties in the GTA

WINNIPEG — Artis REIT has begun looking east by acquiring the Concorde Centre and Cancross Court portfolio for an aggregate purchase price of $116.5 million. Concorde Corporate Centre is a three-building Class A suburban office complex comprising 548,742 square feet of leasable area, located in Toronto’s Don Mills and Eglinton office node. Cancross Court, located in Mississauga, is a two-building Class A suburban office complex comprising 143,877 square feet of leasable area, and currently fully occupied by three tenants, the largest being HB Group Insurers.

Artis acquired this portfolio through Crown Realty Partners, who have been responsible for the management of these properties and will continue on in this capacity. “As the gross book value of our asset base approaches the $2 billion mark, we believe it is prudent to diversify our portfolio beyond our core Western Canadian market,” said Armin Martens, CEO of Artis REIT.

Morguard acquires office complex in Montreal

MISSISSAUGA — Morguard Corporation and Morguard REIT have acquired Place Innovation, a four-building interconnected office complex, located within Technoparc Montreal, the largest technology park in Canada, in the Montreal borough of SaintLaurent. The property contains 885,322 square feet of leasable area located on a 126-acre site which includes and 62.5 acres of land available for future development. The property is currently 98 per cent leased, with the two largest tenants occupying approximately 60 per cent of the rentable space. This acquisition adds to a portfolio of 100 retail, multi-unit residential, office and industrial properties.

B building october/november 2010

11

legal

BY JEFFREY W. LEM AND DAVID G. REINER

Testing the liability shield The Supreme Court of Canada revisits the strength and scope of exculpatory provisions in the context of tendering contracts It is rare for a construction contract to make it all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, and rarer still that a construction case at the Supreme Court of Canada may have significant implications in Canadian law outside of the narrow confines of the building and development industry, so when a case like Tercon v. The Province of British Columbia comes along, readers of Building should take heed.

In the Tercon case, The Province of British Columbia issued a request for expressions of interest (the “RFEI”) for the design and construction of a highway. Six bidders made submissions including Tercon and its competitor, Brentwood. A few months later, the Province informed the six then-current proponents that the Province had changed its mind and now wanted to do all of its own design work on the highway itself, leaving only the construction of the highway up for tender. Having made that decision, the Province cancelled the RFEI, and then went ahead and issued a request for proposals (the “RFP”) only for the construction component of the highway.

The RFP set out defined project details and specifications and listed the criteria that were relevant in the selection process.

Under its terms, the RFP provided that only the six original proponents under the RFEI were eligible to submit a proposal under the RFP. The RFP also included an express exclusion of liability clause which provided: “…no Proponent shall have any claim for compensation of any kind whatsoever, as a result of participating in this RFP, and by submitting a Proposal each Proponent shall be deemed to have agreed that it has no claim.” [emphasis added].

Brentwood apparently lacked the requisite expertise in drilling and blasting necessary to make a competitive bid, so, prior to making a bid, Brentwood entered into joint-venture agreement with another construction company, Emil Anderson (“EAC”), and collectively they made the proposal but ostensibly under Brentwood’s name (but with EAC listed as a “major member” of the Brentwood team). The Brentwood/EAC joint

venture and Tercon were the two short‑listed proponents and the Province ultimately awarded the project to the Brentwood/ EAC joint venture.

At trial, Tercon successfully argued that the Brentwood bid was, in fact, submitted by a joint venture of Brentwood and EAC and that the Province, which had full knowledge of the Brentwood/EAC collaboration, had breached the express provisions of the tendering contract with Tercon by considering a non-compliant bidder. Furthermore, the trial judge concluded that the exclusion clause was too ambiguous to bar Tercon from recovering its damages arising from the Province’s breach; a breach which was, in any event, so fundamental that the exclusion clause could not insulate the Province from its consequences.

While the Brentwood/EAC joint venture still got the project, Tercon was awarded millions of dollars in damages for having been wrongfully deprived of the opportunity.

The Province, undeterred, appealed to the British Columbia Court of Appeal, which set aside the Tercon victory, concluding that, while the Province had in fact breached its own tendering rules in the process, the exclusion clause was comprehensive and unambiguous enough to bar Tercon from seeking any compensation whatsoever for such defaults. Tercon then kicked the case up to the Supreme Court of Canada, which released its decision earlier this year.

In a relatively rare 5-4 split decision, the Supreme Court of Canada allowed Tercon’s appeal, although in so doing, the Supreme Court has left in its wake a significant amount of controversy, with most commentators quite critical of the decision.

The Supreme Court judges were unanimous in the three-part test to be used in analyzing exculpatory clauses like the one relied upon by the Province. The first part, and one that was arguably trite, was whether, as a matter of interpretation, the exclusion clause even applied to the defaults being alleged. If so, the second part was whether the exculpatory clause was “unconscionable” as a matter of law. If the exculpatory clause was not unconscionable,

Jeffrey W. Lem, B.Comm. (U of T), LL.B. (Osgoode), LL.M. (Osgoode), practises in the areas of commercial real estate and finance with the law firm of Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, and has been called to the bar in Ontario, England and Wales. He is an executive member of the Real Property Section of the Ontario Bar Association and is editor-in-chief of the Real Property Reports, published

by Carswell Thomson Professional Publishing.

David G. Reiner, B.Comm. (Concordia), LL.B. (Osgoode) is an associate practising in the area of commercial real estate at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP and is called to the Bar in Ontario.

This article provides general information only and is not intended to provide specific legal advice.

Readers should not act or rely on information in this article without seeking specific legal advice on their particular fact situations.

12 building

october/november 2010

Thinkstockphotos.com

legal

then the third and final enquiry was whether enforcement of the exculpatory would run counter to a principle of public policy (the Supreme Court citing circumstances such as conduct constituting serious criminality or egregious fraud being well‑accepted violations of public policy).

Although the Supreme Court judges all agreed on the specifics of the three-part test regarding exculpatory clauses, the judges were sharply divided on how to apply the three-part test to the facts in the Tercon case.

The majority of the Supreme Court judges felt that the exculpatory clause that the Province was using against Tercon could not pass the first part of the test. In other words, the exculpatory clause was not broad enough to actually cover the Brentwood bid at all.

According to the majority of the judges, by accepting a bid from a party who should not even have been permitted to participate in the tender process and by ultimately awarding the work to that ineligible bidder, the Province breached the implied duty of fairness to bidders. The exculpatory clause only barred claims for compensation “as a result of participating” in the tendering process (see the emphasized wording above).

Tercon’s claim did not arise from its participation in the tendering process.

Tercon’s claim, instead, arose out of the Province’s unfair conduct in dealing with an ineligible bidder, not in Tercon’s participation in the process. Having failed the first part of the test, the Province was barred from relying on the exculpatory clause as a defence, and was thus liable in damages to Tercon.

