Following significant and severe storm damage in 2006, One Indiana Square, a 36-story skyscraper in Indianapolis, has been given a facelift!

A largely transparent, pale blue curtain wall has been added to the structure, over the existing facade. The building remained occupied during its renovation, and crews worked through the night in order to minimize disruption to occupants.

SPRING 2012 • VOLUME 2 NUMBER 1

This week, Architectural Record published an interesting article about design teams and fabricators that are working together to develop innovative new exterior wall systems for existing buildings. Believe it or not, the stunning structure shown in the image on the left is a conventional 3-storey concrete structure that has simply been cocooned in a new skin.

At this time last year, the Manasc Isaac office experienced some reimagining at its home in the Oliver Building, by way of installing solar sunshades on our south wall. Since then, these photovoltaic panels have been helping to provide our building with green power, harnessing energy provided by the generous amount of sunlight our south-facing wall receives during the day.

Last week, Vivian Manasc co-chaired the inaugural First Nations Conference on Sustainable Buildings and Communities! Also present was Manasc Isaac's own Shafraaz Kaba, who moderated a panel at the Conference.

Toronto has the 2nd highest number of high-rise buildings in North America and finds itself in a position to be a 'reimagine' leader by being proactive with policy and strategies aimed to cut evergy use costs by significant amounts. 

'The TowerWise program focuses on improving the energy efficiency of Toronto's high-rise condominium and rental apartment buildings as a way of reducing emissions from a sector that produces 40 percent of Toronto's residential emissions. With more than one-third of Toronto residents living in high-rises of more than five storeys, addressing the energy usage of these buildings is key to reducing residential emissions. Toronto Atmospheric Fund's TowerWise program aims to work with building owners, managers, and developers to improve the energy efficiency and comfort of both newly built structures and existing buildings.'

Metropolis will consist of four free-standing, heated temporary structures made from Aluma Systems construction scaffolding covered with white shrink wrap. This technique is based on cold climate construction technology and will offer a sheltered atmosphere suitable for normal winter conditions in the Edmonton Capital Region. In the inaugural year architects from Canada and the USA have been invited by Events Edmonton to design the pavilions, including our own Richard Isaac's 'Polar Brewhouse'. In subsequent years an international design competition will be staged. This will foster a competitive spirit and ensure that the structures will change annually. The design will include a multi-media presentation consisting of visuals and sound. The festival will be green and sustainable with the majority of the materials being rented.

Building Design+ConstructionBy BD+C Staff

Constructed in 1970, the 4,150-sf Genetics Laboratory at the National Zoological Park had become inadequate for researchers’ needs because the existing floor area was inefficient for their multi-step research and documentation processes. Collaborating researchers were also located more than a mile away, and the building was situated within the flood plain of Rock Creek. Periodically, flooding would close the lab, endangering collections and equipment, while disrupting experiments.

As part of Horizon 2067, the plan for Canada's Capital for 2067, our 200th birthday, Vivian Manasc and Shafraaz Kaba participated in leading the NCC's Capital Conversation which took place in Edmonton on November 2nd.

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Sept. 7, 2011) -Oxford is pleased to announce the redevelopment of 111 Richmond W, one of Toronto's icons of architectural modernism. The 215,000 square foot office property will be completely redeveloped to the latest standards in technology and environmental specifications while preserving the design integrity of renowned architect Peter Dickinson. The building is 60% pre-leased, including a lease of 89,000 square feet to one of the world's largest technology companies and a lease of 40,000 square feet to a leading Canadian accounting firm.