Guidance on Low-Carbon Construction for Canada's Missions Abroad
Strategy
Developed for Global Affairs Canada, this guidance document provides a structured framework for managing whole-life carbon across its international real property portfolio, equipping project teams to make informed decisions on retrofit, reuse, and new construction across a geographically diverse portfolio of diplomatic facilities worldwide.
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Education
Working with the RAIC and NRC, Ha/f developed and delivered a one-year program of hands-on, case study-based Whole Building Life Cycle Assessment curriculum. Ten one-day sessions, held across the country, introduced over 1,500 architects, landscape architects, engineers, and procurement professionals to fundamentals of embodied carbon and assessment.
Unlocking the Value of Existing Buildings
Policy, Strategy
Co-led with Giaimo Architects for the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals, this national study applies consistent whole-life carbon and cost methodology across Halifax, Montréal, and Vancouver to demonstrate that demolition and replacement is consistently the most expensive and most carbon-intensive pathway available.
/Read the Report
CMHC Housing Design Catalogue, Energy Modelling & LCAAssessment, Certification, Policy
Ha/f provided energy modelling, life cycle assessment, and whole life carbon assessments for the CMHC Housing Design Catalogue, working alongside LGA Architectural Partners, a consortium of architecture firms, Acorn Sustainability, and Carbon Wise.
/See the Catalogue
YZD Material Reuse Audit
Strategy, Certification
In collaboration with GXN, Ha/f completed a pre-demolition audit of five large-span buildings at the former Downsview Airport site, inventorying structural materials, interior finishes, and furnishings and outlining pathways for their systematic recovery, reuse, and recycling ahead of redevelopment.
City of Toronto /
Urban Design Guideline Embodied Carbon StudyPolicy, Strategy
This study examined how Toronto's Urban Design Guidelines shape embodied carbon outcomes across low-rise, mid-rise, and tall building typologies, drawing on life cycle assessments of ten projects to identify where guideline revisions could support meaningful emissions reductions. Findings informed updates to the Mid-Rise Building Design Guidelines passed by Council in 2024.
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Clean Enery Canada: Building Toward Low Cost and Carbon Policy, Strategy
Co-authored with Clean Energy Canada, this report draws on Canadian case studies across townhouse, mid-rise, and high-rise building types to show that lower-carbon structural and material choices are widely available and achievable at little to no cost premium.
/Read the Report
How Heavy is a Building? Strategy, Exhibition
Originally exhibited at the 2025 Lisbon Architecture Triennale, this short film quantifies the embodied carbon of three of Lisbon's most iconic cultural institutions, using site investigations, interviews, and visual storytelling to make visible the material, cultural, and environmental weight of architecture. The film received a Jurors Award at DesignTO 2026.
/Watch the Film
CMHC Housing Design Catalogue /
Materials GuidePolicy, Strategy
This guide supports housing providers, designers, and builders in selecting materials that are cost-effective, durable, and aligned with low-carbon construction goals, grounded in whole-building life cycle assessments and tailored to the Canadian context.
/ Download the Guide
Ha/f led Ontario's first embodied carbon benchmarking study across 41 large building projects, translating findings into policy guidance for municipalities. The Primer directly informed the City of Toronto's Green Standards, which introduced North America's first absolute embodied carbon targets for new construction.
/Read The Report
CMHC Housing Design Catalogue /
Climate Resilience GuidePolicy, Strategy
This guide draws on designs from the CMHC Housing Design Catalogue to outline practical strategies for building climate-adapted housing across Canada's diverse regions, addressing risks including heatwaves, wildfires, flooding, and permafrost thaw across building, interiors, and site.
/Download the Guide
Co-authored with ReHousing, this accessible guide helps homeowners and citizen developers understand carbon emissions from residential buildings and how to approach renovations, additions, and new construction from a whole life carbon perspective, with practical guidance on materials and building systems.
/Download the Guide
Partnering with Northcrest Developments, this study quantified how reducing street widths at Downsview can lower embodied carbon in roads and public realm construction, add housing units without increasing building heights, and improve green space, biodiversity, and walkability.
/Read the Report
Design Primer for Low Carbon ConstructionPolicy, Strategy
Developed with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, this primer guides federal departments in planning and delivering low-carbon construction projects, applying whole-life carbon concepts and mitigation strategies across every project phase from pre-design through occupancy.
/Read the Primer
University of Waterloo Mathematics Building Strategy,Certification
The wbLCA of the University of Waterloo's Math 4 building quantifies embodied carbon across the building's lifecycle and identifies targeted reduction opportunities across structural systems, envelope assemblies, and material specifications.
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Alternative Solutions /
Design Innovation for Middle Housing Policy
Ha/f supported the “Single Stair Alternative Solutions: Design Innovation for Middle Housing”, a project led by LGA Architectural Partners with funding from CMHC. The project team is composed of architects, engineers, cost estimators, and code consultants to demonstrate the viability of single-stair buildings in Canada.
/Read the Stair Report/Read the Landuse Report
In partnership with Assembly Corp, Ha/f explores how bio-based, prefabricated systems can cut carbon and accelerate innovation in construction. Studying the Assembly system’s integrated design, material efficiency, and fabrication process, Ha/f demonstrates how modular strategies achieve tangible results in a residential building case study.
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The Bentway Phase 1 LCAStrategy, Certification
This life cycle assessment of The Bentway's Phase 1 public space quantifies the carbon footprint of materials used beneath Toronto's Gardiner Expressway, finding that hardscape elements are the primary source of embodied emissions and identifying recycled, reclaimed, and bio-based alternatives to guide future phases.
The Cost + Carbon of Canadian Commercial Construction
Policy
Prepared for the University of Toronto's Mass Timber Institute and Entuitive, this report compares the embodied carbon and construction costs of reinforced concrete, steel, mass timber, and hybrid timber systems across a prototypical 12-storey office building modeled in Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver, finding that structural system selection is the primary determinant of both cost and carbon.
/Read the Report
Wellington House Policy, Strategy
Wellington House is a deconstruction and material reuse pilot project supported by the City of Guelph’s Circular Opportunity Innovation Launchpad. The project diverted 90%+ of materials from landfill, showcasing the carbon, material, and cultural value of reclaiming building components over demolition.
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In collaboration with Local Works Studio, this pre-demolition audit and material reuse strategy for Waterhouse Square's granite facade treats the existing cladding as an on-site resource, proposing low-carbon deconstruction and reuse of the stone across new facade treatments, interior features, furnishings, and landscaping.