2023 October Professional Development Series

The Growth of Mass Timber

Carol Phillips, Moriyama Teshima Architects

Carol Phillips will present a case study based overview of two of the country’s largest and internationally recognized mass timber construction projects, Limberlost Place and the OSSTF Headquarters Complex. Both projects achieve the highest sustainability standards and utilize mass timber structure as a key component in lowering the embodied carbon and have advanced the rapidly growing uptake of timber as a structural solution in the firm’s practice.   

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Carol is a Partner with the renowned architecture firm Moriyama Teshima Architects known for remarkable, innovative Canadian and international projects. Carol is Design Leader for the firm’s most ambitious low carbon projects. A Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, Carol’s inspired designs have received international awards and are distinguished by the spare but assertive use of materials that bring identity and grace to communities. Her practice is increasingly focused on low carbon and timber in the search for ways the construction industry can contribute better solutions to the climate crisis. Along with her built work, Carol provides service to the architectural community through teaching at the University of Toronto, lecturing internationally, acting as a juror for design awards, and sitting on various design review panels. 

Registered attendees will receive a personalized link to the webinar on October 3, 2023.
 

Designing for the Future: Design Systems, Intelligence and Smart Construction

Yehia Madkour and Mahdiar Ghaffarian, Perkins+Will

In this era of unprecedented demand on construction, technological advancements, climate emergency, and social stressors, the built environment needs to be designed to be resilient and respond to the multiple forces at play. This session describes a holistic design process where technology, the flow of data, integrity of systems and continuity of design intelligence remains intact and consistent through the design to construction process. By exploring four main themes, “Design Intelligence”, “Timber and Smart Construction”, “Sensors and Adaptive Re-Use”, and “Solutions for Climate Action”, this session describes Perkins&Will’s methodology for architects moving towards smart, sustainable, and adaptable futures by addressing digital continuity through all layers of design to construction and into the life of the building.    

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Yehia’s work spans architecture and urban design, with a focus at the intersection of technology, design process and research. As Director of Innovation, Yehia sits on Perkins&Will’s Research and Technology boards, providing strategic direction to the research labs across the firm. He is founder and past director of the firm’s Computational Design Integration, where he facilitated a platform for digital design and fabrication across 26 studios.

Yehia is a frequent speaker on topics spanning design, computation, mass timber, digital fabrication, sensors, and smart cities. Most recently, Yehia was named to the BD+C 40 Under 40 Class of 2021.





Mahdiar is a practicing designer, researcher, computational designer and educator in architecture and design. Building upon his expertise in architectural design process, while pursing the implementation of computation in research-based architectural practice at Perkins&Will in Vancouver, his main area of research interest is an interdisciplinary filed that combines architecture, biology and computation with the goal of introducing new dynamic design methodologies, establishing intelligent problem-solving techniques through computational design and predicting the future of design as an organic on-going evolutionary phenomenon.  

Registered attendees will receive a personalized link to the webinar on October 10, 2023.

The State of Prefabrication in Canada

Craig Mitchell, BlackBox Offsite Solutions Ltd.

Coming off the recently released report that was developed for Forestry Innovation Investment, this seminar will discuss the state of prefabrication in Canada. Mr. Mitchell will provide an overview of the status of mass timber, panels and volumetric construction while sharing recommendations to encourage greater adoption of prefabrication in order to solve our current construction productivity, sustainability and affordable housing issues. This seminar will also address how prefabrication ties into high performance structures and how to better use prefabrication to encourage greater adoption.    

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Craig is passionate about innovation and the use of off-site prefabrication to solve our productivity problem in the construction and development industry. He is also an advocate for sustainability and welcome any dialogue which involves steps to reduce our carbon footprint.

Of the 27 years experience in the modular building field, the past 18 years has been in management and senior leadership roles and has been part of project teams having completed hundreds of buildings totalling almost $1B in modular construction value. The most recent role as modular and offsite consultant has allowed him to lead new and existing clients to adopt and successfully execute their modular projects, develop strategic plans, provide senior oversight on projects, and assist in business development and building project teams. He currently assists clients in the adoption and use of prefabricated techniques with a focus on volumetric and panelized offsite construction and provides authentic unbiased advice for all types of temporary and permanent modular and offsite construction projects throughout Canada and the US. 

Registered attendees will receive a personalized link to the webinar on October 17, 2023.
 

Adapted Materials - Architectural Features as a Test Bed for Innovation

Connor Hayduk and Kevin Poole, Heavy

This session will discuss how custom architectural and art features are the perfect environment to explore innovative applications of new and conventional materials. Join us as we explore how materials and processes are adapted to new environments, and look at nascent materials that are searching for new and innovative uses. Architects are well placed to be visionaries in this space, and when combined with the right team can drive exploration and experimentation with these materials in the architectural realm.    

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Never content to leave well enough alone, Connor leads the Heavy team through the upfront concept ideation and development, while leveraging his 15+ years of design experience and his Master’s in Environmental Design. He particularly enjoys the creative problem solving required to turn projects from conceptual what-ifs into finished, tangible experiences. Connor has leveraged his design sense and calm in the storm attitude to realize the wildest ideas on 100's of projects over the span of his career, and is driven by the desire to create engaging, meaningful experiences that create a sense of place and add to the richness of the urban fabric.







With over 15 years of experience in many different facets of general construction, Kevin brings a well-rounded approach to Heavy’s Project Development department. His understanding of construction processes has allowed to him to develop a keen eye for details and schedules, bringing confidence to the prices Heavy submits. Kevin is primarily engaged in the early stages of new projects to create cost estimates, identify and mitigate risk, and developing the preliminary project plan. With a comprehensive understanding of the full project lifecycle, Kevin endeavours to ensure positive results for the project, the client and the company. Kevin’s previous project management experience and BSc. in Engineering provides the framework for collaboration with the design team, ensuring practical and plausible solutions are pursued while maintaining the essence of the client’s vision.  

Registered attendees will receive a personalized link to the webinar on October 24, 2023.