he close of 2012 saw an 11.2 per cent decrease in the number of building permits issued by Canadian municipalities for both residential and non-residential projects.

The December permit value decline to $5.7 billion followed a 14.5 per cent decrease in November. The largest drops were seen in Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario.

With support from the Canadian government, Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) has launched a resource tool providing information on national career opportunities.

TheGreenestWorkforce.ca provides information and resources for jobs in all venues of the foresting industry including skilled trades, woodlands operations, and corporate office opportunities.

A new survey of Canadian design/construction professionals will help determine the state of building information modelling (BIM) not only in the country, but also around the world.

CSC, the Institute for BIM in Canada (IBC)/buildingSMART Canada (bSC), and Digicon Information have created a survey in collaboration with NBS (a division of Royal Institute of British Architects).

Toronto’s MaRS Centre, a focal point in the city’s Discovery District, will double its size with the construction of the organization’s Phase 2 building.

Designed by Bregman + Hamann Architects and scheduled to open this September, the 72,464-m² (780,000-sf) structure is targeting Gold under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.

This week, Toronto-based accounting/advisory firm Shimmerman Penn LLP hosted “Elements of a Successful Practice,” an educational event for design/construction professionals.

The event, held at the MaRS Discovery Centre, welcomed architects and engineers from various firms to listen and weigh in on how their practices maintain commitment to design excellence and success.

Ontario Tire Stewardship (OTS) has met its Used Tires Program goal of recycling 50 million tires in the province.

Founded in 2009, OTS encourages keeping tires out of landfills by reusing the materials for products such as carpet underlay, rubber mulch, sidewalks, and roofing.

A pair of Vancouver convention centre projects are among this year’s recipients of the 2013 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Institute Honor Awards, recognizing excellence in interior and exterior architecture and urban design.

One of the Canadian winners, the Vancouver Convention Centre, is an 8.9-ha (22-acre) waterfront development.The Vancouver Convention Centre is one of AIA’s 2013 Institute Honor Award winners. The structure is the first convention centre to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification.

Earlier this month construction began on a 74,322-m² (800,000 sf), 35-storey office tower in Toronto’s core.

Developed by Menkes and Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) and designed by Sweeny Sterling Finlayson & Co. Architects, the tower is located at One York Street in an area becoming increasingly popular for office buildings—partially due to access to Union station’s transit terminal.

According to a new study, the international demand for carpet and flooring is expected to rise by a total of 4.9 per cent in 2016.

In the “World Flooring and Carpets” report, released by industry researchers The Freedonia Group, demand is predicted to increase annually by 6.8 per cent before reaching 18.6 billion m² (200.2 billion sf) of flooring.

Brett MacIntyre, this year’s winner of the Canada Council for the Arts’ Prix de Rome in Architecture for Emerging Practitioners, aims to highlight the potential contribution from aboriginal communities to architecture.

The award is presented to a recent graduate of a Canadian architecture school who is given the opportunity to travel and expand on their research.