The minority of the Supreme Court judges felt that the majority’s “as a result of participating” reasoning was, for want of a better term, a bit of legal sophistry. In a somewhat pointed jab at the majority’s position, the minority reasons concluded the majority’s logic was nothing more than a “strained and artificial” way of indirectly avoiding the exculpatory clause just because the majority judges thought, after the fact, that the exculpatory clause seemed unfair and unreasonable.

The minority position was far more commercially laissez faire — Tercon was a sophisticated and experienced contractor

that chose to bid on the project knowing full well that there was a comprehensive exculpatory clause preventing it from suing for claims. To be clear, the minority judges did agree that the Province had breached its duty of fairness, and that Tercon had legitimate reason to complain about the Province’s conduct, but concluded that such misconduct was not ultimately unconscionable in light of the relative bargaining power of the parties, did not rise to the level where public policy would justify the court in depriving the Province of the protection of its exculpatory clause.

Commentators have been almost universally critical of the Tercon decision. On the one hand, the Supreme Court has sent the message that there is definitely a duty of fairness in the tendering process and that they will seemingly go out of their way, even to the point of adopting “strained and unreasonable” logic in interpreting exculpatory clauses against owners who try to use such clauses to protect themselves when conducting unfair procurement practices. On the other hand, the Supreme Court has also suggested that, if the exculpatory clause is unambiguous enough and comprehensive enough, it really is open to an owner to exculpate itself from almost any behaviour, with only unconscionable behaviour and violations of public policy left as the only barriers to total lawlessness. Ultimately, when all is said and done, Tercon did not really change the law that much.

An owner is still bound contractually to treat bidders fairly in accordance with the published rules once a bidder files a compliant bid, and exculpatory clauses do not provide owners with an unlimited “get out of jail free” card condoning all measures of misconduct. After Tercon, the game will be in determining just how egregious an owner can be in violating its own bidding procedures while still remaining within the terms of its exculpatory clause and without being unconscionable or exceeding the limits of public policy.

As many readers of Building will note, maybe Tercon just tells all industry participants that, in the end, it is perhaps just simpler, cheaper and better business to simply make very clear procurement rules and then to actually follow them. B

building october/november 2010

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Finding

Topduring Talent economic

How the building and construction industries can rise to the challenge.

A slight upturn in the state of the Canadian economy has meant a return to normalcy and an improvement in conditions and operations for most businesses. Unfortunately, this improvement is countered by an increase in the difficulties associated with attracting and retaining employees. For the architecture, building and construction industries the pain of the shift is especially heightened due to industry-specific challenges around human resources.

The economic downturn resulted in a sluggish job market where the talent pool was deep, applications were collected in abundance and candidates were often over qualified. This arguably made hiring easier and retaining employees as simple as handing out regular pay cheques. An improvement in the markets, however, creates additional opportunity and options for employees, forcing businesses to adjust hiring practices fast enough to attract and retain talent. The talent pool is quickly becoming shallow, leaving businesses in the building and construction industry to essentially bid on qualified candidates with multiple offers.

With continual shifts in the cost of building materials, the construction industry experiences market volatility on a relatively larger scale than many other industries. As a result, managing staffing levels presents a significant human resource challenge to the industry. Managers and supervisors must cope with the ebb and flow of balancing the budget, while ensuring that their top talent can remain on the job. Adding to the challenge is the industry’s common practice of “employee theft” by competitors, as talent is always in high demand.

There is much that can be done within the building and construction industries to improve hiring and recruiting practices.

Both small and subtle changes as well as foundational shifts will help to boost attraction and retention of new and top employees.

Move faster Companies with hiring and interview processes that move at glacial speed simply lose out on talent. In order to attract talent, companies need to quickly adapt their hiring practices to each shift in the economy. In general, companies need to start by pick-

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recovery

By Dan Brown

ing up the pace as the younger talent pool are keen on landing their next job as quickly and easily as possible. Having to wait days to hear about a job after an interview provides opportunity for a competitor to scoop a candidate, or leave a sour taste in their mouth about a company. Creating a system for the hiring process, complete with tight timelines and prepared offers or employment packages provides the best blue print for success.

Perfect your company ‘pitch’ Hitting the market with a strong description and overall air of confidence as a company will help to solidify outsider uptake and confidence in a business or project. Representing the company with an enthusiasm that will entice candidates can be extended into all forms of communication, whether in an interview, on the corporate website, at a job fair or integrated into emails and promotional materials. Affirmation of positivity within a company will undoubtedly resonate outwards.

Offer an attractive package Candidates have the ability to shop around in a strong market, so standards in terms of pay and benefits need to be addressed.

The exact components of an offer, however, can be as creative or flexible as desired.

Junior team members may be enticed by the opportunity to work closely with seasoned and highly productive team members or management to garner experience and accelerate skill building.

Some employees may be attracted to autonomy and task management, whereas others may prefer to be sheltered by the company and simply complete tasks as they are assigned. Compensation structure and positioning should be directly tied to an individual’s goals where possible. This also allows a company to identify those with management potential and groom them for loyalty and success on a project or with a company.

Keep an open mind when it comes to what might appeal to each potential candidate and remain flexible in possibly offering them package options specifically suited to their needs. This

personalized approach will not go unnoticed.

Identify your ‘ideal’ candidate It is imperative that building and construction managers and hiring professionals are able to immediately identify the qualities of a good candidate and present them with a suitable offer quickly. This of course warrants a look at what some of these key qualities are.

Having a solid grasp on what to look for in a new hire can mean the difference between securing a hire and losing them to a competitor. If they possess the right stuff, companies need to be on the ball in acknowledging this.

The precise desired combination of qualities may depend on the business or project at hand, but in general natural communicators and leaders or those who offer experience married with technical expertise, generally work well in the industry. A sense of ownership and pride in quality standards can also be noted as a critical key quality in potential employees.

Prepare for the future Consideration must be paid to a company’s overall structure and future preparedness. Does your company have the right people in the right positions to ensure success in an up market? A careful look at overall staffing structure will help to identify potential issues and define how a company will

cope with issues such as increases in the price of materials, succession planning and staff shortages. Contingencies in such cases can be built around operational and staff structures that encourage team work and cooperation, meaning that when one person steps out, their work can be picked up or shared by others easily. The shift in staff volumes in the building industry is somewhat inevitable, but with clear communication to staff on how and why this will be handled, ensures that they feel secure and can brace with the company as these shifts occur.

The upturn in the economy has shed light on, and in some cases exacerbated issues around attracting and retaining employees in building and construction. But with attention to key hiring practices, managers can ensure that they are equipped to ride waves of the market and guarantee success in attracting young talent. The HR scene is proving tumultuous and competitive terrain, so taking action in making changes to recruitment is a must. B Dan Brown is a consultant with Summit Search Group in Vancouver, B.C., where he specializes in recruitment and hiring solutions for the industrial and business-tobusiness sectors including construction, architecture, building, engineering, manufacturing, transportation and logistics. www.summitsearchgroup.com

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new

can be

WHAT’S OLD Municipalities can take advantage of surplus public buildings to not only strengthen and enliven the public realm, but also raise much needed revenues.

