CSC
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?
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!
Congratulations Team Two: 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!
Second Place winning $1000…
Congratulations Team Three: 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: 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!CSC & the Case of the Illustrious Industrious City (Act1 Scene1)
Students from Ryerson’s School of Interior Design get immersed in K-town’s industrial architecture & urban history
Many thanks to University of Waterloo Professor Rick Haldenby for kicking off a tour of the City Centre with an inspiring and insightful address at THEMUSEUM on January 25th, 2016. This is the first in a series of (gorilla) video shorts capturing bite sized pieces of important historical facts drawn from a deep reservoir of professional research, analysis and intimate observation. 52 minute podcast on Soundcloud here
Kernels of truth that may unlock the mystery of the Illustrious, Industrious
City of Kitchener
About Robertson Simmons Architects Inc.
About Architect Carl Reider
Rick Haldenby (FRAIC) was born in Toronto, the son and grandson of architects. A graduate of Waterloo, he became a professor at the University of Waterloo’s School of Architecture in 1976, founded their award-winning Rome Program in 1979, and served as Director of Waterloo Architecture from 1988 to 2013. A specialist in Roman archaeology, architectural history and in the design of cultural sites, Haldenby is the author of the Master Plan for the Heritage Park at Ta’Cenc, Malta and co-author of the book Il Progetto del Antico. We look forward to his upcoming book about Kitchener’s City Hall!
52 minute podcast on Soundcloud here
CSC & the Case of the Illustrious Industrious City:
go to Act 1 Scene 2 go to Act 1 Scene 3
more about the CSC Student Design Competition here
Museums & Musings in Winnipeg
A mindful and memorable experience
A walking tour of downtown Winnipeg, the Forks and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Fun Night at the historic Metropolitan hosted by the Winnipeg Chapter of Construction Specifications Canada during the 2015 National Conference
Thank you CSC Winnipeg! What will the Atlantic Chapter do for an encore in 2016?
Check out their pitch here
Soundtrack by Dan Walsh recorded live on Beaver Street in Preston
links:
The Forks
The Metropolitan
music & musings 