Construction Specifications Canada
CSC Design Challenge to #reimagine🚂 1655 Dupont
Drop in and visit the CSC Student Design Challenge exhibit in the Winner’s Lounge at Expo 2019, live off the floor at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on February 27th. Sample the iGuide virtual tour of 1655 Dupont Street in Toronto, site of the 2019 Design Challenge.
🔗 meet Michael Vervena at iGuide
🔗meet Cathie Schneider, Co-Chair of the Design Competition Committee
🔗 visit cscdesignchallenge.ca 🔗 like us on facebook
🔗Building Design & Construction at George Brown College
21:31:41 CSCeXpo2019
Montage video recap of the 41st annual CSC Building Expo (21:31) shot live off the floor on February 27th, 2019.
I suited up and slew snowmaggedon on the Kitchener line GoTrain to Union Station, complete with all ten poster boards from last year’s design challenge safely in tow.
While frantically rummaging through pockets for my presto card, I caught a glimpse of Regional Councillor/City of Waterloo Mayor David Jaworsky waiting to board the train. Reflecting on his 2018 year-end interview with Craig Norris on The Morning Edition (*1) put a smile on my face despite an undertone of grumpiness for neglecting to make time for morning java.
20 sec mark🔖 “Construction in Today’s Connected World” was the keynote address from Dr. Rick Huijbreigts, the VP of Strategy and Innovation at George Brown College. Dr. Huijbreights expands on the convergence of IoT devices in building automation systems with low-voltage PoE, smart lighting, cloud management and analytics, all protected by emerging cybersecurity operational standards (*2) Yep, caught myself smiling again even before the aroma of coffee reached the table.
It was refreshing to see so many student volunteers from the college engaged at the expo; serving the industry, asking questions and making connections. The train has indeed left the station
2m30s mark🔖 Next stop on the tour we hear from Charles W. Skipper, partner at Foglar, Rubinoff LLP and no stranger to the Toronto Construction Association. The Queen’s University alumni cut his teeth articling with the Ministry of Attorney General before practicing commercial litigation at a major Toronto law firm. At Fogler, Rubinoff LLP since 1996, his expertise in the dynamics of construction and commercial disputes is highly sought after. Charles obtained his Master’s Degree in Law (LL.M) (Civil Litigation and Dispute Resolution) from Osgoode Hall, York University in 1998, specializing in construction litigation. He is a Harvard Law School trained negotiator, a lover of ancient history, and a surprisingly funny guy with a decent throwing arm (not captured in this video) (*3)
âš– this is justice and I think it’s great, but I must say that I never had any idea in my life that you could ask so many questions for so long about so little ⚖
6m06s mark🔖A sobering overview of changes to the Construction Lien Act including lien registration/perfection, holdback, trust fund obligations, prompt payment rules and interim adjudication (*4)
18m01s mark🔖 CSC Student Design Challenge: the top five entries of the 2018 design competition on display in the winner’s lounge🥂
Cathie Schneider, Co-Chair of the CSC student design competition committee shares her enthusiasm with Michael Vervena as he demonstrates the use of iGuide’s 3D virtual tour of the 2019 Design Challenge site at 1655 Dupont Street in Toronto.
*1) Things that matter to Mayor Dave Jaworsky
*2) US legislation to improve IoT security
*3)Â Bell Canada v. Olympia & York Developments Ltd., 1994 CanLII 239 (ON CA)
*4) Changes to the Construction Act Â
24 for 48 Ontario
Congratulations Winners!
Awards Night on May 16th held in the Atrium at Catalyst 137 – The site of last year’s design competition. Gorgeous space – thank-you Frank, PM Riley & the Building Team – a pleasure!
Shout out to our esteemed judges who made it possible to narrow down from 24 inspiring and noteworthy entries. Well done students!
