Insights

Conversion, Flex and Spec Design for Life Sciences Uses

[…] active and completed projects. Design Considerations So how do you determine a real estate footprint? There is data and trends in the industry to support options for conversions, flex spaces and hubs. Depending on your requirements, we look to core design considerations in every project to enable workflow processes, flexibility and future capacity. Considerations […]

Indigenous Art Fosters Cultural Visibility in Commercial Real Estate

In the realm of commercial real estate, where concrete, steel and timber shape our urban landscapes, incorporating Indigenous art into office spaces offers corporate entities a unique opportunity to enrich their environments while promoting cultural visibility. Just as municipalities across North America are integrating Indigenous knowledge into public spaces, corporate real estate can similarly foster […]

Transforming Office Buildings to Livable Spaces

Key considerations for commercial conversions to residential uses

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

September 30th is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada, a day that honors First Nations, Inuit and Métis lost children and survivors of residential schools, their families and communities. The Day responds to one of 94 Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada to ensure that public commemoration of […]

Graduate Design Studio taught by David Fortin - Student engagement with Batchewana First Nation community members. Photo courtesy of the McEwen School of Architecture

Designing Meaningful Engagement with Indigenous Groups

The world of design has much to learn from Indigenous Peoples. Tradition and knowledge are valued through harnessing personal and collective principles, thinking of buildings as living stories and embracing design as a way of building relationships, not as producing an innate object. As the A&E industry continues its journey to find meaningful ways to […]

The Evolution of Gender Diversity in Architecture: A Personal Reflection

My professional journey in Canada began 16 years ago as a foreign-trained architect. Before immigrating, I had nearly a decade of international experience working on projects across diverse geographical and political landscapes. As an immigrant, I navigated the challenging path to becoming a licensed architect while working as a senior designer. Along the way, I […]

Urban Regeneration Strategies

[…] measured through economic growth, as well as sustainable benefits for cities, owners, developers and occupants. While the industry talks a lot about the value of single building conversions, which is a big part of urban regeneration, the larger focus is acting on holistic strategies that attract capital to downtown cores through land and asset […]

An aerial view of a community of small modular homes arranged in a grid pattern, with a colorful mural on a large building in the background. The area includes green spaces, trees, and people walking around.

Navigating the Housing Crisis

[…] program works to revitalize the downtown core. This strategy is now being modeled in other cities. Toronto’s Rapid Housing Initiative works to identify vacancies and potential building conversions to enable the rapid movement of people from chronic homelessness to permanent housing. Much of the renovation and new construction work is being executed through a […]

Digital artwork of an office with a glowing brain on a glass wall symbolizing mental health in the workplace. Office employees interact in a modern setting. Text reads 'World Mental Health Day' and 'Prioritizing Mental Health in the Workplace.'

Prioritizing Mental Health in the Workplace

Mental health is a pressing global concern, demanding attention across diverse contexts. Statistics underscore the severity: in Canada, 1 in 5 individuals face mental health challenges each year while, in the US, mental health issues account for 1 in 8 emergency department visits. Factors such as climate change, affordability, violence, social isolation and global events […]

The Immersive Design Process

What if you could experience a healthcare environment before the facility or space was ever built? What if you could give real-time input into the design with accuracy and speed? It’s possible through an immersive design process. By leveraging virtual reality and in-situ simulation technologies, the immersive design process provides user data sets that inform […]

Engineering Approaches to Green Building Strategies

Green building strategies is a large and complex topic that can take many paths. Achieving a green building depends on what route you take to realize your sustainability objectives. In a world where regional and regulatory requirements and tax incentives are driving the greening of the built environment, the positive impact is important to measure […]

Making Our Cities Cool Again

Globally, urban centers are 15-degrees warmer compared to their adjacent natural hinterlands. This is caused by a phenomenon called the urban heat island effect. It’s driven by a city’s amalgam of heat-absorptive materials, such as masonry and asphalt, which by their nature store heat. Vegetation, on the other hand, controls temperatures by reflecting solar radiation, […]