Bluesky builds Vancouver’s first smart windows office tower

BIZ  Energy, Real Estate

A new Vancouver office building is the first in Canada to feature smart windows to reduce glare and external heat without blinds. BlueSky Properties recently opened 988 West Broadway, the first Canadian office building to feature View Dynamic Glass throughout.

Bird-friendly windows reduce collision at UBC

Real Estate  •  Vancouver Sun

Every once in a while Penny Martyn thumps a tennis ball or a small toy mouse against the glass window in her office. Martyn is using the toys to re-create the impact of a bird striking the window. When the toy hits the glass, a sensor records the impact and sends data wirelessly to a nearby laptop.

Super green building takes root in Yellowknife

Real Estate  •  CBC.ca

Yellowknife could soon have the greenest building in the country according to Ecology North and the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. The groups are planning a four-storey building in the city’s downtown that they say would be the first carbon negative building in Canada.

Earth Day sustainability stories in Canadian Architect

Real Estate  •  Canadian Architect

April 22, 2019 is the 49^th annual Earth Day, and with reports of climate change’s accelerating pace, we have all the more reasons to pay head to the environment’s state of health. We’ve rounded up eight must-read stories about sustainability in Canadian architecture to mark Earth Day 2019.

The top 10 green buildings for 2019: AIA

Real Estate  •  USA Today  •  BDC Network

One Spadina Crescent, the University of Toronto’s John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design has been chosen as a top 10 green building by the American Institute of Architects. The restored historic building integrates a new addition with stormwater management, a green roof, and ample daylight.

How AI is slashing heating bills in buildings

Real Estate  •  Corporate Knights

The HVAC industry has been turning out increasingly sophisticated programmable thermostats with a range of features designed to allow users to adjust a home’s temperature automatically. Every self-respecting tech geek knows precisely how easy it is to undermine the intelligence wired into these devices: Just press the manual override.

$20-billion could fix Canada’s flood problem

Real Estate  •  Globe and Mail (Subscription required)  •  CBC  •  Montreal Gazette

Quebec Premier François Legault has caught flak for saying he’s tired of wasting money serially compensating people in flood-prone areas. Heartless perhaps, but Mr. Legault is right. Paying people to rebuild after a flood, only to give more when the same homes are under water again just two years later, makes no sense.

13 high-risk disasters that could hit Calgary

Real Estate  •  CBC

Catastrophic flooding. A major hostage incident. A train that derails and spills hazardous goods downtown. An EF5-class tornado.

Those are just a few of the 13 highest risk disasters Calgary could face, out of 65 natural and man-made crises reviewed and ranked by the city’s emergency management agency.

Developers making sense of NYC’s climate policies

Real Estate  •  Bisnow

The New York City commercial real estate industry is picking over the details of upcoming city laws that will fine building owners if they exceed new emissions caps. Mayor Bill de Blasio has signaled he is not done with legislating building materials intended to reduce environmental impact.

NYC requires green roofs on new buildings

Real Estate  •  Good News Network  •  GreenMatters

New York City recently passed a trailblazing new piece of legislation that is set to propel the Big Apple towards the forefront of America’s fight against climate change. The new Climate Mobilization Act contains six measures intended to help the city reach carbon neutrality and 100% clean energy by 2050.

NYC Mayor takes aim at glass towers energy hogs

Real Estate  •  Canadian Architect

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio presides over a city that’s known for its skyscrapers but he is no fan of its glass towers. He vowed this week to introduce a bill to ban glass and steel skyscrapers, saying their brick and concrete counterparts are more energy efficient.

Solar panels that remove CO2 to grow edible algae

Real Estate  •  Fast Company

SFU opens Surrey expansion in sustainable energy

Real Estate  •  CBC  •  Toronto Star

Simon Fraser University has expanded its Surrey campus with a new facility dedicated to sustainable energy engineering. The new building will accommodate 440 new full-time student spaces and 40 faculty and staff in September for the university’s new sustainable energy engineering degree program.

The tension between green buildings and building codes

Real Estate  •  GreenBiz

A green building consultant is reviewing progress with the design team, only to realize that the calculations presented by the engineer don’t meet the green building requirement. To which said engineer grumbles, “But I designed it to code.” And therein lies a fundamental misperception of green building programs.

Why aren’t companies moving faster toward sustainability?

Real Estate  •  Sustainable Brands

Report Report: Banking, carbon capture, climate risk

Real Estate  •  GreenBiz

The Report Report is a monthly wrap-up of recent research on sustainable business and clean technology, produced by Corporate Eco Forum, a by-invitation membership organization comprised of large, global companies that demonstrate a serious commitment at the senior executive level to sustainability as a business strategy issue.

Tree rings show 100 years of climate change

Real Estate  •  Globe and Mail

In 1896, Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius made a prescient calculation that showed the vast quantities of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by burning coal and other fossil fuels would eventually cause the planet to get warmer.

Cities hold the keys to greener, more efficient homes

Real Estate  •  GreenBiz

Our homes may be a source of safety, comfort and stability — but they also represent a considerable slice of our country’s carbon emission. Improving the efficiency of our homes is a powerful tool for addressing the energy burden that disproportionately affects our low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities.

Pennsylvania 24th state to join US Climate Alliance

Real Estate  •  Energy Manager Today

Pennsylvania has become the 24th state to join the US Climate Alliance, committing to work toward cutting greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement despite the Trump administration’s intent to quit the international climate pact.

Indonesia’s capital city moving due to environmental risk

Real Estate  •  Gizmodo  •  thejournal.ie

For as long as Indonesia has existed—even during colonial times—Jakarta has been its capital. But the 10 million-strong coastal city that sits on the northern coast of Java will soon lose that title, thanks to some serious infrastructural and environmental challenges.