Teams from Ryerson University, OCAD, UWaterloo, Conestoga College participated and five challengers rose to the top:
Fifth Place:Â “Statera” – Conestoga College Team:Â Mashael Alharbi, Chelsea Hummel & Amber MacPherson
Fourth Place: “Blues & Brews” – UWaterloo Team: Marius Hexan, Alexandra Siu, Hayley Sykes & Emmeily Zhang:
Third Place: “The Dark Room Hotel” – OCAD Team:Â Tori Wang, Lily Ni & Feeleng Leng:
Second Place: “The Four-Eight” – UWaterloo Team: Teresa Tran, Azadeh Shayanfar, Anisha Sankar & Parisa Hassanzadegan:
First Place: “House of Tech & Blues” – UWaterloo Team: Lauren Kyle, Jeremy Jeong, Justyna Maleszyk, Michelle Piotrowski & Keegan Steeper:
Just AWEsome…for more about the Student Design Competition, visit the official website at cscdesignchallenge.ca
Designing the Future
Shout out to Chris Adamkowski who knows a thing or two about future proofing in the age of Artificial Intelligence. He was the keynote speaker at this year’s CSC Building Expo, on Wednesday, February 28th at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Chris is the Head of Industry at Google and manages a high performance team dedicated to Government, Travel, and Tourism clients in Canada. He dropped by our display of the 2017 Design Competition winning entries from Conestoga College and was introduced to the unique Maker Space Hub at http://catalyst-137.com/.
We hope to see more of him in Waterloo Region!
cscdesignchallenge.ca
Ground Hog Day in DTK
Students & faculty from the Ryerson School of Interior Design enjoyed a tour of 48 Ontario Street in Kitchener on Friday, February 2nd. This is the school’s fourth visit to Waterloo Region to experience the local culture and study the architectural, economic and demographic forces on significant properties of historical/cultural influence. Their research will inform this year’s case study of the former Bell Telephone Co. building turned Royal Canadian Legion Branch 50, otherwise known as “the Legion”.
Statement of Cultural Heritage Value for 48 Ontario Street North
Glenn Smith joined the tour to get reacquainted with the building where back in 1986 he launched an outrageous experiment as a concert promoter and introduced such talented blues artists as Buddy Guy and Mel Brown from (mostly) New Orleans, Detroit and the Chicago area to a new audience in Kitchener-Waterloo.  Legendary performances and Sold-Out shows at the Legion Dance Hall begins the story of Kitchener’s love affair with the Blues. Who remembers that Colin James played there when he was just 18?! If the walls could talk…
Watch for more about Glenn and Kitchener’s blues roots starting with the soon-to-be-released live interview with Martin de Groot at the Commons Studio
Sunshine & Frigid temperatures set the stage for a twist on the urban legend of Groundhog Day at Kitchener City Centre. Far from the predictable news from Willie, here is proof that Waterloo Region is not stuck in Groundhog day with this candid snapshot of genuine multi-sectorial collaboration. Shout out to our esteemed community leaders Martin de Groot, Raj Saini MP,  Taymoore Balbaa, Cathie Schneider, Tammy Lawrence, Councillor Sarah Marsh, James Howe, and Glenn Smith.
That’s me between Martin and Cathie…two of the few who would never try to shoot down a good idea before it gets a chance to fly:)
For more about the CSC Student Design Challenge, visit the official website here and facebook page here
In the News…
Construction Canada Magazine Jan 9/18
Construction Links Announcement Feb 13th/18
The Art of Specifying Stone
Cathie Schneider delivers an insightful and informative talk on the subject of specifying natural stone at this month’s CSC-GV luncheon on October 18th, 2017**Shout out to our venue hosts at the Grand Valley Construction Association who never complain about us leaving a trail of sandwich crumbs on the carpet. You’re the best!
Cathie Schneider, CTR, the VP of Stonequest Inc. is an accredited speaker with the Marble Institute of America and has been in the stone business for 25 years. She is a member of IDC Canada and the current Chair of the Grand Valley Chapter of Construction Specifications Canada. Architects, Interior Designers, Specifiers, Distributors, Landscape Architects, Contractors, Construction Managers, LEED Evangelists and ESPECIALLY Building Owners should listen carefully to the podcast recorded at this event, or better yet… reach out to Cathie before planning your next project with natural stone!
