What does climate change really means for cities and buildings in Canada? Are city and building designers (e.g., architects, landscape architects, urban planners, engineers) aware that they can be pivotal actors in climate adaptation? As climate change impacts are of growing concerns for the built environment, knowing what can be done to strengthen the built environment’s resilience, and to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, is critical. This participatory lecture explores various strategies that can be implemented at the urban or at the building scale to mitigate the risks of excessive heat and rainfall while contributing to the overall quality of living environments. The aim is for designers to realize that yes; they can support climate adaptation through a series of simple solutions. 

Catherine Dubois is a postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for Landscape Research (CLR), University of Toronto. She holds a Ph.D. in urban and architectural ambience delivered jointly by Université Laval (Canada), and INSA Toulouse (France). Her career is strongly grounded in research and practice. She also has significant experience with education. Her expertise lies in the adaptation of cities and buildings to climate change through the improvement of the designers’ knowledge. Her professional network comprises collaborators located in Canada, France, Norway, and Switzerland.

The Building, Ecology, Science and Technology (B.E.S.T.) lecture series has been made possible since 2009 through the generous sponsorship of Tremco Roofing and Building Maintenance.

Each B.E.S.T. lecture qualifies for 2 hours of Ontario Association of Architects Structured Learning Credits. Admission is on a first-come, first-served basis.