Three Canadian projects have been honoured by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) for being among the best in public places, residences, parks, and urban planning projects from around the world.

Winning in the General Design category was the Winnipeg Skating Shelters project, which received the Honour Award. Designed by Vancouver’s Patkau Architects.

A new Ontario initiative to encourage long-term infrastructure planning aims to better determine maintenance costs and prioritize new projects.

At last month’s Association of Municipalities Ontario (AMO) conference, the “Municipal Infrastructure Strategy” was introduced by Bob Chiarelli, infrastructure minister, who defined the budgets for municipality building in 2013.

Edmonton-based HIP Architects has joined global firm Kasian Architecture Interior Design and Planning under a new agreement.

Under the agreement, HIP’s partners, Stewart Inglis and Randy Krebes, will become principals at Kasian. Additionally, 15 members of HIP staff will move to Commerce Place headquarters in Edmonton.

Two Manitoba projects took top prizes in a software company’s North American building information modelling (BIM) competition.

The winner in the concrete category—the Manitoba Hydro Spillway Replacement project, designed by KGS Group—chose Tekla software to successfully model and co-ordinate its design.

A new poll suggests almost three-quarters of Ontarians want mandatory energy labelling for homes. The Canadian branch of North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA Canada) has released the results, showing 70 per cent of residents support the introduction of a standardized efficiency labelling system.

This would refer to the energy efficiency level of a residence at the time of purchase.The recent poll conducted by North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA Canada) demonstrates the support of Ontario residents for home energy labelling standardization.

ASTM C1289, Standard Specification for Faced Rigid Cellular Polyisocyanurate Thermal Insulation Board, has been revised with changes to the way long-term thermal resistance (LTTR) R-value is calculated for roofing systems.

LTTR is a calculation method used to determine the 15-year time-weighted average R-value of roof insulation and has been adopted by most polyiso manufacturers.

Montréal engineering-construction firm, Dessau Inc., is continuing its development in South America with the acquisition of Peru’s SyZ Consultores Asociados SA.

Based out of Lima, SyZ specializes in designing hydroelectric and thermal generating stations, power transmission and distribution lines, and site supervision.

According to new industry data, high-pressure sprayed polyurethane foam (SPF) insulation use is growing in Canada.

The Spray Foam Coalition (SFC) and Center for the Polyurethanes Industry (CPI) have established a historical data program tracking the material’s sales in North America since 2008.

To promote certification opportunities for concrete professionals, nine North American associations have teamed up to establish the Concrete Industry Certification Consortium (CICC).

Together, these groups will encourage certification programs for concrete professionals. TCA’s James R. Baty II spoke to the international appeal of CICC.

This year’s North American Copper in Architecture (NACIA) Awards have been given to four Canadian projects for their innovative uses of the metal.

Montreal City Hall – Photo Credit – Heather & LittleThe awards program is sponsored by industry representatives at the Canadian Copper & Brass Development Association (CCBDA) and the Copper Development Association (CDA).