by Elisabeth Girgis-McEwen and Makenzie Pratt
As part of the Best Practices in Building Systems project, we are thrilled to launch the Better Ways to Build in Canada podcast. At their core, housing systems are about people: the people shaping technologies, policies, and ways of working that affect how we live. As a component of the BPiBS project, the podcast explores the role of relational humility, reciprocity, and building relationships in these systems. Each episode, host Elisabeth Girgis speaks with an expert or changemaker with decades of experience in building systems, standards, and policy. They explore what drives their work, how they got there, and what is needed now to move from big ideas to real action in meeting Canada’s housing needs.
The podcast kicks off with Dr. Phalguni Mukhopadhyaya, Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Victoria and a leading researcher in building envelope design, who shares how empathy, emotional intelligence and design thinking are just as essential as technical skills. Since then, Elisabeth has spoken with leading science communicator Rhonda Moore on rebuilding trust in science, with architect and researcher Susane Havelka on self-built housing in Northern Canada, and with builder Rod Nadeau on lessons we can learn from tradespeople — and why affordability and sustainability goals go hand in hand. It is part of this collaborative initiative led by BC Housing and the University of Victoria, supported by the government of Canada’s Housing Infrastructure and Communities Canada, Research and Knowledge Initiative.
We invite you to listen, follow the show, comment, share, or answer one of the surveys in the show notes. Stay tuned for more episodes that will share fascinating insights from experts advancing change in housing and building systems, including guests such as CHBA’s Senior Director of Net-Zero Housing, Sonja Winkelmann and mechanical engineer Martin Roy.
When we build with care, we all thrive.
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