By Richard Griffin and Thomas Scott Proponents have dubbed it the ultimate form of recycling. Across the country it’s the inspiration behind countless restoration projects, in buildings running the gamut from empty schools to derelict railroad depots to abandoned airplane hangars.

Adaptive reuse is the process of modifying old structures for new municipal purposes. When the original use of a structure changes or is no longer required, designers and planners change the primary function of the structure, while retaining some of the architectural details that make the building unique.

Over the years, the concept has become an increasingly popular way of effectively redeveloping underutilized municipal properties — and a viable alternative to building demolition. It’s inevitable that particular buildings will outlive their original purposes; adaptive reuse ensures these empty structures remain important parts of the community for years to come.

Feasibility studies Before any municipality launches a proposed adaptive reuse project it should conduct a complete feasibility study. This way all expectations, needs, and possibilities are clearly established, saving the structure from being the victim of flawed property planning.

The feasibility study should involve asking a number of vital questions. For example, are there community needs that will be met by repurposing the building? Does the municipality have the necessary funds (or access to outside funds) to underwrite the cost of the conversion? If the conversion is done by the municipality itself, will it be in a position to manage the service provided in the repurposed building?

A feasibility study will also determine if a structure is suitable for repurposing. For example, in the adaptive reuse of schools, it is important to differentiate between buildings that are not entirely of a wood frame construction (which may pose structural issues if repurposed) and those buildings with an interior wooden flooring system and exterior masonry load-bearing walls (which do not pose structural issues). A feasibility study would determine if this is the case.

Finally, one of the most important questions a feasibility study should ask is: will the adaptive reuse project be economically viable? It is imperative that the repurposed structure be an integrated, productive, and useful part of the community landscape. The true adaptive reuse success stories are those involving repur-

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posed buildings that actively contribute to the neighbourhood in which they are situated.

The next steps The feasibility study is complete; a new use for the structure has been determined. What’s next? In many instances, a municipality will select a development team, which will help create a useful design, complete the adaptive reuse project quickly and efficiently, and keep total costs under control.

It’s also highly recommended that a professional construction manager be contacted to oversee the adaptive reuse project. The manager’s role will include serving as an advisor to the municipality, and providing information on various construction technology, constructability issues, scheduling, markets, and total costs. The construction manager may also assist the town or city with identifying early purchases or those items with long lead-time, as well as coordinating the completion of biddings and negotiations.

Municipalities should also encourage the public to participate in the designing and planning phases of the adaptive reuse project. Public meetings give members of the community the opportunity to review any relevant project issues, as well as state what solutions they feel will work best. By empowering local residents to become involved, designers and planners raise public support for their adaptive reuse projects. Also, public participation often leads to creative suggestions that can be incorporated into the design.

Many different elements So what will your standard adaptive reuse project entail? For starters, a building undergoing the repurposing process may have new life safety systems added, as well as new air conditioning systems and seismic upgrades. It can involve the new installation of technology wiring, as well as new electrical, plumbing, heating, and fire protection infrastructure.

There may also be a redesign of the building’s interior, while making efforts to retain original materials and spaces. In some cases, that means retaining a significant portion of the building’s existing shell, including the façade and interior support timbers.

Other adaptive reuse improvements may include new windows and roofs, as well as upgrades to parking areas, and storm drainage and retainage systems. Also, work may be undertaken to ensure the structure complies with modern day requirements, such as the analysis and cleanup of hazardous materials like asbestos or lead.

Finally, many adaptive reuse projects incorporate renewable energy technologies and other energy efficient measures. This can include high-efficiency furnaces, high levels of insulation, high-efficiency fibreglass windows, bamboo flooring, and paints with low volatile organic compound levels.

The benefits Adaptive reuse can provide municipalities with many economic benefits. Repurposing an existing building means there’s no need to construct a building with new materials.

Money spent on site preparation, demolition, hazardous waste disposal, and purchase of construction materials will be saved. Also, adaptive reuse can lead to social and economic revitalization. For example, the repurposed building can be the site of new businesses, stimulating the economy and creating jobs. Adaptive reuse can also help increase property values, as well as enhance quality of life and a sense of neighbourhood pride.

A smart alternative A neighbourhood’s personality is often defined by its buildings, and as such the demolition of a building can create an emotional hole in a community. If handled correctly, converting an empty building into one that features publicserving and community-enhancing functions can fill that hole. Giving an old structure a new use — and in effect, a new lease on life — is a smart alternative to building demolition. B Rich Griffin and Tom Scott are partners in the Waltham, Massachusetts-based architectural firm Scott/Griffin Architects, Ltd. The firm can be found at www.pga-architects.com.

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Housing A diverse portfolio of under­utilized buildings across Toronto that Artscape has transformed into multi-tenant space for the arts and culture sector illustrates the power of the artistic impulse in creative city building.

By Rhys Phillips It was a major coup for the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management to entice Richard Florida from Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University to assume the role of Academic Director of its newly established Martin Prosperity Institute. In its July 16, 2007 press release announcing the appointment, the school expansively credited Florida with the “discovery” of the creative class. Certainly, the author of The Rise of the Creative Class, Who’s your City and, most recently, The Great Reset certainly has played a defining role in “how creativity is revolutionizing the global economy.” Yet Charles Landry, founder of the 1978 established Comedia consultancy for creative cities and John Howkins, who’s Creative Economy pre-dates The Rise of the Creative Class by a year, at least deserve co-billing. Closer to home, the founding of Toronto’s Artscape in 1986 was an even earlier recognition of the role of dynamic creativity in determining a city state’s prosperity.

While focused on nurturing and stimulating the often raw and experimental art of the street and community, the organization continues to operate on the premise that such cutting edge creativity serves as a catalyst for open thinking within the broader “creative classes.” Not surprisingly, Artscape CEO Tim Jones said in a lengthy interview that it was Artscape that first brought the rising social theorist to Toronto to speak.

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One of the inescapable outcomes of the creativity thesis is that art and the cultural economy, far from being simply “nice to have” but tangential attributes, are part and parcel of the infrastructure of successful innovative economies. They play not one but three distinct roles. First, they help provide the type of dynamic urban environment that attracts the broader “creative class” that constitutes the crucial human capital base of the creative economy. This is vital when growth industries increasingly are attracted to where the appropriate pool of skilled labour resides rather than the historical reverse.

Second, art and the cultural economy create an environment of creativity and experimentation in which art and industrial design feed off one another. Just like applied science withers without pure science, economic or functional creativity tends to thrive in the presence of pure creative art. As Florida has pointed out, Seattle’s Experience Music Project was Microsoft’s co-founder Paul Allen’s homage to his personal muse, Jimmy Hendrix. Third, and not incidentally, art and culture are also economic products in their own right that create not inconsiderable value as well as indirectly contributing by stimulating tourism. Jones notes that the art and culture economy contributes $80 billion annually to the Canadian economy with Toronto’s share representing over a fifth of this value.

