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The Green & Healthy Building Rating Comparison Matrix (GBM), just launched by EcoSpex, is an online resource that provides an unbiased comparison of 11 leading green building and health-focused rating systems. The tool helps architects, specifiers, building contractors and project teams map credits, requirements, and documentation across multiple frameworks, reducing duplicated effort and simplifying the certification process.
For details, contact dgriffith@sabmagazine.com
By: Jonathan Kinsley
The University of Toronto Scarborough’s all-electric student residence, Harmony Commons, represents an important leap forward in the efforts to decarbonize the building sector in Canada and beyond. Designed to house 746 students, the 26,000m2 building also serves the wider campus community with an all-electric commercial kitchen, dining hall, and central offices for student life and campus security. It is now the largest certified Passive House dormitory in the world, and when completed in 2023, was the largest certified Passive House project in Canada. A centralized waste-water heat recovery system captures thermal energy from shower water and returns it to the hot water loop to reduce the energy demand of the hot water production by 35%. Exhaust air passes through energy recovery ventilators that return more than 80% of the thermal energy back to the building supply air.
When compared to an existing dormitory on the UTSC campus built in 2003, Harmony Commons consumes 70% less energy and contributes 90% less greenhouse gas emissions per person in peak conditions. Read more …
The Summer issue of SABMag, coming out in early July, will cover the 10 winning projects of the 19th annual SABMag Canadian Green Building Awards as follows:
Commercial Industrial (Large)/Prix commercial/industriel (grande taille) – Co-operators Headquarters by NEO Architecture
Commercial Industrial (Small)/Prix commercial/industriel (petite taille) – BMO Fischer Hallman Branch by Kearns Mancini Architects
Interior Design Award/ Prix design d'intérieur – U of Waterloo, Earth Sciences & Chemistry Building Third Floor Renovations by mcCallum Sather
Existing Building Upgrade Award/Prix amélioration/rénovation d’un bâtiment existent – Falkland Deep Retrofit by Habit Architecture
Technical Award/ Prix technique – shíshálh Nation 10 Home Rescue Project by Renewal Development
Institutional (Large) Award/Prix institutionnel (grande taille) – Limberlost Place by Moriyama Teshima Architects in joint venture with Acton Ostry Architects
Residential (Small) Award/ Prix résidentiel (petite taille) – Split Rock Healing House by Taylor Architecture Group
Institutional (Small) Award/Prix institutionnel (petite taille) – FortWhyte Alive Buffalo Crossing by Stantec Architecture Ltd.
Mixed Use Award/ Prix usage mixte – Koffler Scientific Reserve Dining and Operations Centre by Montgomery Sisam Architects
Residential (Large) Award/ Prix résidentiel (grande taille) – tul'al’txw – Student Housing Commons at North Island College by HDR Architecture Associates Inc.
We thank all those who took the time and effort to submit a project. We also thank our sponsors:
Our congratulations to the teams of the winning projects which will be fully published in the SABMag Summer Awards issue. The winning projects and jury comments can be found here.
Saint-Gobain Canada has renewed its support of Habitat for Humanity Canada for the fifth consecutive year, with a national partnership combining cash grants and in-kind product donations valued at $280,000. Anchored in the company’s purpose of Making the World a Better Home, this philanthropic collaboration directly connects back to Habitat’s work of making homeownership accessible for more families.
A cash grant from the Saint-Gobain North America Foundation will help advance Habitat’s essential programs, and in-kind donations of Saint-Gobain Canada’s products will offer high quality and sustainable solutions that can help build stronger Canadian communities and will offer volunteering hours for Habitat Build/Repair Days and Habitat ReStore Engagement Days throughout the year.
Photo: Saint-Gobain’s teams from Agway Metals, The Bailey Group of Companies, CertainTeed, Chryso and Kaycan came together to support a Habitat Repair Day in Hamilton on Thursday, June 11.
