From the category archives:
The Olympics should be above politics, but is this just the tipping point for an organization that has turned the act of sporting achievement into a carnival of corporate excess, where the spectacle of entertainment is more important than the sport, where the Canadian government goes to any length to Own the Podium.
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As of February 1, 2010, the BC Building Code has been amended to require the consideration of potential for slope instability and it’s consequences at a building site becomes an explicit requirement in the design of structures and their foundations, additionally, the seismic design criteria has been increased to a probablility level of 2%-in-50 year. [...]
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The engineering profession is often challenged with ways to pass on the enthusiasm for the profession to younger generations. Part of this is based in the education system and the streamlining of subjects taught, but most of the blame for the seeming obscurity of the profession has to lie with the profession itself.
For Civil Engineers [...]
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This recent article in the Guardian about the lack of energy innovation in the US by George Monbiot is sure to raise more than a few hackles…
As if to hammer home the point that the Department of Energy seems to be stuck in a time-warp, and as if to highlight the sad decline of technological [...]
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A recent BC court case confirmed my belief that inadequate design should not be managed with "cover your ass" signage. Some of the quotes below serve as an excellent case study for understanding the relationship between a municipal engineering design, the designer and the municipality regarding safety and risk management.
The case, Lovely v Kamloops (2009 [...]
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Identify the variables that pose the greatest risk of failure for the project and develop contingency plans for them.
Sometimes the best option is to remove the variable altogether, (make it an external issue – outsource it, so it is someone else’s problem to manage), other times the risk can be managed by internal policies and [...]
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Many municipalities have small engineering or public works departments that are not staffed by engineers or other professionals who might be able to write up a construction consultancy contract. Even those municipalities that do have professional staff will find this agreement and the associated guide published by the Association of Consulting Engineers of Canada a [...]
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Mike Thomas
The Smart Growth Manual
by Mike Thomas on November 4, 2009
in Design, Development, Housing, Regulation, Subdivision Design, Sustainability, Urban Planning
Smart Growth is slowly being recognized as having benefits outside of the usual talk of walkable neighbourhoods and streetscapes. This book, The Smart Growth Manual runs through the principles from the Regional context, the Neighbourhood, the Street, down to the Building design. If you are interested in New Urbanism, this is a book worth checking [...]
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