Not all find this creative economy rationalization a positive approach. Jamie Peck, writing in Eurozine in 2007 argued that Florida’s approach ensures “art and culture are discursively commoditized, as productive assets and positive externalities of creative capitalism, while street life and authenticity are also located within the circuits of (accelerating) interurban competition.” He may be right; but it is an approach with a long — some would say honoured — history in the art world.

Images courtesy of Artscape

Art and Culture in a Creative City State

Think of the Renaissance and the central role of the arts in the competition between city states, emerging wealthy merchants and the Roman Catholic Church. Or consider the Netherland’s 17th century Golden Age that nurtured that celebrated cultural entrepreneur, Rembrandt.

Jones rejects the old story of art versus gentrification with the artist as victim. Instead he considers artists as positive agents of change and the real challenge is to capture their interests and place within this process. “There is a complex arts’ eco-structure bridging from large formal cultural institutions to those artists almost off the grid. Our challenge is to promote a ‘positive marginality’ that provides a platform for collaboration but not homogenization between these extremes as well as with the rest of the creative economy.” The relationship between art as a process of pure creativity and industrial design as applied creativity, or “intrinsic art-for-art-sake versus the instrumental,” is a complicated but interesting question, he states, but that both are necessary for success is not in question.

A Response to a Crisis of Space The genesis of Artscape was a crisis in affordable artist work space brought on by Toronto’s booming downtown development market in the mid 1980s. A suspiciously convenient crackdown by city by-law inspectors on illegal live/work spaces in the core threatened to drive the arts community out of the downtown. In response, the Toronto Arts Council founded Artscape with the initial mandate to research, understand and report on the spatial state-of-affairs for those outside the larger institutional arts organizations. Its seminal report in 1989, No Vacancy, both detailed the extent of the crisis and brought home to Toronto’s city council the need to fund, according to Jones, “making space for creativity while developing the arts community within the framework of broader community development.”

When Jones joined Artscape in 1989 after a difficult but rewarding tenure as a cultural project officer at the Canada Council, the organization employed only two full-time employees. Its initial tangible response to the disappearing space issue was to negotiate leasing agreements with developers and then subdivide the acquired space into smaller, affordable spaces for artist workspaces. Serendipitously, at least for Artscape, the Toronto real estate market crashed in the early 1990s and in 1991 with bargain basement deals available, 96 Spadina became the fledgling developer’s fist foray into affordable work studios for

Artscape’s portfolio includes: Parkdale Arts & Cultural Centre and Artscape West Queen West (previous page); Artscape Distillery Studios, Artscape Triangle Lofts, Artscape Shaw Street Centre and Artscape Liberty Village (above, clockwise from top left).

artists. This was followed by 45 similar spaces further west in the then-largely abandoned industrial area of Liberty Village and, in 1995, by 22 affordable housing units for artists and their families along with six work studios at 900 Queen Street West. The latter was the first project of the newly constituted Artscape Non-Profit Homes. While some units operate under rent-to-income provisions, others are sold directly to the artist-owner. Through provisions of a 25 per cent second mortgage, Artscape retains some control over resale, ensuring most of the homes remain available for artists. The model also supports social housing that is capital self-financing without public capital costs.

Three years after Queen St., the concept of live/work spaces became fully mixed-use with the Parkdale Arts and Cultural Centre’s inclusion of space for business associations, social services organizations and, appropriately, a gallery. The millennium ended with Artscape taking over the scheduled-to-bedemolished Toronto Island Public and Natural Sciences School and converting it into Gibraltar Point, a facility providing a range of spaces for artistic and educational work. It began with the introduction of the Gibraltar International Artist Residency Program in 2001, an initiative to facilitate international exposure for Toronto’s grass roots artist communities.

Toward the Art of Space Making But it was Artscape’s central role in kick-starting Toronto’s now celebrated Distillery Historic District that Jones calls the real “game changer” for the organization. After more than a decade of study and numerous stillborn proposals, the internationally designated complex of 18th century industrial buildings was purchased by Cityscape Developments in 2001. They in turn sought out Artscape’s involvement who promptly set to work creating 60 work and retail studios through the adaptive reuse of two heritage buildings. “Instead of the eight years it was suggested it would take to do the project, we opened in 18 months,” reports building october/november 2010

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Jones. “The reason was simple, we needed the cash flow.”

The lessons learned about creative place-making at the Distillery emboldened Artscape in 2004 to launch Consulting Division Artscape, a consultancy to market its expertise on building grassroots infrastructure — both physical and social — for artistic communities in such cities as New York and Manchester as well as Canadian locations across the country. A year earlier, the inaugural Creative Places + Spaces conference had taken place and this was followed two years later by a second iteration attracting over 600 international delegates. One outcome was the launching of a Culture-Led Regeneration Workshop Series designed to consolidate a Canadian “community of practice’ centered on culture-led urban revitalization. A third Creative Places + Spaces conference was held last year.

In between the second and third conference, Artscape published its Vision 2011, subtitled “thinking big about cultural regeneration.” With an ambitious vision of “building a world that engages art, culture and creativity as catalysts for community transformation, sustainability, prosperity and liveability,” this five-year plan set down three key focus areas: Leadership, Space-making and Place-making. First, by building on its conferences as internationally recognized forums for creativity and innovation, the organization sees its leadership role as emerging from being a recognized knowledge centre for practitioners and spearheading the development of “a creativity and innovation manifesto for Toronto.”

Second, as an organization that started as a specific response to the issue of diminishing physical space for the arts, the issue of “space making” continues as central to its vision. Since the release of its vision manifesto, Artscape has completed the widely praised adaptive reuse of the Wychwood Barns, brokered a winwin arrangement between a developer and community opponents in the downtown, became the prime tenant in a bold attempt to rebuild one of Toronto’s most problematic social housing complexes and saved a large historic school from possible demolition.

Artistic Building Boom The Wychwood Barns is a mid-Toronto collection of five, twostorey brick service sheds built between 1913 and1921 for the Toronto Transit Authority (TTC) but transferred to the city in 1996. While rival community groups squabbled over the future of the 4.3-acre heritage industrial site, the property was sold for a dollar to Artscape in 2004. With approximately half the project’s $19 million budget coming from the three levels of government,

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Images courtesy of Artscape

Above: a cross section elevation looking west of Regent Park Arts & Cultural Centre designed by Diamond and Schmitt Architects.

construction started in March 2007 with an official opening in November, 2008. Artscape, working with architect Joe Lobko of Torontobased duToit Allsopp Hillier and in collaboration with local community groups, developed a varied program of art and community activities while also retaining the designated landmark through adaptive reuse. 15 artists’ studios and 26 artist live/work residences share the linked barns with 13 not-for-profit organizations. Rents are at affordable, below-market rates.

Lobko stripped the barns back to their brick envelope and raw steel structure and then carefully re-inserted new construction to meet varying requirements. Barn One provides private live/work studios while Barn Two remains an unobstructed but covered community gathering street measuring 60 metres long and 10 metres wide. Barns Three and Four house space for non-profit organizations with the latter or “Green Barn” including a green house, community garden and organic market, in part intended to facilitate teaching nutrition to neighbourhood children. Barn Five also operates as a gathering spot but has been stripped of its roof. With such features as geo-thermal heating, the Wychwood Barns is the first Ontario heritage building to receive LEED Gold designation.

