A Game Changer For The Environment
Award Magazine, June 2023, By Natalie Bruckner Passive House, living building challenge, sustainable and regenerative buildings… these are more than just buzzwords and terms bandied around in board rooms. Today, they demonstrate the many areas being explored to achieve not just net zero energy buildings but net positive buildings. The world of sustainable design is […]
Beyond Great
Award Magazine, December 2022, Natalie Bruckner Specialists in green building design are coming up with solutions for every eventuality. Green building design is hardly a new concept, and yet its meaning has changed dramatically over the past four decades, and even more so over the past few years. At one time it was a reference […]
Using Energy Models to Design Efficient Mechanical Systems
By: Stan Poznekoff, AScT, LEED AP The mechanical system in any building is one of the most impactful components of a building’s energy consumption and overall building energy performance. As we shift our perspectives to consider more sustainable and environmentally responsible approaches to building design, mechanical engineers have had to adapt to evolving energy targets […]
How Building Envelope Design Impacts Energy Consumption
By: Hillary Davidson, P.Eng. The building envelope significantly affects the energy consumption, efficiency, and overall performance of a building. The building envelope separates the exterior, variable environment from the interior, and controlled environment and includes components such as the walls, roof, windows and doors. Careful consideration of the building envelope design must be made to […]
How Solar Panels Impact the Structure of a Building
By: Alexandra Adolph, P.Eng. As the demand for renewable energy continues to increase, consultants have seen a steady rise in solar panel installations for residential, commercial, and industrial projects. Increased interest in sustainable building design, high operating costs, and awareness of climate change have resulted in property owners considering solar energy for new and existing […]
Sustainability Scholar’s Program Report
This summer, Williams Group had partnered with the Sustainability Scholar’s Program to research how Edmonton can become a Smart City by maximizing the potential of IoT in our physical infrastructure. Williams Engineering Canada and its sister company, DB Technologies, collaborated on a project titled “Paving the way for a Smarter Edmonton: Transforming into a Smart City by Connecting Buildings […]
Our Eyes Are Open – Sustainable Design Strategies
Award Magazine, June 2021, by Natalie Bruckner COVID has had more of an impact on sustainable design than we could have perhaps ever imagined. It has made us hyper-sensitive to our human health and the health of the planet’s entire ecosystem and made people acutely aware of the need for biophilic and regenerative design. Lindsay […]
Green Building Design – Right Here, Right Now
Award Magazine, December 2019, by Natalie Bruckner Green building design today is seen as a way to tackle our climate crisis. As a result, leaders in the sector are implementing strategies and standards to help us deal with mitigating the impacts today, and in the future. “The time has come to address the elephant in […]
Managing Your Building’s Energy With Benchmarking
By: Lindsay Austrom, P.Eng., CEM, LEED® AP BD+C In North America, a building’s energy consumption accounts for nearly a third of operating costs – it’s widely known that inefficient buildings waste millions of dollars a year. Energy benchmarking, then, is a valuable tool not only for reducing carbon footprints but also for decreasing utility expenses. […]
Mind Your Footprint – Sustainable Design
Award Magazine, July 2018, by Natalie Bruckner-Menchelli Sustainable design used to be a buzzword, now it’s almost a byword in the building industry. This concept no longer solely encompasses environmental sustainability, but also social issues, human health, and advances in technology. Over the past year there have been dramatic changes within the sector, influenced largely […]
The Newest Technology In Lighting & Sustainability
Award Magazine, October 2017, by Stacey McLachlan Whether you’re an architect, designer, builder or homeowner, one thing is clear when you walk into a room: lighting completes a space. It sets a mood and tone for a room and, of course, helps you actually see what you’re doing. So while lights may sometimes get categorized […]
Passive House & Mechanical Systems
Award Magazine, August 2017, by Natalie Bruckner-Menchelli It has been well documented that mechanical systems providing indoor environmental control and domestic hot water functions generally represent the largest consumer of energy in Canadian high-rise multi-unit residential buildings. However, as government, owners and end users shine a spotlight on the sector, leaders in the field have […]