Building Good

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Building Good

This is a show about building a better world. Literally. The construction industry might seem like a conservative place, but we’re changing it. Building Good is a platform for conversations around topics like indigenous architecture, hiring and retaining women in trades and building sustainable energy grids. We want to build a better world, and we think the way to do that starts with the construction industry… so come and help us build good.

  1. Overcoming Capital Barriers for Indigenous Communities - with Mark Podlasly

    NOV 5

    Overcoming Capital Barriers for Indigenous Communities - with Mark Podlasly

    Because of the Indian Act, Indigenous communities have been blocked from accessing capital markets, which means they haven’t been able to invest in critical infrastructure projects happening in their territories. For the past ten years, First Nations Major Projects Coalition has been working to change that. FNMPC is a non-profit, Indigenous-led organization working to empower Indigenous communities to secure equity stakes in mining, clean energy, regulated utilities and pipelines. FNMPC’s Chief Sustainability Officer Mark Podlasly Mark explains how First Nations are becoming full partners in the next chapter of Canada’s development—and why it’s a crucial element to meeting Canada’s international obligations around accessing export markets.

    30 min
  2. Changing Public Outcry into Community Buy-In - with Farhaan Ladhani

    OCT 22

    Changing Public Outcry into Community Buy-In - with Farhaan Ladhani

    NIMBY. It’s a cursed acronym that can send chills down an urban planner's spine and jettison approved building permits into liminal space. It stands for “not in my backyard,” and it can stop even the mightiest projects in their tracks. Blamed for gentrification, urban sprawl, and a myriad of other evils, NIMBYs tend to oppose land use change. So, how does a NIMBY evolve into a YIMBY? (A “yes, in my backyard!”) It’s not magic. It’s just good public consultation. And there’s an app for that. Farhaan Ladhani is the CEO of Digital Public Square and Senior Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. His latest project, Goodbit, is here to transform how we talk with each other about the topics that get us the most… heated.

    36 min
  3. From Mushroom Spores to Modern Structures - with Dr. Mercedes Garcia Holguera

    OCT 8

    From Mushroom Spores to Modern Structures - with Dr. Mercedes Garcia Holguera

    Mushroom bricks sound like something straight out of science fiction or an 80’s arcade game featuring an intrepid pair of plumbing brothers. But mushroom bricks are more than just fantasy—they’re a biomimetic masterpiece. Biodegradable, eco-friendly, non-toxic, waterproof, fire-resistant, and grown from mycelium—the fuzzy white, green, or black germinated spores of a mushroom—mycelia is a material that’s mushrooming with potential. Outside of construction, it’s being used in myriad of ways—as packaging, replacing materials like styrofoam and polyurethane; in fashion, as a substitute for leather; in acoustic treatment, as an alternative to cork and foam. Dr. Mercedes Garcia Holguera, Assistant Professor of Architecture at the University of Manitoba breaks down the science of mushroom bricks and how we can use them to stack the future of construction in our favour.

    21 min
  4. Bioplanning A Greener Future - with Dror Benshetrit

    SEP 24

    Bioplanning A Greener Future - with Dror Benshetrit

    Urban planning is a constant negotiation between the bold dreams of the built environment and the delicate balance of the natural one. After all, we have a limited amount of space to terraform, and plants got here first. Urban growth is exploding: by 2060, the global building footprint is projected to double. But instead of wreaking havoc on biodiversity with every new development, interdisciplinary artist Dror Benshetrit of Supernature Labs has a greener idea: bioplanning. An approach that’s rooted in nature, bioplanning is the idea that maybe (just maybe!) humans don’t have it all figured out. It’s the concept that Mother Nature is a brilliant urban planner and she’s happy to share the IP when it comes to efficiency and conservation. So, who are the brave souls ready and willing to take one big leaf forward?

    29 min
  5. Old Wood, New Tricks? With Eric Law

    SEP 10

    Old Wood, New Tricks? With Eric Law

    Wood isn’t what it used to be. Virgin lumber is generally less dense and grown faster than wood that was harvested from natural old growth forests. But logging what’s left of those old growth forests isn’t a sustainable option, so why not reclaim old lumber when buildings are torn down? Until now that process was labour intensive and expensive, but Eric Law and Urban Machine have developed robots that are making reclaimed lumber into the building material of choice, and that might just change the way we build new buildings entirely.

    23 min
  6. Architecture is about stories - with Chris Cornelius

    12/19/2023

    Architecture is about stories - with Chris Cornelius

    Buildings from around the world represent the culture they were built in. From gothic cathedrals in Europe to glittering glassy office towers. So why don’t we always think about local culture when we start designing? Why don’t we talk to the community and ask for the stories they grew up with, so they can tell us about their culture? That’s what Chris Cornelius, founder of Studio:Indigenous, does. He joins Building Good to tell us how listening is the starting point for any of his projects.

    34 min
  7. Rethinking road space - with Dana O’Born

    11/28/2023

    Rethinking road space - with Dana O’Born

    If you head downtown in any major Canadian city you will see a lot of construction, and it is mostly large residential towers that are going up. That means more people living there, but the roads stay the same size. More residents, more cars, more traffic. So we have to rethink how we use those roads, and how we get people on to more efficient modes of transport. The cheapest, easiest alternative is the good old fashioned bicycle. Dana O'Born is the chair of the board of Cycle Toronto and a year-round cyclist. She’s here to talk about how construction can work better with cyclists to help us build better cities for users of every kind of transport.

    34 min
  8. The future is coming, ready or not - with Molly Connor and Markku Allison

    11/15/2023

    The future is coming, ready or not - with Molly Connor and Markku Allison

    Human nature makes the future a scary place. Scientists had predicted pandemics for decades, but the Covid-19 pandemic still felt like it came out of nowhere. Our tendency is to react to events, rather than get ourselves ready for likely eventualities. Markku Allison and Molly Connor have developed a free tool to help change our thinking and learn how to be ready for the future. They’re on the show to talk us through the tool, which you can get at https://chandos.com/futureready, and to discuss what the future might hold for the architecture, engineering and construction industries.

    31 min
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About

This is a show about building a better world. Literally. The construction industry might seem like a conservative place, but we’re changing it. Building Good is a platform for conversations around topics like indigenous architecture, hiring and retaining women in trades and building sustainable energy grids. We want to build a better world, and we think the way to do that starts with the construction industry… so come and help us build good.

Information

  • Channel
    Vocal Fry Studios
  • Creator
    Jen Hancock, Geoff Capelle
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2024
  • Episodes
    52
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All Rights Reserved | buildinggood.ca
  • Show Website
    Building Good

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