Building for Better Density
The pandemic has redefined how we think about many things. One of the biggest is our living spaces and local neighbourhoods. Over the past two years, the rooms in our homes have doubled as offices, gyms, and even classrooms. And between lockdowns and social distancing, it felt like our world shrunk to the blocks that we can walk around in our own neighbourhoods.
Practical Steps to Housing for All
For many North Americans, the idyllic image of a cosy home surrounded by a white-painted picket fence is far from reality. How are we dealing with the housing crisis that’s affecting more people than statistics show?
Investment Property Owners Association of Nova Scotia (IPOANS)
The Investment Property Owners Association of Nova Scotia (IPOANS) is dedicated to educating rental property owners and advocating for their rights in its province. The association was founded in 1978, a time in the province’s housing history that its executive director Kevin Russell remembers as much different than today. Back then, the main driver behind the association beginning its operations was rent control, established in the province in 1973.
Northumberland Properties
Andrew Cameron, Vice-President of Northumberland Properties, is a man on a mission. He believes that everyone – especially seniors – should have access to affordable and accessible housing wherever they live and should not have to trek to urban areas to find it.
Canadian Home Builders’ Association
Over the months leading up the release of Canada’s latest federal budget, A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable, there was speculation over what recommendations the 304-page document would contain about the nation’s housing crisis. Highlighted as a priority for all levels of government, the dearth of all kinds of housing, from single-family homes to condominiums, townhomes to rental units, is a threat to our future.
Building Knowledge Canada
There is a well-worn cliché that we have all heard a thousand times: “They sure don’t build them like they used to.” It is usually a complaint about how, in the modern world, we have chosen to trade quality for convenience or to save a little money. In the homebuilding field, one company is forever changing the way homes are built, with a focus on energy efficiency, carbon reduction, and climate resiliency—and without sacrificing affordability.
Elviano Homes Ltd.
There’s no place like home, especially when that home is created with a client’s particular vision in mind. With a sterling 16-year reputation in Toronto’s high-end construction sector, Elviano Homes Ltd. recognizes the importance of expert design, quality materials, and experienced trades, along with enduring, open and consistent communication in order to create “forever homes” for valued customers.
Karwood Contracting Limited
Karwood Contracting Limited offers an integrated suite of construction, land development, real estate, and design services. Using advanced tools, low-carbon wood, and a nimble approach, Karwood builds attractive, energy-efficient residences.
Azora Group
Some residential developers create cookie-cutter housing projects, then leave as soon as the work is done. The opposite is true of Azora Group, which builds communities. While Azora’s design-oriented multi-family and single-family dwellings are of exceptional quality and value, Azora also designs them for real family life.
Fusioncorp Developments
Developing a passion for the building industry at an early age, Nick Ainis remembers setting up a make-believe office in the family garage with his cousin and future partner Jim Ainis. “We were pretending to sell real estate,” says Nick.
Modern Skyline
Modern Skyline is a luxury development company that focuses on modern design and functionality while embracing the latest in technology and sustainability. Jean-Sebastien Leroux and Matthew Tautt “founded the company with the objective of bringing something a little bit more modern to the marketplace—something modern but classic,” Leroux says.
STAR Inc.
Sealcoating on asphalt or concrete surfaces isn’t decorative; it’s highly functional and protects considerable investment. Sealcoating safeguards home driveways, gas stations, parking lots, even airport surfaces from wear and tear, oil and gasoline spillages, water, snow, wind, rain, and hail.
Cimline
For more than half a century, Cimline, Inc. has been helping preserve the pavement, asphalt, and roadwork network across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Cimline designs and manufactures equipment to preserve roadways throughout the world. With a drive for performance and innovation, Cimline continues to offer cutting edge technology through its worldwide network of distributors. The company is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota with manufacturing plants in Minnesota and Mississippi.
Accu-Temp
Dave Voll and his nephew Chris Voll founded Accu-Temp in 1982. Both licensed tradesmen, the entrepreneurs launched the company to service commercial heating and cooling ventilation systems in Ontario’s Kitchener Waterloo area. “At that time it was running out of the basement,” Vice President of Business Development Scott Ward says of the humble start-up.
Delphi Plumbing & Heating
Delphi Plumbing & Heating is a leading industrial, institutional, and commercial contractor, providing essential services that keep 8.8 million New Yorkers healthy and safe.
The HIDI Group
When he became Chief Executive Officer of The HIDI Group last November, Dario Di Carlo was prepared to face COVID challenges impacting the building industry, work through them, and welcome the future. Now, past the midway mark of 2022, staff are returning to the office, “and rebuilding the corporate culture we had before COVID,” says Di Carlo.
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How the Paint and Sealant Sectors Respond to Changing Times
The markets for paint and sealants have had a tumultuous time as of late, due to “the COVID-19 pandemic, raw material shortages and supply chain disruptions,” states the American Coatings Association (ACA). The ACA is a trade group for the paint and coating industry, but their words apply to the sealant sector as well.
AEC
Barbara O’Toole launched AEC in 1991 with a vision to bridge the gap between acoustics, construction, and design. “She started the company by taking her knowledge of acoustics and marrying that together with what she saw as a void in the industry,” says Executive Vice President Crystal Durham.
BOKA Powell
BOKA Powell is a design firm bringing spaces to life, with projects both inspired and inspiring. Their team takes architecture, interior design, and master-planning to the next level, creating experience-driven spaces that tell a story. From mixed-use and corporate workplaces to build-to-suit, BOKA Powell is not limited by the size or scope of any project, only by the program and budget of those who seek to make their design dreams a reality.
CarbonShack
Far from the cookie-cutter designs of modern homes with monotonous colors, styles, and accessories, Los Angeles-based Home Front Build strives to help homeowners embrace their own unique tastes by taking reclaimed items and repurposing them in either new builds or rebuilds, and making living spaces truly exceptional.
Eklund’s
Most of us have ridden in one at one time or another, but we rarely consider them—they simply help transport us from one floor to another, safely and without breaking a sweat. Elevator cabs—commonplace in many buildings today, from public schools to offices to universities and even private homes—generally tend to be generic in design, color, and adornments, but if you’re looking for something a little out of the ordinary, Eklund’s is the company of choice.
DES
Multi-disciplinary design firm DES of Redwood City, California, marked its 50th anniversary this year, an achievement made possible by having a sterling body of work, a progressive spirit, and a client-centric focus. The company’s origins can be traced to an effort to please a customer who was employing separate firms for a project.