Further downtown, developer Alan Saskin’s proposed 18 storey condominium tower in the Queen West Triangle, Toronto’s most important alternative arts district, initiated a bitter, protracted struggle pitting his Landmark Development firm against the city and the community activist group Active 18. Although the Ontario Municipal Board inevitably ruled for the developer in 2007, Artscape was able to broker an all-party agreement that saw it purchase 56,000 square feet on the first three floors for affordable rental, housing and studios for artists. The project is nearing completion. “Gaining buy-in from entrepreneurs,” states Jones, “requires selling the basic principle that art adds value.”

Also well into construction is Diamond and Schmitt Architects’ striking Regent Park Arts and Cultural Centre, a component of the 10 year, $1.5 billion redevelopment of the troubled, half century-old social housing complex. Over the first two levels, the new centre will provide space and performing venues for seven arts and social agencies that will support cultural regeneration in what is a very dynamic and diverse community. The third floor will operate as a base for some 60 non-profit and social organizations operated by Toronto’s Centre for Social Innovation. “This space,” Artscape’s own

material states, “provides a platform for emerging and established social and arts entrepreneurs working to solve challenges in their communities and around the world.” The Centre also includes Artscape’s emerging focus on working in what Jones calls “priority communities.” With $12 million in assistance from federal and provincial stimulus programs, Artscape is partnered with the Toronto Community Housing Corporation and The Daniels Corporation (developer for the full redevelopment) to realize the project.

This year, Artscape purchased and announced plans to turn the imposing but decade-long mothballed Beaux Arts-style Shaw Street School (1914) into an arts community centre. It will include 75,000 square feet of below market priced studio and office space for both arts and related organizations. Slated to open in 2012, the facility will further consolidate the Queen St. West arts community. While sustainable development is part of Artscape’s vision, it has not formally pursued a policy of adaptive reuse or brownfield conversion, says Jones. “Our approach has been opportunistic and we have gravitated toward difficult project sites that no one else would take on such as the Distillery, the Barns and Shaw.”

Ironically, perhaps, plans are also afoot to tear down one of Artscape’s first adaptive reuse projects, 60 Atlantic in Liberty Village, to build a new 200,000-sq.-ft. art, culture and resource centre by 2012. Dubbed the IDEA project, it would include 50,000 square feet of affordable studio space.

Brick and Mortar into Community Jones points out that through the last decade Toronto has excelled at expanding its top-end cultural institutions through high quality architecture. In particular, he singles out Will Alsop’s Ontario College of Art & Design as the type of project that helped the city be bolder while elevating its cultural bravado, a contagious process that has cascaded down the arts food chain. But Artscape, he explains is increasingly more than just physical space, it is also about “place making.”

This entails broader community responsibilities that include both embracing other non-profit support organizations as well as nurturing neighbourhoods to be creative but much more than artist ghettos. The Vision statements’ third focus, therefore, is place making that includes investing in community-building activities in and around Artscape projects such as Liberty Village, Queen St. West, the Barns and the Distillery District.

Jones lists five central elements to this process that starts with ensuring a viable artist presence

Above: Artscape transformed former TTC streetcar repair barns in Toronto’s Wychwood neighbourhood into a 60,000-sq.-ft. multi-faceted community centre.

but expands to include the broader community. These include: 1. Developing a shared vision from the ground up before putting the shovel in the ground to insure goals and aspirations are clearly understood as well as how a project will be a community asset; 2. Ensuring a critical mass of creative people are brought together in support of the project; 3. Gathering a diversity of uses and people — avoiding an artist ghetto — that can generate an organic energy; 4. Sustaining ongoing collaboration that extends to all those affected by the project; and 5. Nurturing a sustainable development capacity to make things happen that extend beyond technical capacity to the ongoing generation of ideas.

“We first thought magical things would happen when we brought artists together but building viable creative communities takes much more and involves its own expertise,” says Jones.

With $60 million of projects currently in development, space making will continue to be front and centre when the current Vision statement ends next year. But, he adds, more emphasis will be placed on merging the space and place making functions into a single concept and on responding to communities at risk.

Less emphasis will be placed on straight out consultancy work, although knowledge exchange and building a Canadian community of practice remain priorities.

Artscape has enjoyed a remarkable level of municipal support from former Mayor of Toronto Art Eggleton’s endorsement of the No Vacancy report through such politically diverse mayors as Mel Lastman, June Rowlands, Barbara Hall and David Miller.

In 2009 a long term funding arrangement was approved by the City of Toronto with the General Manager for Economic Development, Culture and Tourism noting in his proposal report to council that “Artscape has grown from a small, singlefocus organization to an internationally-recognized creative city builder.” Far from being art-for- the-sake-of art lobbyists, organizations such as Artscape are integral components of a socially and economically healthy creative city.

B Visit www.building.ca to view a slideshow of Artscape’s portfolio. building october/november 2010

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Giving the past

A FUTURE

Intended to transform the way we think about our cities, the revitalized Evergreen Brick Works aims to demonstrate and promote practical solutions that make our communities sustainable and more livable.

Text and photos by Peter Sobchak Visitors coming to the refashioned Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto’s Don Valley will be disappointed if they are expecting a Pioneer Villagetype experience. There are no costumed guides, no horse and buggy rides, no gift shop. There is history here, but it is not being dispensed on easy-to-read tour pamphlets.

From 1889 to 1984, the Don Valley Brick Works produced bricks for the growing city of Toronto and even some of Canada’s national landmarks, including Winnipeg’s T. Eaton Building, Toronto’s Massey Hall and Casa Loma Stables, Montreal’s Acadia Apartments and Moncton’s T. Eaton Building. After shutting down, various attempts were made to rejuvenate the site, including one developer’s effort to build housing, but because of its awkward location and site conditions (such as being on a major flood plain) it has remained idle.

Evergreen, a not-for-profit organization, has been conducting naturalization and restoration projects at the Don Valley Brick Works Park since 1998. The City of Toronto, ill-equipped to handle assets like this, smartly partnered with the creative non-for-profit entrepreneurial developer and in 2004, Evergreen was granted permission to redevelop the Brick Works industrial pad from an underused, deteriorat-

ing collection of buildings into an environmentally-based community centre that challenges visitors to re-asses an urbanite’s connection to nature, and “that will inspire future generations to re-think their place in the world.”

Evergreen’s plans for the 184,000-sq.-ft. industrial pad include offering space to charitable, non-profit organizations and socially conscious private enterprises hoping to achieve similar goals. For the site, a complex design team being led by Joe Lobko of du Toit Allsopp Hillier and du Toit Architects Limited was retained, and is working off the findings of the planningAlliance master planning team.

