Follow this tag to curate your own personalized Activity Stream and email alerts.
After a seemingly perfect start to the season, with temperatures well below the freezing point, Quebec City's ice hotel was hit by one of its fiercest opponents: fire.
A small blaze broke out in one of the hotel's 45 guest rooms early Tuesday morning, forcing the evacuation of the structure, made completely out of ice, at the Village Vacances Valcartier winter park.
"When I received the phone call they had to repeat twice that there was a fire in the ice hotel," said manager Jacques Desbois.
— CBC News
The fire was quickly extinguished and nobody was injured, however hotel operations had to be halted for a few days to remove smoke damage throughout the structure and buff up the snow and ice walls. CBC News reports that this was the first fire incident in the 17-season history of the Quebec City... View full entry
Laurentian University is pleased to welcome Dr. David Fortin as the next Director of the McEwen School of Architecture (MSoA). Dr. Fortin, a faculty member at the MSoA, assumed his new duties at the beginning of January, 2018, taking over from the school’s Founding Director, Dr. Terrance Galvin, who successfully led the creation and development of the MSoA since its inauguration in 2012. — Laurentian University
The statement by Laurentian University's McEwen School of Architecture points out that Dr. Fortin is a member of the Métis Nation of Ontario, making him the first Indigenous director of a Canadian architecture school: "Dr. Fortin currently focuses on Indigenous design in contemporary... View full entry
With only one month to go until the 2018 Winter Olympics officially kick off on February 9 in PyeongChang, South Korea, athletic teams from around the world prepare to represent their nations in front of an international audience. Canada isn't limiting itself to sporting competitions alone to... View full entry
An architecture policy sets an aspirational goal for what we value about the built environment, and helps create a framework for that contribution to culture. The Ordre des architectes du Québec (OAQ) is actively consulting with the government on the establishment of a provincial architecture policy. This is a positive move and shows leadership in the preservation of Canadian culture. It is an example that our federal government should follow. — theglobeandmail.com
Canadian architecture needs the support of a national policy in order to survive the global competition. Canada's architecture must be seen under the umbrella of cultural policies that support local arts, culture, and businesses. As it stands, the country has no architectural policy to speak of... View full entry
“The new name, Revery Architecture, reflects the firm’s enduring vision to strive for exceptional design, whilst paying homage to Bing who instilled in us all the courage to dream big.” — Revery Architecture
Following the sudden passing of founder Bing Thom last year, the esteemed Canadian architect's namesake firm has been going through some big changes. On December 18, the firm officially rebranded themselves as Revery Architecture. The firm wrote in a statement: “The studio has gone through many... View full entry
Built along the St. Lawrence river in the city of Trois-Rivières, Quebec, the Amphithéâtre Cogeco is a new performing arts venue by Atelier Paul Laurendeau, who won the competition to design the project in 2011. The project site was once occupied by a paper mill that shut down in the early... View full entry
Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Fall 2017 Archinect's Get Lectured is an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back regularly to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss. Want to... View full entry
In January, tenants will move into a six-storey Vancouver apartment building designed to be so energy efficient, you could heat each bedroom with a 100-watt light bulb. [...] Others are under construction and many more are at the rezoning stage, including a residence that will house 750 students at the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus and two 40-plus highrise towers in Vancouver that aim be the tallest passive house buildings in the world. — cbc.ca
Until now most passive houses have been single-family homes, but Canada is changing that. With several projects underway, architects are tackling the issues of scaling up this sustainable technology for larger buildings. Without using furnaces and air conditioners, these green buildings are... View full entry
The exhibition “Fight for Beauty” is a physical manifestation of the book of the same name by Westbank founder Ian Gillespie, who Archinect previously interviewed here. Currently displayed near Vancouver's Fairmont Pacific Rim, the pop-up exhibition — just like the book — celebrates... View full entry
Toronto's skyline will soon see the addition of five new buildings, all united in one massive development spanning two city blocks. Designed by Toronto firm Hariri Pontarini Architects in collaboration with Vancouver-based Pinnacle International, the project, dubbed One Yonge, will reportedly... View full entry
A new set of photographs of the recently opened Canadian National Holocaust Monument have been released and help give a better understanding of the Daniel Libeskind-designed space: how it sits in its surrounding landscape created by Claude Cormier, and what atmosphere the large-scale... View full entry
The Complexe Sportif Saint-Laurent in Montreal, designed by Saucier + Perrotte Architects, opened earlier this year and has recently been announced the winner of the American Architecture Prize for Recreational Architecture. Picture Olivier Blouin courtesy of Saucier + Perrotte... View full entry
Construction of Canada's tallest building has started. With 85 stories and 306 meters of height, the One, designed by Forster+Partners will host commercial spaces, a 175 room hotel, and 60 floors of condominiums and multi-story penthouses. Rendering of Toronto's future skyline. Picture from... View full entry
Last week we mentioned the Canadian National Holocaust Monument celebrating its grand opening in Ottawa. The stock of available imagery has been very limited for the last years and consisted of mostly the same aerial rendering in a few variations. Now we've received new photographs that give a... View full entry
Shanghai’s spectacular skyline is studded with buildings shaped by architect Peter Guo-hua Fu. Now the McGill alumnus is setting his sights on a new project: taking McGill’s long history of world-class architecture education to the next level. — McGill
Peter Fu, architect and president of K. F. Stone Design says ‘McGill gave me a chance to change my life. Now that I have the chance, I really want to pay it back’. To honor the gift, McGill School of Architecture will be renamed the Peter Guo Hua Fu School of Architecture . View full entry
