CMHC Housing Design Catalogue /
Materials GuidePolicy, Strategy
The Materials Guide provides practical support to housing providers, designers, and builders using the CMHC Housing Design Catalogue. Developed by Ha/f Climate Design, it outlines guidance for selecting materials that are cost-effective, durable, and aligned with low-carbon construction goals.
The Guide emphasizes strategies to reduce embodied and biogenic carbon while supporting climate resilience and compliance with emerging codes and certifications. Material choices are grounded in whole-building life cycle assessments and tailored to the Canadian context, offering a balance of affordability, constructability, and performance.
/ Download the Guide
Education
Working with Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) and National Research Council of Canada, 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.
City of Toronto /
Urban Design Guideline Embodied Carbon StudyPolicy, Strategy
The Urban Design Guidelines study was undertaken to understand the impacts of the current Guidelines on embodied carbon emissions.
Working with the City of Toronto, Ha/f provided life cycle assessment and analysis of ten recently completed projects ranging in scale across the city. These recommendations subsequently informed revisions to the Midrise Guidelines.
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Unlocking the Value of Existing Buildings
Policy, Strategy
Unlocking the Value of Existing Buildings is a study developed by the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals (CAHP) for Natural Resources Canada’s Codes Acceleration Fund. Ha/f co-led the study with Giaimo Architects to compare whole-life carbon and costs across retrofit, retrofit with addition, and demolish-and-replace scenarios for three real-world case studies in Halifax, Montréal, and Vancouver. The study highlights the growing role of embodied carbon in climate action and identifies gaps in building and energy codes that disadvantage existing buildings. It concludes by positioning retrofit and reuse as critical strategies for emissions reduction and urban resilience.
/Read the Report