Despite its “splendid isolation” as Lobko describes it, the Brick Works is an intriguing nexus of many of the facets that make up the city, such as rivers, ravines, bricks, transportation (the Don Valley Parkway, rail corridors, bike paths), and geological history (glacial deposits). As such, the Brick Works is “fundamentally a meeting place where we can talk about our collective future,” says Lobko.

Approximately 16 hectares (roughly 40 acres) of the Brick Works is made up of two distinct areas: an 11.5 hectare natural area and city park known as the Don Valley Brick Works Park containing the Weston Quarry Garden, wetlands, wildflower meadows, ravine forests and trails which will continue to be managed by Toronto Evergreen Brick Works is a year-round destination exploring themes of nature, culture and community. The rendering (left) by DTAH shows how the industrial pad, still under development, will be organized.

(Opposite page) Some roofs were removed from metal sheds to allow nature to grow within the pad, mirroring the adjacent 11.5 hectare park.

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Parks, Forestry and Recreation; and the Don Valley Brick Works Industrial Pad, a complex of historical buildings, mostly brick boxes and metal sheds, over five hectares which will be revitalized.

The design team took an adaptive reuse approach that Lobko calls “light touch, loose fit.” Instead of falling into the trap of seeing the original buildings as quasi-sacred relics that must be kept pristine, they exposed or left bare layers of history such as graffiti. “Our communities are much richer when we bring old and new together,” Lobko champions, a sentiment illustrated in the five storey Building 12, the only new structure on the site but which actually grows out of an old one storey structure. At the same time, like the conservation ethic promotes allowing a building to tell us what it is about, what kind of character it has or is capable of, and what kinds of interventions will help it to become more itself, the design team didn’t shrink wrap buildings into specific program ideas for the needs of our immediate moment.

“We anticipated that their needs will change,” says Lobko, echoing Evergreen’s view of the Brick Works as “a dynamic place that adapts and grows to meet new urban challenges.”

Sustainability, of course, plays heavily in Evergreen’s ethos. As Quinlan Terry has observed, “Real sustainability is a four-hundredyear-old building still in active use.” But sustainability is not just about environmental sustainability. Here the vision is on a quadruple bottom line of environmental/financial/cultural/social benefits including demonstration and rooftop gardens, a plant nursery, Farmer’s Market, a “slow food” restaurant and youth training programs. All partners and tenants of the site had to sign a Charter that defines the shared vision that governs participation at the site.

Additionally, Evergreen Brick Works’ aim is to be economically self-sustaining through a combination of property leases to nonprofit organizations and small-scale artisan businesses, by hosting conferences and special events, and through parking revenue.

As Evergreen Brick Works vividly illustrates, the historic pieces of our cities, if they are to remain vital components of contemporary life while preserving their historic character, must become urban laboratories within which the insights and efforts of various B creative and visionary enterprises can be fused and tested.

Evergreen Brick Works’ design and development team includes: • du Toit Allsopp Hillier and du Toit Architects Limited (architecture and landscape architecture) (project lead); • Claude Cormier, Architectes Paysagistes Incorporated (landscape architecture); • Diamond and Schmitt Architects Incorporated (architecture); • E.R.A. Architects Incorporated (heritage preservation and architecture); • Halsall Associates Limited (structural/sustainability/green design);

• Stantec Consulting Incorporated (mechanical and electrical engineering); • The MMM Group (water resources); • BA Group (transportation management); • CM2R Incorporated (costing); • Leber Rubes Incorporated (building code and life safety); • David Dennis Design (industrial design); • Dougan and Associates (ecology); • CH2M Hill (environmental consulting); • J. S. Coulter Associates (acoustical impact analysis);

• Archaeological Services Incorporated (archaeology); • AECOM (site servicing); • Alston Associates Incorporated (geological consulting); • Trow Associates (durable building consulting); • Hunter Facilities Management (commissioning consulting); • ResCo (solar thermal); • Adams and Associates (signage); • Eastern Construction Company Limited (construction manager).

building october/november 2010

23

AN object for their affection

By Marti Mueller

Stantec Architecture was tasked with repurposing a university campus gathering place that, far from living up to its name, students rarely used.

What was previously an underused space (right) now utilizes colour-coded rooms and wood slats wrapping the upper datum to enliven the Students’ Union building.

Photos by Philippe Roulston, Stantec

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Thompson Rivers University students in Kamloops, B.C. have gone from ignoring their Student Union — originally completed in 2002 and built as an extension of the larger Campus Activity Centre — to embracing it after a transformation from large, lonely hall into a bustling hive of colourful and diverse activity zones.

Working with the inherent flexibility of the existing open space, the architect’s solution was to insert a new and dynamic entity, now known as the “The Object.” Today, the 12,320-sq.-ft. double height platform is home to meeting and greeting spaces, study areas, and kitchen and café facilities, making it a popular destination for students, faculty and staff across campus.

Lead design architect Ray Wolfe doesn’t talk about the number of rooms the Object contains. “The number is not as important as the quality and diversity of the space,” explains Wolfe. “Some are fully private both acoustically and visually, some are transparent but acoustically separated, some are visually separate but acoustically open — the around the corner ‘surprise’ spaces.”

It all started with the inspiration of a tree fort, with principles of insertion, rotation, and lifting the primary design drivers. The Object achieves these competing goals with glee, opening up a host of new opportunities for the Students’ Union, which manages the space for various campus events and activities.

Nathan Lane, executive director of the Students’ Union says, “Our goal was to create as many different types of formal and informal gathering spaces within the existing shell as we could. And the Object, coming out of the middle of room, creates all these very unique spaces on the sides, underneath, and on top. What makes the building really successful is the excellent mix of spaces.”

Completed in 22 months from design development to the end of construction, the design of the $1.1 million Object allows all the visitors — whether chatting at the busy café or tucked away in a quiet study nook — to feel they are part of it. “That’s important for us, because it builds a sense of vibrancy in the building and the feeling that no matter where you are, you are visually connected to everybody else,” says Lane.

The playful bent of the multiple award-winning project (a Special Jury Award from the Architectural Institute of British Columbia, and a Silver Award from the Interior Design Institute of British Columbia) can be seen in the intuitive, colour-coded room naming scheme — no formal names or numbers. Rooms are booked by their predominant wall and furniture colour; red, green, blue, etc.

The skin conditions of the Object were explored and formed an integral part of the tectonics of the project. The second storey lounge is framed by wooden slats, giving the distinct impression of a light box or lantern, imbuing warmth, while adding acoustic absorption.

Even the edge of the Object is functional, providing counter space for laptop work stations above, and a student-run café below.

In just a little over a year since it opened, Lane reports a “vast array” of programming is taking place that wasn’t occurring before. “The rooms are booked for literally thousands of hours a year, everything from meetings, to yoga, to guest lectures, to first aid classes,” he notes.

“Before, we had to track people down to administer our services. Now the Students’ Union has a home where people come to us.”

