Topic
Green Construction
It’s not easy going green: For contractors, embracing the sustainable building ‘paradigm shift’ isn’t optional
June 10, 2019 David KennedyWith exposed concrete on all sides and piping from mechanical systems overhead, a compact drilling rig bores slowly into the ground beneath the Arthur Meighen Building in Toronto. The rig takes about a day to drill a 13-centimetre (five-inch) borehole…
Assessing the future: Job site robotics are quickly gaining ground
February 18, 2019 Jacob StollerIn the 1959 sci-fi novel Starship Troopers, Robert Heinlein introduced, perhaps for the first time, the concept of the powered exoskeleton — a motor-assisted armoured suit that gives its wearer superhuman strength. Since then, exoskeletons have shown up in countless…
Green buildings must do more to fix our ‘climate emergency’
February 8, 2019 Meg Holden and Rebecca HoltThis article was originally published on The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Disclosure information is available on the original site. After more than three decades of talk about the potential of…
Feds fund country’s first geothermal electricity plant; $51.3M project will create 100 construction jobs
January 11, 2019 On-Site StaffREGINA—Thousands of small-scale geothermal boreholes have been drilled across Canada over the past several years for home heating, but until now, the country has not tapped into the clean source of energy to produce power. That’s set to change as…
Construction industry embraces unlikely source of growth: shifting work off the job site
January 2, 2019 by David KennedyModular building comes into its own as timeline and labour issues squeeze builders
B.C. earmarks $1.1B to retrofit its stock of social housing
November 23, 2018 On-Site StaffVICTORIA—British Columbia has set aside $1.1 billion over the next decade to upgrade its stock of social housing. With a focus on emissions, the retrofits aim to improve building efficiency and reduce energy use. The province pointed to boiler and…
Green light for $40M wind power project in remote Inuvik, N.W.T.
November 16, 2018 On-Site StaffINUVIK, N.W.T.—A wind turbine project worth tens of millions of dollars has become the first northern Canadian infrastructure job to secure funding under Ottawa’s new Arctic Energy Fund. The Inuvik Wind Generation project will get $30 million from the federal…
Contractors complete 70-metre high foundation for B.C.’s Site C hydro project
October 31, 2018 The Canadian PressVANCOUVER—The foundation for Site C hydroelectric project has been completed. Acciona says the 70-metre high foundation structure is solid enough to support the 1,100-megawatt power plant and spillways. The company leading the construction for contractor Peace River Hydro Partners says…
Construction of first Canadian pumped hydro station built since 1950s planned for next year
August 15, 2018 Dan Healing, The Canadian PressCALGARY—A hydro power storage project proposed at the site of one of the worst coal mining environmental disasters in Canada has been given regulatory approval. Turning Point Generation, developer of the Canyon Creek Pumped Hydro Energy Storage Project, says the…
Starting small: Hybrid and electric equipment looks to earn its place
August 9, 2018 Nate HendleyA new breed of compact equipment is starting to inch its way onto the job site. This April at Intermat, German manufacturer Wacker Neuson revealed the all-electric EZ17e mini-excavator. One of the first machines of its kind, the EZ17e performs…
Construction 2.0: Technology is changing construction, the industry must change with it
July 24, 2018 Paul StruthersThe construction industry in Canada is experiencing a transformation. New technologies tailored to the space are creating greater efficiency, but labour gaps are increasing, access to capital is shrinking and a trade war with the U.S. has begun. To adapt…
Unassuming industrial building in Prince George, B.C., earns record for most airtight
July 17, 2018 Terri Theodore, The Canadian PressPRINCE GEORGE, B.C.—The Wood Innovation Research Lab in Prince George, B.C., appears to be nothing more than a modern cedar and black-metal building, but look past the cladding and you’ll find an engineering feat that has earned it the recognition…
Hyperloop construction awaits political support as Canadian company threatens relocation to Europe
July 4, 2018 Ross Marowits, The Canadian PressA Canadian hyperloop company is threatening to relocate its headquarters to Europe unless it secures political support at home for its technology that would transport goods and passengers through tubes at airplane speeds. “Unfortunately we didn’t get the required support…
Liberals set hiring, procurement stipulations for federally funded projects
June 22, 2018 Jordan Press, The Canadian PressThe so-called community benefits program aims to give Indigenous Peoples, veterans and recent immigrants a larger stake in Ottawa’s major infrastructure spending plan
Consortium approved for $140M waterfront redevelopment project in Hamilton, Ont.
June 14, 2018 by Jillian MorganHAMILTON, Ont.—The City of Hamilton has approved Waterfront Shores Corporation as the preferred proponent to deliver its $140 million Pier 8 redevelopment project. The project will transform the city’s West Harbour into a 5.24-hectare community with residential, commercial and institutional…
Tall wood buildings on the rise for Canadian universities
June 12, 2018 by Jillian MorganThe University of Toronto has unveiled plans to construct a 14-storey wood building on its St. George campus, located in the city’s downtown. Slated for construction at the end of 2019, the tower is expected to be the tallest mass…
Construction innovation: Shedding the old paradigms
June 11, 2018 Jacob StollerThe term “innovation” conjures up images of drones, virtual reality, state-of-the-art sensing technology and leading-edge building materials. These products, however, are only enablers—the real innovation is in the changes companies have to make to adopt them. Unlike manufacturers, contractors don’t…
Feds to put new transit, water projects through green construction test
June 4, 2018 Jordan Press, The Canadian PressOTTAWA—The Trudeau Liberals have laid out the environmental test that new transit and water systems will have to go through in the hope cities and provinces choose greener construction options. Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi has long talked about applying a…
CarbonCure, Airgas partner to offer CO2 concrete technology in U.S.
April 30, 2018 by Jillian MorganDARTMOUTH—Nova Scotia-based CarbonCure Technologies has partnered with Airgas, an Air Liquide company, to increase adoption of its CO2 utilization technology in the Gulf Coast of the United States. CarbonCure’s solution injects CO2 sourced from refineries of industrial emitters into wet…
Waterloo office building earns Canada’s first zero carbon certification
April 24, 2018 by Jillian MorganThe Cora Group has earned Canada’s first Zero Carbon Building – Design certification for evolv1, a commercial multitenant office building in Waterloo, Ont. Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) presents the certification, which required the building to: model a zero carbon…