July 22, 2010
Don Peterman joins Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors
A world where everyone has a safe and decent place to live” – Habitat for Humanity vision statement.
Ever since Don Peterman saw a 1998 episode of Bob Vila’s This Old House featuring a Habitat for Humanity project outside of Atlanta, he knew he wanted to be involved some day. So he was delighted when he was recently approached to become a Board member. Over the next three years he will be actively involved in two main committees – Build, and Land Acquisition.
Don’s professional career spans 40 years in architectural design, construction project coordination and contract administration – in both public and private construction.
See the Habitat for Humanity website for more information - www.habitatncr.com.
June 17, 2010
Scotiabank EcoLiving Website
Scotiabank has launched an EcoLiving program to help Canadian homeowners discover what green options are available to them around their home, or as they renovate or build a home.
We are delighted to be featured on their EcoLiving website www.ecoliving.scotiabank.com as a firm with a philosophy that puts the environment up front. Whether it's through design, or efficient energy systems, or choice of materials - we strive for our projects to be environmentally responsible. Chris Simmonds is a leader in the area of design and environmental responsibility and was awarded Canada Green Building Council's (Ottawa Chapter) Leadership Award in 2008 for "fostering sustainable design, construction and management of buildings." Our architects are encouraged to attain LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, and to promote these principles in their work.
The Scotiabank article found here highlights our energy efficient "Escarpment House" (shown below), the Rideau Valley Conservation Centre which was the first LEED Gold certified building in eastern Ontario, and 92 Holland Avenue. Have a look under our "Work" section for more information on these, and other projects.
June 4, 2010
ONE3ONE Holland Avenue
We were delighted to attend Domicile Development’s event on May 27th to launch the condos we designed at 131 Holland Avenue. Designed with the neighborhood in mind, this modern building – spanning 8 floors including a penthouse level - will fit right into the streetscape of Ottawa’s lively cultural and arts “Hintonburg” area. Our firm brought a strong environmental consciousness to the project which means it will be a candidate for LEED certification due to its superior building envelope, water and energy conservation technologies, and use of environmentally responsible materials and finishes throughout. Have a look at the renderings. We’ll keep you posted on developments as the building is consructed.
For more information about Domicile's newly launched condos, visit their website at http://one3one.ca.
May 19, 2010
“Performance Matters”
Chris Simmonds and Mark Lucuik (Morrison Hershfield) are teaming up to present a case study on the Rideau Valley Conservation Centre. Their session falls under the Economics and Innovation Stream that explores the business case for building green and the role of buildings in the green economy. Functioning as both an office building and park visitor centre, it was the first building in Eastern Ontario to achieve LEED Gold Certification and is exemplary in its design, site restoration and water conservation features. Christopher Simmonds Architect designed the Centre (located in Manotick, Ontario), and Morrison Hershfield were the LEED consultants. More details and photos about the building can be found under the "work" section of our website.
Canada Green Building Council - National Conference, June 8-10, 2010 Vancouver.
For more information about the conference, visit their website at www.cagbc.org.
May 17, 2010
New Careers Section
Have a look – we’ve put a new “Careers” feature on our website under “About”. While we are not always looking for new people to join our team – we do keep resumes on file. So if you’re interested in working for our firm – let us know.
Having said that, we are currently seeking candidates for two positions – an architect (8+ years experience) with strong design and project leadership skills, and an architectural technologist with 5+ years experience. Visit “Careers” for more information.
May 10, 2010
Our “Escarpment Home” is published in Toronto Life
We are delighted that the Toronto Life Home Guide 2010 has featured this wonderful home built into the Niagara Escarpment in Halton Hills. We already knew it was a winner – having taken two major awards in 2006 – Most Outstanding Home (in its size category) from the Ontario Home Builders Association, and Best Project from the Greater Ottawa Home Builders Association (open category). The story, which highlights the owners’ use and enjoyment of his surroundings, can be found here. You can also see more photos under the Work heading of our website.
May 9, 2010
Life in Greyscale
The greywater and rainwater reuse system at the RVCC has been featured in an article in the May/June issue of Water Canada magazine.
The PDF of the article can be downloaded here.
May 7, 2010
Green Building Ottawa Conference - May 14th
Chris and Vince will be speaking on Building Design for Disassembly and Adaptability which falls beautifully under the conference theme; “retrofit – sustainability of the future.” Chris will be giving a case study of Mountain Equipment Co-op discussing issues related to materials, environmental benefits/impacts and extending building utilization and functions. Christopher Simmonds Architect designed Mountain Equipment Co-op in joint venture with Linda Chapman Architect.
The conference, hosted by the Ottawa Chapter of the Canada Green Building Council, runs from May 12 to 14 at Carleton University. You can visit the conference website here.
May 5, 2010
Check out our Waters Edge Home on YouTube
The homeowners of this stunning project in Mississauga have put a video of their home on YouTube. Completed in 2009, we entered this home in the Greater Ottawa Home Builders Association Housing Design Awards competition and it won the coveted “People’s Choice Award”. Have a look at the video – showcasing both the exterior and interior – and you’ll see why!
May 3, 2010
Chris Simmonds and RND Construction team up on LEED Gold retrofit for 4té inc.
The partners of the interior design firm 4té inc. (formerly Gansen Lindsay Design) are delighted with their new office space. Chris Simmonds and Roy Nandrum (RND Construction) collaborated once again – this time on a renovation of a 12,000 sq.ft. warehouse on Breezehill Avenue in the Hintonburg area of Ottawa – and turned it into a bright, modern, minimalist office space. Better yet, the client’s interest in being environmental responsible meant making this retrofit as "green" as possible – which is right in line with the thinking of CSA and RND Construction. Together, everyone worked to achieve this goal - from the design of the new building, to the demolition practices of the existing warehouse, and to the materials and energy system choices for the new building. The result is a building that will likely achieve LEED Gold for commercial interiors.
The April 2010 issue of Ottawa Construction News tells the whole story of this project.
Our firm and RND Construction have partnered on a number of projects – have a look at the "work" section of our website where you can see our joint endeavours including: "Accu-Lift Flooring System", "Beament Green". "43/45 Eccles", "Wind & Water", "Courtyard Home", "Butterfly Garden". "Arbour Court", "Kenwood Renovation" and "Swans Way renovation".
