A changing climate means new design challenges - and new techniques that can be used to solve them. See what we learned at a recent OAA conference in Quebec City.

Whether you’re building a cottage, boathouse or new residency, the architecture should be aesthetically pleasing and the construction safe to inhabit. To avoid structural defects, the process of planning, designing and constructing should be left to an architect.

We’ve come to expect the products we purchase - electronics, appliances, vehicles etc. - to function properly ‘out of the box’. Generally this follows rigorous testing performed by the manufacturer before it is released to the public. So why should the construction of a new home, which is arguably the largest purchase you will make, be any different.