AED professionals are becoming increasingly adept at improving the energy performance of individual buildings. But meeting global carbon reduction targets will require much more than creating new buildings to higher standards, and retrofitting existing ones piecemeal. In provinces like Ontario, it will mean a wholesale switch away from the present carbon-intensive natural gas heating systems. While governments must decide what fuel will replace gas, architects need to understand what is coming?as it will influence the way they design in the future, and the advice that they give their clients today.
To better understand what will be needed to achieve a low-carbon future, I?ve been working with the Toronto 2030 District: a private-public initiative with 63 members, including building owners, operators, and investors; service providers like architects, engineers, and suppliers; and community groups like the OAA. The Toronto 2030 District is part of a North American network of 23 similar districts, linked to the non-profit organization Architecture 2030. Using downtown Toronto as a test bed, we have taken on the challenge of exploring the wicked problem of reducing the operating emissions of buildings, which account for some 30% of global GHG emissions. The District?s physical area contains most of the building types found in Ontario: low-rise residential, high-rise residential, low-rise commercial and office towers, as well as Ontario?s Legislature, two stadia, a hockey arena,...