building codes

Building codes in Canada don't allow low and mid rise apartments to be built with a single staircase, even though other countries have been doing so for decades. That could soon change, with growing momentum for “point access blocks" to be allowed in North American cities.

Climate change is becoming a hot-button political issue in British Columbia with opposition parties launching election-style attacks on the New Democrat government's clean climate policies.

The Manitoba government has decided to adopt the lowest possible standard for energy efficiency when the newest national model codes take effect next year.

The earthquake that ravaged Turkey and Syria this week offers both lessons and warnings for people in British Columbia as images emerge of the human devastation and costly damage, Canadian seismology experts say.

The consensus-based process means hundreds of people involved in developing new building codes must come to an agreement in order to move forward.

According to the report from Efficiency Canada, the energy components of the new codes are now "largely finalized" and expected to be published in December 2021, yet they are so far missing some significant requirements like mandatory air leak tests.

When storm winds howl and rivers flood, buildings take the brunt.

Nearly a third of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions come from structures we build: houses, commercial buildings and infrastructure. The author examines the way those emissions are measured and how the practice should be improved.

The National Research Council says Canada's homes and highways were built with assumptions about weather patterns that are no longer relevant thanks to climate change.