Who is Joe?
Joe Ippolito, CTR and VP of Quarry Sales at Arriscraft makes a brief “guest appearance” on the podcast. We will be sending him a courtesy copy. Same with Stefanie Hargest of Boehmer’s Block who knows a thing or two about building to LEED Standards. She gives great hugs too (go to the 1:11 mark on the video).
How do I listen to the podcast? Â
Test your Stone IQ here
Fill out the form below for a password to unlock the podcast
AND
we MIGHT even send you the test answers
Cathie Schneider takes us on a stone quest to Rivendell where all the Consultants of Elrond (Design & Construction Team) are thriving under the transformative leadership of the building Frodowner…
she will share the magic word with you if you ask nice (or you could try Stefanie)
**Like the Soundtrack? Special thanks to Mother West Wind’s Animal Friends (recorded at a live performance in 2016 at the End of Summer Festival in Uptown Waterloo)
LINKS:
Terrazzo, Tile and Marble Association of Canada
MIA + BSi (Marble Institute of America)
National Building Granite Quarries Association
National Tile Contractors’ Association
Catalyst Conestoga Co-op
Congratulations to Professors Sarah Turner & Ann Callaghan and Students of Conestoga College’s Bachelor of Interior Design (Honours)
You are all winners
The energy and enthusiasm at The Pines on the evening of May 11th was absolutely infectious. Design teams from Conestoga College presented their vision for a public gathering space at Catalyst137, the subject building of the 2017 CSC Student Design Competition to an audience of AEC professionals at Connections Cafe, an annual networking event sponsored by the Grand Valley Chapter of Construction Specifications Canada.
The 475,000 sq ft building located at 137 Glasgow Street in Kitchener, historically used for warehousing tires and footwear will soon house the world’s largest maker space campus, a hub for the talent, hardware, engineering services and venture capital support needed to build the next generation of IoT companies.
The theme of the Design Competition, “public collaboration and connection” inspired student designers to create a space that would invite social interaction between building occupants and neighbours of Belmont Village. Interaction with the natural environment added a strong complement to the theme, through various strategies including the use of the Iron Horse Trail for commuting to the site.
Team Two Takes top prize of $2,000!Â
Congratulations Team Two:Â Thiska Meereboer, Erin Wetzel, Henry Dowling and Mike Latter for winning first place and for making such a great impression on the crowd at Connections Cafe that they voted your work for
The People’s Choice Award
Nicely done!Â
Second Place winning $1000…
Congratulations Team Three:Â Brooklyn Taylor, Emily Turchi, Maria Van Woundenberg & Han Xie
Third Place winning $500…
Congratulations Team One : Brianna Dancy, Jandi Gunn, Laura Kular & Tessa MacDonald
Fourth Place awesomeness…..
Congratulations Team Four:Â Stephanie Moraweitz, Mia Bartels, Gemma Gorkes & Kelsey Elford
The scope of the design competition did not impose budget constraints on the proposals, but the inclusion of specific construction materials and a detailed product specification was required to qualify (view competition documents here) More about the 2017 CSC Student Design Competition here and Connections Cafe here
Construction Canada Announcement here
Catalyst Conestoga Co-op?
The Bachelor of Interior Design (Honours) program has been designed in consultation with the Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario (ARIDO) and is on ARIDO’s list of recognized interior design programs. It provides a unique co-op experience, with a focus on technical competency that stresses the importance of building code compliance, accessibility, sustainability, energy efficiency, building maintenance and operations to inform design intent and provide both aesthetically pleasing and build-able solutions.
Invited guests from the local construction and design community joined event sponsors in rallying around the competing teams while students seized the opportunity to network with industry professionals, welcoming the spontaneous “peer review” of their projects while vying for the “People’s Choice Award” decided by popular vote during the evening. Take in the action at #connectionscafe2017
Thank-you Community Partners, Catalyst137 and iGuide and members of the Design Competition Team at CSC Grand Valley and CSC Toronto for making it happen…
See you next year!