Construction Specialties appoints Katie Domenico as VPConstruction Specialties, a global leader in building products manufacturing, has named Katherine Domenico as vice president of sales for North America. Throughout her career, which spans more than two decades, Domenico has established a proven track record of sales leadership. Her expertise is grounded in the building products industry, where she has built and led high-performing sales and marketing teams, expanded customer segments, and strengthened strategic partnerships. Most recently, she served as vice president of commercial restoration at Carlisle Companies. CS products are manufactured and distributed around the world, and with a 75-year legacy of innovation, CS continues to be a trusted partner for architects, designers, contractors, and building owners. c-sgroup.com
SABMag’s 2026 Directory of Sustainable Products and Services for Sustainable, High-Performance Building has company listings organized by Product Category and by LEED Category: a quick reference for finding products. Examples of featured listings include:
Daikin Applied – Technologically-advanced commercial HVAC systems for customers around the world. Our goal is to deliver superior air quality and energy efficiency to every solution with innovation in advanced technology, IoT, and next generation compressors.
Innotech Windows + Doors – A BC-based manufacturer of Passive House Institute certified fenestration systems for deeply sustainable custom residences and multi-family developments.
Mitsubishi Electric Sales Canada – A wide range of solutions for the residential and commercial market including: Air Source VRF, Water Source VRF, Hybrid VRF, Single-Split, Multi-Split, Hydronics and Ventilation.
Sun Glow Window Covering Products of Canada Ltd. – A proudly Canadian manufacturer of high-quality window shade solutions and advanced operating controls, committed to sustainability at every stage of production. From sourcing eco-friendly materials to continuously reducing our carbon footprint, environmental responsibility is central to how we operate.
UNICEL Architectural Corp. – Specialists in the manufacturing of high energy-efficiency timber curtain wall with proven RAICO technology. Each Therm+ H-I system (56 and 76mm) combines Passive House certification-level thermal insulation, along with superior wind resistance and greater air tightness.
This webinar will provide an overview of precast concrete design, including applicable codes and standard requirements, seismic design philosophy and provisions, connection and diaphragm design, and more. The session will also address the Engineer of Record’s role and responsibilities in coordinating and integrating precast systems into building projects.
Learning Objectives:
Presenters:
– Wayne Kassian, P.Eng., M.Sc., Principal, Kassian Dyck & Associates
– Kurt Ruhland, P.Eng., Chief Operating Officer, MTE Consultants
Viewpoint: High-Performance Design as a Stress Test for SpecificationsBy Mark Clemmensen, V-Specs
High-performance design targets are no longer exceptional. Metrics tied to energy use, airtightness, thermal continuity, and long-term operational performance are now common expectations on institutional, residential, and mixed-use projects. Frameworks such as Passive House have helped formalize these ambitions, providing a clear benchmark for what “performance” is meant to achieve. What has become increasingly evident, however, is that the challenge on high-performance projects is rarely a lack of design intent. Instead, it is the ability of project documentation to support that intent through construction, testing, and certification. Read more …
By: Dominique Laroche, BGLA Architecture + Design Urbain
La Pêche new town hall, located in Quebec just north of Ottawa, is a two-storey, highly energy-efficient building with a very low embodied and operational carbon footprint. It is also the first institutional building in Quebec to apply for Passivhaus certification. It’s 65% reduction in heating and cooling energy is achieved with the building's simple form and advantageous envelope to floor area ratio, superior wall and roof insulation, precise positioning of windows according to orientation, exceptional air tightness, and a double south-facing brise soleil that cuts solar radiation in summer thus reducing air-conditioning needs while maximizing solar gain in winter. The exterior air barrier behind the cladding is Majvest by SIGA. Air‑source heat pumps provide heating, cooling, and dehumidification of the fresh air introduced through an ultra‑high‑efficiency ERV, all by Mitsubishi Electric Sales Canada. Read more …