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 […]
Strategies for Reducing Energy Consumption – AIC Webinar
The AIC Sustainability Committee and the Icon Sustainability Network recently organized a free webinar series titled “Conversations with Change Makers – Strategies for Reducing the Energy Consumption of Buildings.” The webinars are being held from February 22 to March 15, and feature several change makers from the field of architecture, engineering, and sustainability, who shared their insights and experiences […]
Rideau Canal Skateway on Thin Ice
When founding partner Mark Thompson Brandt presented at the APT international conference in Buffalo in 2018, he introduced the idea that “everyone now has their own personal Climate Chaos story.” Most people in developing countries may find it hard to lean in to actively fighting climate change, or by making it a priority in their […]
TRACE’s Carly Farmer granted Professional CAHP Membership!
We are pleased to announce TRACE’s Carly Farmer has been admitted to the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals (CAHP) as a professional member! The professional membership is a testament to Carly’s extensive experience, working as an Intern Architect in the heritage field. Carly’s interest in heritage buildings can be traced back to her initial passion for sustainable […]
Ice Is a Risk – To Our Existing Buildings
With the return of winter weather comes the return of salt on every road, sidewalk, driveway, parking lot and walkway. According to this article (As icy conditions return, City of Ottawa needs to avoid using too much road salt, environmental advocates say – Capital Current) Ottawa uses approximately 185,000 metric tons of salt each year. […]
24 Sussex : Conserving Canada’s Official Residence Shouldn’t be Political
The conversation regarding 24 Sussex’s future makes recent headlines (again!) in a series of recent articles published in the Globe and Mail. As described in the Globe and Mail article from December 2022 by Ian Bailey “There have been cases made for revamping 24 Sussex Drive. One proposal (2017), by the Ottawa architecture firm MTBA […]
