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Traditional parking garage designs used to have opaque fire rated building materials like concrete, masonry and drywall which made these spaces dark, cold and uninviting. That all changed, thanks to the emergence of new technology, clear, fire resistive glazing tested to ULC/CAN S101 up to 2 hours that are available in large sizes and low-iron glass make-ups with high visible light transmission for superior clarity and color neutrality.

Faced with a tight schedule and challenging weather conditions, Belluz Group Ltd. turned to MAPEI for the range of high-end products and support that was needed to complete a new-build terminal project in the heart of Canada’s biggest city.

For BART's Doolittle Maintenance Facility at the new Oakland Airport connector, SAFTI FIRST® provided 60 minute, fire resistive wall openings in the exterior using SuperLite® II-XL 60 insulated with low-e glazing in GPX® Framing with a clear anodized finish. SAFTI FIRST® engineered a connection that allows the structural elements of the GPX® Architectural Series Framing System to support an integral sunshade system, instead of being hung in front of it. The Doolittle Bart Station is one of the first installations of the GPX® Architectural Series System with sunshade connections, which also include SLCC New Instruction and Administrative Building in Salt Lake City, UT.

This new 120,000 square foot, state-of-the-art convening center features a 1,000-seat auditorium that is large enough to host the entire MBA class. The glass atrium floods the multi-purpose lobby with natural light, as well as provides a visual connection between the interior of the building and the outdoor environment. To maximize transparency, SAFTI FIRST® met with the architects during the design phase to create a large, 2-hour, glass wall that separates the lobby from the auditorium while providing a visual connection between them. Since this 2-hour glass wall also serves as the entrance to the auditorium, deciding on a 90-minute door system was of upmost important. SAFTI FIRST®’s in-house engineering department provided design assistance, system details, engineering calculations and support from the planning phase all the way to the submittal process.

OverviewSet in the heart of downtown Toronto, the Ontario Court of Justice is the largest courthouse in Ontario and a benchmark for contemporary institutional construction. Completed in 2024, the project brings together 63 courtrooms and 10 conference settlement rooms in a LEED® Gold certified facility that reflects modern civic values—transparency, accessibility, and sustainability.Master Builders Solutions Canada Inc. played a key role in ensuring the structural concrete met the performance demands of this high-profile project.The ChallengeDelivering nearly 48,000 m³ of ready-mixed concrete in a downtown location posed numerous technical challenges. The structural design demanded high compressive strength, consistent workability, and durability to support complex load paths, security zones, and a tall atrium enclosed by a 20-metre glass façade.The project team required concrete solutions that would:Maintain workability over long pumping distances and vertical placements,Ensure strength development for critical structural zones (such as core walls and transfer slabs),Limit thermal cracking during curing in massive pours,Integrate seamlessly with staged slipform and rebar installation schedules.These demands were intensified by the need to meet LEED® Gold sustainability targets, tight construction timelines, and high public visibility.The ResultsMaster Builders Solutions Canada Inc. partnered closely with St Marys CBM to optimize concrete performance across all phases of construction. A suite of high-performance admixtures—including water reducers, retarders, and strength-enhancing additives—was deployed to address the project’s structural and logistical complexities.Key contributions included:Enhanced workability retention for long-distance pumping and complex placements, reducing placement time and labour.Improved early- and long-term strength development, enabling faster formwork cycling and reliable performance in high-load areas.Mitigated thermal buildup in mass pours to control cracking and ensure durability over the structure’s lifecycle.Admixture compatibility with supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), aligning with the project’s environmental goals.By tailoring admixture solutions to the precise performance needs of each mix design, Master Builders Solutions supported consistent quality and efficiency throughout the build.The Ontario Court of Justice now stands not only as a civic institution but also as a demonstration of what is possible when modern structural design and advanced concrete technology are brought together. The project exemplifies how Master Builders Solutions helps construction teams deliver on performance, sustainability, and long-term value.

Executive Summary The aim of this fact sheet is to advocate an alternative solution for the Steel Industry in regards to restrictive code provisions for explosion venting that are now mandated by the Ontario Fire Code (OFC). Due to a September 2000 amendment of code provisions dealing with explosion venting in the OFC, explosion vent designs were required to be in conformance with NFPA 68, the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) Guide for Venting of Deflagrations. NFPA 68 gives a prescriptive solution that has upper bound limits on size and mass of an explosion vent panel, which the Steel Industry finds are too small to be practical. The Canadian Steel Construction Council (CSCC) investigated this problem and identified an alternate design guideline from the Factory Mutual Insurance Company’s (FM) Property Loss Prevention Data Sheets, numbered 1-44 and entitled “Damage Limiting Construction”. FM’s 1-44 Data Sheets can be used to develop an alternate solution for explosion venting that exceed the size and mass limits of the NFPA 68 prescriptive solution, and can be submitted for approval under the Compliance Equivalency provisions in the OFC. With the introduction of an objective based National Building Code Canada (NBCC) in 2005 followed by Provincial code adoptions in 2006 it would be worthwhile to establish a precedent through the Compliance Equivalency provision in the OFC. Once a precedent setting case occurs, the “acceptable solution” or “compliance alternative” would go on record and aid in resolving subsequent proposals for Compliance Equivalency, and also support a future technical change in the OFC. The CSCC by way of this fact sheet would advocate this alternative solution for the Steel Industry when designing explosion vent panels in steel framed buildings.

Buildings consume one-third of all energy and two-thirds of all electricity generated. Cool metal roofs can help reduce energy consumption by lowering cooling loads with their wide array of finishes, designs and colors.Cool metal roofs are energy-efficient. • The roof can have the greatest impact on the energy use of a building. On a typical summer afternoon, a light-colored, more reflective roof that reflects 80 percent of sunlight will stay about 310C (550F) cooler than a darker roof that reflects only 20 percent of sunlight, as reported by the Heat Island Group of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. • Cool metal roofs are an excellent option for commercial retrofit applications because they can be efficiently installed with above-sheathing ventilation, allowing heat to dissipate through the ridge vent in hot weather while acting as an insulating layer when it is cold. Metal roofs can result in as much as a 30 percent reduction in heat gain through the vented roof. • Metal roofs provide the optimal foundation for photovoltaic installations since the roof can be expected to last longer than the PV system it supports. • Wall and roof solar heat recovery systems can be integrated with steel cladding and used to provide air, water or process heating needs. • Cool metal roofing is available unpainted, with thermosetting coil-applied paint finishes, or with granular-coated surfaces. This family of roofing can achieve solar reflectance of over 70 percent, meeting the EPA Energy Star Roof Products Program performance criteria. • Emittance as high as 90 percent can be achieved for painted and granular-coated metal roofing. • Painted metal roofs retain 95 percent of their initial reflectance and emittance over time. They resist the growth of organic matter and shed dirt more readily than other materials. • Cool metal roofing can help to mitigate the Urban Heat Island Effect because of its high reflectance, which can reduce ambient air temperatures. Cool metal roofs are cost-effective. • Metal roofing has low life-cycle costs, making it the choice of many school, government, commercial, industrial and institutional building owners. • Due to its light weight per unit area, structural savings can be realized in a building when compared with heavier non-metal roofing alternatives. • For re-roofing projects, metal roofing can often be applied over the original roof, saving removal and disposal costs. • Metal roofing is fully recyclable when ultimately removed as part of building renovation or demolition, allowing it to credibly claim both recycled content and 100 percent recyclability by recognized definitions. The product’s recyclability also provides significant savings on construction removal and disposal costs.