Wolfe says the Object plays out an intriguing paradox about flexibility and diversity of space, one which he believes has resonance in both educational and work place applications. In the

recent past, the desire for flexible space inevitably led to large, open generic rooms that can be divided up by moveable partitions. Not so the Object, explains Wolfe. “This project says; let’s go to the opposite extreme from that.

Maybe if the space is more diverse, it actually allows more flexibility. Not all people are architects, but if they see a new spot, they are sure going to use it.” B

Thompson Rivers University Students’ Union

Architect: Stantec Consulting Ltd.

Mechanical and Electrical Engineers: Stantec Consulting Ltd.

Structural Chiu Hippmann Engineers: Engineering Ltd.

General Contractor: Andreas Development Ltd.

Project Specifications – Alan Scott Specialists: Code – LMDG Millwork – CN Architectural Millwork

building october/november 2010

25

SUN

Here comes the

How rooftop solar panel “farms” can turn sunshine into dollars.

By Pamela Green and David Forgione

There’s a new money-making opportunity for Ontario businesses: installing and operating a solar panel “farm” on their commercial or industrial building. In fact, the Ontario Green Energy Act (GEA), enacted in May 2009, is currently offering financial incentives for businesses that create solar energy, among other renewable energy types.

Here’s how the GEA works. It set up a Feed-in Tariff Program (FIT) that first, guarantees access to the provincially-regulated power grid, when specific regulatory requirements are met; and second, pays producers specific rates for the energy generated.

The Ontario Power Authority operates the FIT Program and is currently offering 20-year contracts to producers of renewable energy. As a result of the FIT Program, owners of commercial and industrial buildings are now being approached by solar power companies seeking to lease rooftop space to install and operate solar panel facilities.

Here are some factors for property owners to consider when they’re thinking about a solar rooftop lease:

Above: Victoria, B.C.-based Carmanah Technologies Corp. has been awarded a $1.5 million contract by the Town of Markham, Ont. to supply, install, and commission a 250 kW solar photovoltaic grid-tie system that is being installed on the town’s newly re-located Emergency Operation Centre.

Once operational, the new solar photovoltaic grid-tie system will generate revenue through the contracted sale of energy from the OPA under the FIT program at a rate of $0.713/kWh. From the annual revenue received by the system under the OPA FIT contract, Markham will pay down its capital budget investment portion within the first five years of operation, the remaining 15 years of the contract revenues are proposed to be reinvested in future Markham energy projects.

Review existing property leases The initial exercise in determining whether or not to lease the roof of your building is to review the leases already affecting your property, if any. A detailed review of existing leases should include analyzing provisions governing the use, maintenance and control of the roof, the allocation of costs between the landlord and the tenants with respect to the roof, and how a rooftop tenant would affect the management and operation of the building generally. It is likely that leases will need changes to allow for installation and maintenance or to address tenant concerns in relation to the rooftop solar panel system’s impact on the tenant’s business and expenses.

Check zoning issues Property owners will also need to consider how solar panels might impact height restrictions on the buildings on the property. Most municipalities now have specific

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HIGH PERFORMANCE, provisions in their zoning by-laws dealing with rooftop solar panel systems.

Consider property tax implications The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) has not yet set a formal policy on how to classify and assess rooftop solar facilities. However, MPAC has indicated they will likely assign an industrial classification to their use. That said, a solar panel installation may impact the tax classification and/or assessed value of your property, increasing your property taxes.

You will want to know any property tax implications, particularly where the installation results in a mix of industrial and commercial uses, where the lower rate single use formerly applied.

LAMINATED INSULATION Interior and exterior walls, above or below grade Cathedral ceilings and attics Radiant floor heating Slab on grade Cavity walls

Re-siding projects

Exterior roof decks

Load bearing capacity of rooftop Next, determine if your roof has load bearing capacity and what type of facilities may be appropriate, given issues such as weight limitations, wind velocities, placement of existing rooftop mechanicals and the orientation of the building on the property. It’s a good idea to get an engineering firm to conduct this review.

Write a lease that is customized for the specific operational requirements of your rooftop The last step is to prepare a lease of the rooftop space that is appropriate for, and particularized to, the operational requirements of the property. Some solar power companies may ask that you sign a letter of intent or an offer to lease. They often do this before investigations into feasibility have been commenced and many of these documents purport to bind the landlord to a “standard form of lease.” Property owners should avoid signing a letter of intent, an offer to lease, or standard lease form before it is reviewed by their lawyers.

Any lease should address not only where the panels will be located, but also their long-term impact on the roof and the allocation of responsibility for maintaining, repairing, upgrading, replacing, and insuring the panels and the roof.

The landlord should consider indemnities for damage to the roof by the solar tenant, nuisance and insurance issues, as well as relocation and interruption clauses that limit landlord liability in the event that the roof needs to be replaced (to protect the premises of other tenants) or other circumstances that may require the relocation and interruption of the solar panel system.

There are many other matters to think about before agreeing to lease your rooftop. In the end, the lease of rooftop space may not be compatible with your other commercial uses of the property.

In cases where such a lease is appropriate, lease terms should be tailored to the requirements of the specific property and the property owner should avoid signing a letter of intent, an offer to lease or standard lease form before it is reviewed by legal counsel. B Pamela Green is a partner, and David Forgione is a lawyer in the Commercial Real Estate Practice at Pallett Valo LLP, Mississauga’s largest law firm. Pamela can be reached at pgreen@pallettvalo.com and David at dforgione@pallettvalo.com, or at (905) 273-3022.

www.amvicsystem.com

1.877.470.9991 building

october/november 2010

27

Architectural rendering shows KPMB’s design for the façade along Erb St. West in Waterloo, Ont., while a mock-up of a BubbleDeck slab is shown during a construction tour.

The power of

BUBBLES Concrete slabs filled with plastic balls are helping build a new think tank in southern Ontario.

By Peter Sobchak In an area of southwestern Ontario rapidly becoming an incubator of new ideas, another egg is hatching in the form of a new international governance think tank. But it’s not just what will be going on inside the building, but the building itself, that is being assembled based on new ideas.

The 114,000-sq.-ft. Balsillie Campus, designed by Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB), is being constructed in Waterloo, Ont. on a site formerly occupied by the 19th-century Seagram Distillery, and beside the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), which is housed in the former Seagram barrel warehouse museum. A partnership among the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University and CIGI, the Campus will house several graduate schools and programs, including the already established Balsillie School of International Affairs, and “will cultivate an interdisciplinary learning environment focused on developing knowledge of global issues.”

KPMB’s design is a re-interpretation of a traditional academic quad building, yet with many of the symbolic elements of academia still present, for example a meticulously landscaped courtyard, and a stone bell tower (that faces north, towards Jim Balsillie’s other pet project, the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics).

The design also invokes the ethos of a non-partisan think tank that addresses international governance challenges, such as transparency. The auditorium wing will be a near crystal-clear pavilion capped by a large wood canopy that bridges between the former barrel warehouse museum and the masonry-clad new buildings that form the courtyard of the school.

