Green Building Ottawa
Conference

Opening Panel Thursday May 13, 2010

8:30 AM - 10:15 AM

Join our panel for a provocative discussion that will set the stage for the conference  by introducing the four different streams  of practice, innovation, materials and policy.  These speakers will challenge you to push the boundaries of your definition of sustainability and retrofit while engaging the new ideas presented at the conference sessions.

This dynamic panel discussion is being introduced and moderated by Nancy Schepers,  Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure Services and Community Sustainability, City of Ottawa.

Our panel includes:

• Garth C. Rockcastle, FAIA
  Dean and Professor,  University of Maryland
• Thomas Green
  Project Manager, EQuilibrium™ Housing,
  Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
• Ian Theaker, PEng
  Senior Sustainability Specialist, Halsall Associates
• Wayne Trusty
  President, ATHENA Sustainable Materials Institute
• Panel Moderator:  Johanne Levesque

Garth C. Rockcastle, FAIA

Dean and Professor,  University of Maryland

Garth  is Dean and Professor at the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Maryland University and is principle at Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle Architects.  His unique approach to the adaptive re-use of existing and historic structures is a major focus of his professional and academic reputation.  He has designed the conversion of over half a million square feet of some twelve separate buildings into new, award-winning arts and residential projects. The most recent of his many lauded accomplishments is the new University of Minnesota Regis Center for Art, a 155,000-square-foot, $41.5 million building and one of the most advanced art education and creative studio facilities in the US.  Professor Rockcastle has also written on diverse topics and edited collections of critical essays on architecture, especially on themes involving ethical and theoretical issues in architecture. His overarching concerns address the how and why we practice and teach in the ways we do, and how (or why) we might do otherwise. He regularly crosses and links his concerns between professional practice and academic perspectives.

In January 2010, Rockcastle' s firm, MS&R  won the American Institute of Architecture's Honor Award for their adaptive reuse project for Urban Outfitters Corporate Campus.  The jury was cited as noting that "This is a great example of a reuse project.  The industrial buildings were beautifully renovated, resulting in an open, collaborative environment...The tension between old and new, tactile and smooth, light and dark, indoor and out, all of this while holding in character with the corporate image - genius".  This is MS&R's second national AIA Honor Award; the first was for the Mill City Museum, which involved the adaptive reuse of the National Historic Landmark Washburn A Mill ruin, in 2005.

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Thomas Green

Project Manager, EQuilibrium™ Housing,
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

Thomas is a Senior Researcher for Policy and Research of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).  He has a Master of Architecture and Bachelor of Environmental Design degree from Dalhousie University, and a BSc from the University of British Columbia.  Thomas worked at architectural firms across Canada and in the UK before joining CMHC in 1992 to focus on healthy and sustainable housing research and education. He was the principle designer and national tour manager of the CMHC “Open” House demonstration home, showcasing accessible and Healthy Housing solutions, and was the Operating Agent completing the IEA Annex 31 project on “Energy Related Environmental Impacts of Buildings”. As the creator and driver of the CMHC EQuilibrium™ Sustainable Housing Demonstration Initiative, Thomas is focused on the successful implementation of the Initiative.

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Ian Theaker, PEng

Senior Sustainability Specialist, Halsall Associates

Ian Theaker is a Senior Sustainability Specialist with Halsall Associates. Notable projects include leading LEED rating system adaptation for the Canada Green Building Council; the LEED-NC Platinum OHSU Riverside Campus; Portland’s AIA COTE Top Ten “Lloyd Crossing Sustainable Urban Design Plan”; Santa Monica’s Green Building Guidelines; and “Building Environmental Performance Assessment Criteria”, a LEED forerunner.  

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Wayne Trusty

President,ATHENA Sustainable Materials Institute

With a Masters degree in economics and almost 40 years of experience in such diverse fields as resource industry economics and policy, water resources, transportation, energy policy and markets, and regional development, Wayne Trusty now serves as President of the ATHENA Sustainable Materials Institute and its U.S. affiliate, Athena Institute International. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor on the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Environmental Design, a member of the board of the Green Building Initiative, and Chair of the Technical Committee established in the U.S. to take the Green Globes rating system through a full American National Standards Institute process. He serves on the Metrics and Life Cycle Assessment task force for CaGBC and, until recently, on the LEED Resources and Materials Technical Advisory Group in the United States. Wayne is a member of several other standards setting organizations, is past chairman of an international technical committee examining the use of LCA with regard to building materials and products, and was a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences’ Committee on Materials Flow Accounting.  

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Panel Moderator: Johanne Levesque

Johanne Levesque is responsible for providing leadership and strategic direction to the City’s Community Sustainability Department which coordinates the development of the City’s 30 to 100 year long term vision and plan, “Choosing our Future”. She is responsible for the development of enabling strategies and initiatives for economic development, environmental sustainability and neighbourhood integrity that ensure a holistic and integrated approach to community sustainability. She is also responsible for the development of corporate-wide strategies (environment, economic, culture and social) in support of the establishment and implementation of Department priorities and programs, which align to corporate vision, goals, and strategic planning initiatives.

Ms. Levesque has over twenty years of leadership experience in the health, social services and municipal sectors. She began her career at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario and over the years has gained significant knowledge and expertise in areas related to strategy, leadership, governance and partnerships. As the co-founder of Ambire Inc., Ms. Levesque worked with organizational leaders in the public, not-for-profit and private sectors.  In September 2009, Ms.  Levesque joined the City of Ottawa as the Director of Community Sustainability.

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