Celebrating Local Indigenous Design
As we acknowledge June as Indigenous Heritage Month in Canada, heritage specialists in the field of architecture should reflect on the rich history, heritage, resilience and diversity of Canada’s First Nations, Inuit and Metis Peoples. In the ancestorial and unceded territories of Anishinaabe and Algonquin Peoples, the National Capital region is home to Indigenous Peoples […]
TRACE @ SSAC Conference 2023: What’s the Future for Concrete in Ottawa?
In June 2023, Catherine was invited to present a paper session at the SSAC 2023 Conference in Calgary, AB, on the topic of concrete conservation in the National Capital Region. This year’s SSAC conference’s theme was Cast-In-Place, exploring the impact of concrete on Canada’s built environment. The theme brought sessions beyond concrete, reflecting on multidisciplinary […]
Places of Pride: LGBTQIA2S+ Narratives in Heritage
Heritage buildings are not just physical structures – they are vessels that carry stories from the past. As we celebrate Pride Month, it is important for us as heritage professionals to shine a light on the often overlooked narratives of the LGBTQIA2S+ community that exist within and among these historic places. Since our work at […]
Change and transformation: a brief history of Ottawa’s Chinatown
May is Asian Heritage Month in Canada and TRACE architectures is exploring Ottawa’s evolving Chinatown neighbourhood, a diverse and changing part of the City’s Centretown West neighbourhood. Ottawa’s Chinatown is located along Somerset St. West of downtown Ottawa between Bay Street and Preston Street. In the early 20th?century, the area was predominantly a mix of Irish and Italian influence, […]
Reuse in a city of demolition: Mark Thompson Brandt to speak at ULI Spring Meeting in Toronto, May 16-18
The Urban Land Institute (ULI) is a global network of professionals in every sector of real estate development and land use, from private enterprises to public service, who are on a mission to shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities around the world. As the oldest and largest cross-disciplinary group […]
Earth Day 2023: A Systems Approach to Caring for Our Planet, Buildings and People
As architects specializing in the sustainable retrofits of traditional and modern building, the TRACE team is well-versed in the concept of the “building as a system.” This approach requires a good understanding of the individual elements (ie. building envelope, building services, occupants, site, micro-climate, etc.) how they impact the entire system. The Whole Building Design […]
Ottawa’s Concrete Skyline: TRACE’s Catherine McBain presents research at the 10th Annual Construction History Society Conference at Cambridge University, UK
In collaboration with Carleton University, TRACE was excited to publish and present a joint research project with Professor Mariana Esponda on the history and evolution of Concrete in Canada’s national capital. The paper titled Laying the Foundation: The Use and Evolution of Concrete as Ottawa’s Primary Building Material will be published in the conference proceedings of the […]
Heritage Changes: ICOMOS International Day for Monuments and Sites
April 18th is the International Day for Monuments and Sites, established in 1982 by ICOMOS (International Council for Monuments and Sites) to promote dialogue and showcase strategies for conserving heritage places. The theme for this year’s activities is Heritage Changes, in keeping with ICOMOS’s current strategic focus on Cultural Heritage and Climate Action and the […]
The Most Affordable House is One That is Already Built
Carl Elefante’s quote, “the greenest building is the one that already exists” is a widely-accepted axiom. But building re-use can also be a large part of the solution to the housing affordability crisis. In Building Magazine’s recent article, “Three strategies to help fix housing supply,” author Nevena Dragicevic argues that building reuse and preservation are […]
More Than Mould: Identifying Problems and Exploring Opportunities in Buildings
On Tuesday March 21st, TRACE’s Research and Policy Lead Emily Guy attended The Association for Preservation Technology (APT) MATERIALS TALK #16 series titled; “More Than Mould: The Other Fungi.” The workshop was presented by Mycologist Michael Warnock, an active member of the Mycological Society of Toronto and founder of ID Onsite Inc., a company with […]
