Balcony slab repairs are perhaps the most disruptive project that can take place in a multi-residential building or hotel. Vibrations from the jackhammers that must be used to remove concrete can travel through the entire building, making it unbearable for residents who are home during the process.
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Courthouse design has traditionally been thought of as an exercise in expressing solemnity, stability, and fairness. Guidelines for esthetics, security, adjacency, circulation, barrier-free access, mechanical/electrical systems, and automation, means little design flexibility has historically been commonplace.
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A comprehensive master plan creates a well-defined and detailed framework for the development of a large site. As Canadian cities develop, intensify, and expand, it is becoming an increasingly common investment made by both private developers and municipal authorities. The master plan is a growing area of specialty, and one filled with opportunity for sustainable impact.
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A primary component of Canada’s built environment, brick masonry is one of the oldest construction materials, and has been in use for millennia. Its durability has helped it stand the test of time, and its esthetics continue to make it a desirable, in-demand option in many locales.
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Specifiers, architects, engineers, and contractors use numerous criteria when choosing materials and products for a building. Questions they must consider include: does the product perform well, does the product match the project esthetics, and does the product fit the budget?
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As its name suggests, a vegetated or green roof includes shallow-rooted plant material that can withstand extreme climatic conditions atop buildings. These assemblies offer numerous potential benefits, from absorbing rainwater runoff and providing insulation, to mitigating the urban heat island effect and providing greenspace.
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Beyond being a symbol of excellence, the Olympics is also one of unity. On this project, that ideology was mirrored by the number of people that managed to come together, operate as one and push the creative limits, until as a collective they managed to realize a single, grand vision together.
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Automated solar shading systems are practical applications used by European architects and building owners for decades to substantially reduce building energy usage and increase natural daylight. Worldwide, many of the most sustainable and greenest buildings (i.e. high-performance and net-zero structures) use automated solar shading.
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Based on his experiences investigating failed showers for the past two decades, David Gobis, a forensic consultant in the tile and stone industry, estimates roughly half the showers in the United States are leaking.1 This is a bold statement and, although the percentage of Canadian showers that leak may not be quite as high, the situation in this country is similar.
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Brick and stone masonry can create timeless buildings. Although they have been used for centuries for their esthetics, durability, and fire resistance, the full-bed veneer version of these materials requires a fairly robust structure for support. This is not always feasible on modern lightweight structures with smaller footings or lighter floor and roof framing. As stone and brick manufacturing methods improved, lighter thin versions of natural stone and brick—as well as concrete replicates of stone—began entering the market in the 1960s.
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