What’s so scary about being the man who speaks up for women at work, especially when courage and accountability are traits that so many of us feel “make a man” in the first place? David G. Smith, PhD and W. Brad Johnson, PhD are “The Workplace Allies”, and they’ve drawn on their military and academic experience to write “Good Guys: How Men Can Be Better Allies for Women in the Workplace”, so we invited them on the show to talk about how that applies to industries like construction with varied places of work and differing cultures.

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Planning cities requires a lot of data. That data can be difficult to penetrate, and that’s where synthetic cities come in. Myrna Bittner and RWI Synthetics create complex visual models of cities that are used to experiment and model what might happen with new projects like transit, housing or even if every resident owned a guinea pig. If you’ve ever played SimCity you’ve probably got a pretty strong image in your head right now… it’s like that, but much more complex and far more useful. 

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Nature has been engineering for billions of years, so why do we think we can do better than her? Biomimicry is taking that ancient evolutionary design process and using it to build buildings and design systems. Jamie Miller is Director of Biomimicry at B&H Architects and he joins Jen to talk us through how we can go further than just minimising harm to the environment, we can have a positive impact on the natural world, if we just mimic and work with it.

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Building Good is about making the built environment better. We’re a place for the conscientious construction worker, the innovative engineer and the environmentally conscious architect. We’re relaunching with a bigger and better show, and in this new season we’re looking at what buildings can learn from nature, whether smart cities are really that smart, and how men can do better on the construction site. We’re covering social justice in urban planning, and how builders can be better allies. We want to change the AEC space for better, for good. So join us at buildinggood.ca, and subscribe to the show so you don’t miss our new, bigger and better season. Coming July.

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With a labour shortage that isn’t being solved with only Canadian workers the solution should be obvious: immigration. Canada’s immigration system has values built into it which make it hard to recruit tradespeople though, and when workers do make it to Canada their qualifications are often not recognised. So how do we fix it? Bill Ferreira has an idea of how we can make immigration work for everyone in Canada. He’s the Executive Director at BuildForce, where he’s helping to create a workforce of skilled trades professionals domestically and abroad.

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Our host Tim Coldwell is not OK with the industry standard. There aren’t enough Indigenous partnerships and communities often aren’t involved in decisions around projects that affect them. That’s not just morally wrong, it’s a missed opportunity. Our guest Jodee Dick is CEO at Khowutzun Development Corporation and for her Indigenous partnership isn’t optional, it’s mandatory - and, it’s overdue. She’s been working with First Nations for over 30 years so she has plenty of thoughts on how we should be working together, because that will help us build good for settlers and Indigenous peoples alike. 

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Why does it matter if a construction project buys from diverse suppliers? If I’m a gay electrician, why should I be open about that? If an architect or carpenter is hiding their sexual orientation or gender identity, how will that affect the project? Geoff Capelle is our guest host and he’s chatting with the CEO of Canada's LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce, Darrell Schuurman. They talk about creating safe spaces and why making your supply chain inclusive of LGBT+ and other diverse suppliers is better for business, how it can create a better workplace, and lead to more innovative teams.

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Only 17% of construction jobs are going to women, and even those are mostly in off-site roles. Jeanette Southwood wants that to be at least 30%. She’s vice president of corporate affairs and strategic partnership at Engineers Canada, but right from the start of her career as an engineer she noticed the barriers and hostility that women can face in this industry. When the stereotype is catcalls and bad jokes, how are we supposed to make construction appealing to all genders?

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Did you know a water fountain is a form of accessible design? It’s not just ramps, automatic doors, and escalators. Thinking about accessibility from the ground up makes the spaces we create easier and more beautiful for everyone who uses them. Sean Crump, CEO of Universal Access, spends his time fighting to make the AEC sector more accessible, both in its workplaces and in the buildings we create. 

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“Diversity” is not a buzzword. It’s not just the right thing to do. Diversity is the solution to a labour shortage, it’s the key to new insights and perspectives, and it’s a way to make our spaces easier and more welcoming to everyone. In the new season of Building Good we’re exploring how the architecture, engineering and construction sector might look if it can address its diversity issues and become a welcoming space for everyone. 

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