Recap: The Building Decarbonization Research & Innovation workshop
Canadian professionals and researchers from across real estate, utilities, architecture, building science and urban planning recently met at Toronto Metropolitan University to explore decarbonizing the built environment. Led by the Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science’s (FEAS) Research & Innovation Office, alongside workshop chair and professor, Jenn McArthur and her BEACON lab, the event sparked conversation about the latest tools, research, and practices that can help create sustainable and resilient communities.
Key takeaways
- We have to act – the perfect solution can't be the enemy of what we need now. All organizations and professionals need to make the changes possible now, rather than waiting for a silver bullet.
- Collaboration is needed at every level. The public and private sectors need to work together to make developing sustainable communities financially viable.
- Embrace systems-thinking for long-term value. With new modelling approaches, an integrated perspective, and access to data, building and system performance can be continuously improved.
Keep a seven-generation perspective. Indigenous ways of thinking and engaging with our environment offer a holistic, lifecycle perspective beneficial across all project types.
The workshop featured a real estate panel with professionals sharing unique viewpoints on electrification, energy resilience, financial evaluations of buildings, and approaches to systems thinking. Following the panel, leading TMU researchers from FEAS, the Lincoln Alexander Law School, and the School of Urban and Regional Planning shared their latest insights and projects – from digital twins and retrofits to energy harvesting materials and collaborations with Indigenous communities. Graduate students also presented posters and networked with potential collaborators. The day concluded with breakout sessions led by TMU members, where participants unpacked critical topics, such as sustainable housing, energy management, urban scale interventions and envelope retrofits.
Thank you to the partners that joined us for this workshop, including:
- AECOM
- Climate Action Partners
- Dialog
- Ecologix
- EllisDon
- IESO
- JLRichards
- Mantle Climate
- Northcrest Development
- NRC
- PICCO Engineering
- RDH Building Science
- Schneider Electric
- TAF
- Tridel
Want to join a future FEAS workshop? For researchers, industry collaborators, and government members who would like to participate in future research workshops, please email elvira.tabaku@torontomu.ca
Learn more about TMU’s Building Energy Analytics Cognition & Operations Network (BEACON).