This project is also one of the first in Ontario to employ the remarkable BubbleDeck construction technology developed in Europe — an innovative and sustainable concrete system used for floor and roof slabs that encase hollow plastic spheres roughly the size of a beach ball sandwiched between two layers of welded reinforcing steel mesh. Picture an Aero chocolate bar.

The reinforcing mesh locks the balls into an exact position, while the balls shape the air volume, control the level of the reinforcing meshes, and at the same time stabilize the spatial lattice. When the steel lattice unit is concreted, a “monolithic two-way hollow slab” is created.

This technology eliminates more than 30 per cent of the dead

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Architect: Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects General Contractor: Cooper Construction

Project Manager: Gregory J. Bewick and Associates Limited

Consultants: Blackwell & Bowick (structural) / Crossey Engineering Ltd. (mechanical) / H.H. Angus and Associates (electrical)

Subcontractors: • E & E Seegmiller Ltd. (excavation/asphalt/ paving) • Ronco Steel Centre Ltd. (rebar) • Swan & Associates (formwork) • Prestressed Systems Inc. (precast) • Spencer Steel ltd. (structural steel) • Hogg Fuel & Supply Ltd. (concrete) • GA Masonry • Nelco Mechanical • Naylor Group Inc. (electrical) • C & H Fire Suppression • Merit Glass • Nedlaw Roofing Ltd. • Kone Inc. (elevators)

load weight created by typical solid concrete slabs. A reduced floor weight therefore brings further reductions in both columns and beams, giving architects more flexibility in their design and building owners a more efficient building for a better price.

Potential savings of a building designed with BubbleDeck are 25 per cent of the structural costs.

In addition, factory produced pre-cast panels reduce both time and costs at the construction site (Windsor, Ont.-based Prestressed Systems Inc. is fabricating the BubbleDeck slabs for this project in a plant in Detroit). BubbleDeck is also environmentally friendlier since it reduces both water and aggregate use by 50 per cent and all the components can be recycled.

The Governments of Canada and Ontario are kicking in $50 million in funding towards the construction of the Balsillie Campus, and Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of Research in Motion (RIM) and chair of the board of CIGI, is matching the governments’ contributions with another $50 million. The federal government’s contribution is part of its Knowledge Infrastructure Program, an initiative aimed at renewing the infrastructure of Canadian colleges and universities. The provincial government’s share is part of its 2009 Budget commitment to invest in Ontario’s colleges and universities over two years. The land, valued at $5 million, was leased to CIGI by the City of Waterloo for 99 years, with the option for another two 25-year renewal terms. B

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29

viewpoint

BY STEPHEN CARPENTER, PEng

Rainwater Cisterns: An old idea is back Rainwater cisterns are no longer unusual for commercial buildings, thanks, in part, to LEED which rewards rainwater reuse as a way to decrease potable water consumption. In some ways, a cistern is a simple and cost-effective way to improve a building’s water efficiency; all you have to do is dig the foundation a little larger to make room for the concrete tank, install a filter system, and connect to whatever water loads the rainwater is supplying.

However, like any technology, there are best practices that can ensure optimum savings with minimal headache.

Do Cisterns Really Work?

Rainwater cisterns are buried tanks, usually concrete, which store roof runoff water (buildings with green roofs will have less cistern water available, although it will be nicely pre-filtered). This nonpotable water can be used for applications such as cooling tower make-up toilet flushing (the largest water use in residential buildings), and irrigation (suburban office buildings’ largest water use).

Enermodal has specified cisterns for dozens of projects, including its new headquarters A Grander View. In operation with water metering for one year, the building’s cistern has proven an effective way to supply water for flushing toilets (there is no irrigation system). As the graphs show, the cistern water supplies two thirds of the non-potable water needs. The combination of low-flow fixtures and cistern helped the building achieve 84 per cent metered water savings over this first year of operation — a miniscule 7.9 litres per person per day.

Don’t Limit Your Cistern to Rainwater Although rainwater forms the majority of the cistern supply at A Grander View, we also capture the condensate produced by the air conditioning process. This amounts to approximately 20 L/hour (enough to flush a toilet five times) during peak cooling season, which is typically when there is a shortage of rain. This is one of the first applications of this concept in Canada, where most buildings simply send this distilled water back to the municipal system.

Forget Filtration at your own Risk Although the cistern concept is fairly simple, filtration is necessary.

Several building owners have complained of murky toilet water in the past, often the result of poor filtration systems that allow dirt and debris to enter the cistern-supplied water. One solution is to install a secondary filtration downstream of pumps to avoid any smaller particles that can clog the water closet filters.

Many filter systems can consume a significant amount of energy. To eliminate this energy waster, the cistern system at A Grander View includes the following elements: • Rainwater initially passes through a centrifugal separator and screen to remove most sediment, using gravity rather than pump energy; • Water is delivered to the cistern through a diffuser so as to not disturb any settled sediment at the bottom of the cistern; • The inlet for the pump that takes the cistern water into the build-

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ing floats near the top of the water level rather than being located near the bottom of the cistern where the sediment collects. Note that both the pump and float switch should be installed such that it can be accessible/removed for maintenance purposes without having to go into the tank.

Cistern Sizing Cisterns should be sized for the average rainfall, not the 100 year storm typical in most civil engineers calculations. The proper sizing method is to perform a dynamic calculation taking into account daily rainfall data, daily water loads and building roof area. A simple method is to base the size on a one inch rainfall: Depth of rainfall (in.) x Catchment area (sq.ft.) x 0.623 (conversion factor) = Harvested Water (gal).

Potential Issues to Watch For • Some buildings with cistern pumps located outside and above the tank suffer from cavitation or loss of pump prime. The safest pump design is a submersible pump or other flooded suction arrangement; • Many good design practices such as insulation, access, labelling, and protection from contamination are described in CSA Standard B128 Design and Installation of Non-Potable Water Systems, a national standard of Canada. The standard is in the process of being referenced in the National Plumbing Code, at which point it may be included in provincial building codes; • Pilot lights should be provided to indicate if the pump is operating or the system is on city water; • Proper commissioning of cistern pump is critical to ensure that cistern water use is maximized and building operation is uninterrupted by proper placement of cistern low-level sensors and city water automatic switchover valves; • Proper sizing of grey water system expansion tank ensures that grey water pump cycling is minimized, which can reduce maintenance costs and ensures that there is a more constant pressure in the lines feeding toilets, urinals, hose bibs, etc.; • At the start of design, involving the local building authority with regards to the use and implementation of grey water throughout the building can clarify the allowed uses of grey water in the building and will often allow time to persuade building officials to authorize less typical applications (with some conditions) that might have been dismissed at the permit application phase, including hose bibs as an example, thus maximizing the use of the grey water system and minimizing building water usage. B Stephen Carpenter is president of Enermodal Engineering and was Canada’s first LEED Accredited Professional as well as serving as the current chair of the Technical Advisory Group for the Canada Green Building Council. Enermodal has been Canada’s largest firm exclusively dedicated to creating energy and resource efficient buildings since 1980, certifying more LEED buildings than any other firm.

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