21.09.23

Compared to other materials, masonry often suffers greatest from historic or ‘off-the-shelf’ specifications and general details. This course will highlight where some common issues arise within these design and construction documents. For any successful construction project, communication and understanding are both key. Ensuring that our mason contractors, engineers, and architects are all speaking the same language is a critical first step. This course will provide some typical examples, where, despite best intentions, errors and omissions within masonry specifications and details translate to issues with masonry construction, economy, and overall performance. This course will draw upon resources available to the design community and provide clear solutions and suggestions for where improvements can be made to ensure a win-win-win scenario for all parties involved.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand and identify common issues with masonry specifications and details.
• Familiarization with applicable masonry standards and industry resources available.
• Review of ways to clarify and improve certain specifications and details.

Sustainability continues to be a primary driver for material decisions in buildings, for good reason. Residential and commercial buildings account for a significant percentage of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in Canada and the US, and manufacturers are taking steps to reduce their environmental impact. In particular, accounting for carbon emissions is being more important relative to sustainability goals, and there is heightened focus on reducing the amount of embodied carbon in the built environment. This presentation will review ways concrete block producers are reducing carbon in their processes, recent research into how concrete masonry can sequester carbon from the environment and innovative ways that concrete masonry can help achieve sustainability goals, including those related to building occupant well-being and comfort.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand accounting for carbon in concrete masonry, including life cycle approaches.
2. Learn about innovative sustainability solutions for concrete masonry.
3. Review and understand recent research into carbon sequestration for concrete masonry products.
4. Understand contributions of concrete masonry to interior environmental quality and occupant comfort.

Six-storey, wood-frame construction was incorporated to the National Building Code of Canada in 2015. The presentation reviews the differential movements that should be accounted for when integrating masonry elements into wood-frame construction and more specifically mid-rise wood-frame buildings using illustrative details. The course discusses the advantages of using masonry to construct critical elements in wood-frame buildings such as stairwells, elevator shafts, and 2-hour firewalls. Movement considerations to help prevent cracking of masonry veneers and applicable CSA standards for masonry are also discussed. The presentation also discusses meeting the National Energy Code for Buildings NECB requirements with masonry and the ability of masonry to meet the net-zero energy passive house standards as Canadian building codes aid in meeting carbon reduction targets.

Streetscapes and Green-streets are intended to improve the overall quality and liveability of our cities, but require a change in attitude – and as we all know, change is never easy. Each of the three speakers will be talking about the various tools and resources available for the planning and development of streetscape and green street projects, as well as important lessons learned that will help others navigate their way through the planning, design, approvals and implementation of future projects. Put simply, what do you need to know to get the project in the ground and working as intended.

As condos become more prevalent in our cities, the need to understand the hydraulic and structural design, safety considerations and climatic impacts of rooftop common areas (terraces) is becoming increasingly important. Surface materials are no longer just ballast; they need to handle increased loads/impact conditions, meet aesthetic expectations, and resist thermal heating. Access to the membrane system, surface versus subsurface drainage (and the corresponding surface slopes) also remain factors. Our speaker will present his thoughts on how to make rooftop terraces a safe and enjoyable amenity to the tenants.

Historically site plans showed retaining walls as a series of straight lines with designated top and bottom of wall elevations; there occasionally may have been an accompanying generic “typical” cross section. However, more recently municipalities are asking for site-specific retaining wall design details as part of the site plan submission so they can verify wall batter, loading conditions, guard/fencing and/or planting requirements, site constraints, etc. are all accounted for. This presentation outlines several innovative approaches to segmental retaining wall design where traditional practices just would not have worked.