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 […]
TRACE’s Mark Thompson Brandt invited to speak at the ULI Spring Meeting in Toronto, May 16-18
The Urban Land Institute (ULI) is the world’s oldest and largest network of cross-disciplinary real estate and land use experts, all with a mission to shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities around the globe. With headquarters in the USA, Europe and Asia-Pacific regions, it is a pretty big deal […]
TRACE’s Carly Farmer is now a Certified Passive House Designer (CPHD)
TRACE heartily congratulates Existing Building Specialist and Intern Architect Carly Farmer on her success in becoming a Certified Passive House Designer (CPHD)! As existing building sustainability specialists, TRACE has been familiar with PH principles for many years, integrating them wherever possible into to our work. We are now thrilled to officially add Passive House consulting […]
Save $$$ While Rehabilitating your Building!
At TRACE architectures we know deep green retrofits can seem expensive, but over the longer term, you will save money. And now there’s more good news! Why Retrofit? Canada has over 16 million dwellings and 482,000 commercial and public buildings which collectively contribute 18% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions (not including embodied carbon). Over […]
