Mark your calendars! – EDUCATION SUMMIT 2026 returns on November 4-5, 2026! Don’t miss out on BC’s premier event for the construction industry. Check out the Summit page for details!
7:30am – 8:30am
SESSION DESCRIPTION
If the traditional single-family house is no longer attainable for most Canadians, what comes next? What will the family home of tomorrow look like, and what can we realistically build, perhaps by the millions, to support the next generation of Canadians? Uytae Lee shares the preliminary findings from an upcoming film exploring what forms of “missing middle” housing is actually being built on the ground across Canada, and how we might inspire cities to build more of it.
SPEAKER BIO
Uytae Lee, Host & Founder | About Here
Uytae Lee is an urban planner and videographer with a passion for sharing stories about our cities. He began his career almost a decade ago in Halifax, where he founded ‘Planifax’, a non-profit dedicated to engaging the public on urban planning issues through video. Today, Uytae lives in Vancouver, where his bulgogi recipe is rumoured to be the best in the city.
About Here is a creative studio and YouTube channel dedicated to helping people understand their cities and how they work. Through its stories, About Here explores the big and small challenges facing cities and the interesting and often unexpected solutions to address them. Since 2018, About Here has produced educational videos on key urban planning topics with partners such as the CBC, the City of Vancouver, the City of Toronto, and Vancity Credit Union. These videos have been viewed millions of times by audiences around the world, inspiring curiosity and debate about the issues facing our cities.
8:30am – 9:30am
SESSION DESCRIPTION
SPEAKER BIO
Andy Christie, Building Official | BOABC
Andy Christie is a Registered Building Official who works for the City of Kimberley, located in the Purcell Mountains of British Columbia. Starting in 2008, Andy has worked in the Kootenay region with the Regional District of East Kootenay and the City of Cranbrook as a Building Official. Before becoming a Building Official, Andy was employed as a timber framer, carpenter and commercial construction site supervisor. Projects ranged from 25 million dollar homes in Whistler BC to re-building arena roofs in Kimberley and have offered a wide range of skills and construction knowledge. Andy’s inspection process is solution based and he is extremely resourceful in providing options to the local building community to achieve their aesthetic goals and Code compliance. Having a passion for sustainability has influenced everything Andy works on with the City of Kimberley, and he often speaks to a broad range of groups about the successes with energy efficiency and sustainability in Kimberley.
When not working, Andy enjoys spending time with his family, wood working in his home shop, cheering on the local hockey team, and the multitude of recreation activities that living in the mountains affords.
9:30am – 10:00am
10:00am – 11:00am
SESSION DESCRIPTION
As energy efficiency targets become more ambitious, it’s important to consider the broader impacts on building performance. In this session, Nick and Elisabeth will explore some of the unintended consequences that can arise when efficiency is pursued without a holistic approach, and discuss how core building science principles can help avoid common pitfalls. They will also introduce the concept of embodied carbon and explain why optimizing for multiple outcomes, including durability, comfort, resilience, and carbon reduction, often leads to better buildings than simply maximizing a single metric.
SPEAKER BIOS
Elisabeth Baudinaud, Principal | Carbon Wise
Elisabeth is the Principal and Founder of Carbon Wise, a group of energy and carbon advisors providing combined operational and embodied carbon services. Carbon Wise aims to bridge the gap between the realities of on-the-ground construction and the imperative actions needed to meet our climate targets.
Elisabeth and her team have established themselves as leaders in the field, with a strong commitment to sharing their knowledge, often publishing case studies to advance research on high-performance buildings and participating in policy development. Their leadership and innovation have been recognized through multiple awards, including the BC Embodied Carbon Award (2023 and 2024), the HAVAN Trailblazer Award (2024), and the BUILD LCA & Policy Award (2025), recognizing their impact on driving sustainable construction practices forward.
Nick Bray, Principal | Nick Bray Architecture Ltd.
Nick is a qualified Architect and has been working in practice since 2001 after graduating from the Welsh School of Architecture. Whilst working on high profile projects at Jestico+Whiles Architects in London, England, Nick was involved in many award winning designs, including the prestigious UK Housing Design Award [2008] for the design of a highly sustainable mid-rise residential building in East London.
Moving to Vancouver in 2010, Nick was a lead designer for a number of award-winning buildings whilst working for Alfred Waugh Architects and Christopher Bozyk Architects. These projects included the O’Syiam Pavilion in Squamish, the Barrow Street light-industrial complex in North Vancouver, the mid-rise InGastown apartment building in downtown Vancouver, and the LightWorks commercial building in Mount Pleasant.
Having now established his own award nominated studio, Nick Bray Architecture Ltd, Nick brings a diverse background of international experience to specialize in sustainable designs in an evolving Vancouver architecture landscape.
As part of our ongoing involvement in promoting sustainable design, Nick regularly gives lectures and lunch & learns on Passive-House, as well as hosting open-houses at construction sites. He sits on CHBA’s Technical Research Committee, HAVAN’s Government Relations Committee and the AFBC’s Advocacy and Practice Committee, and regularly participates in City of Vancouver, ZebX and Passive-House-Canada panels relating to building sustainability policy and direction.
11:00am – 11:15am
11:15am – 12:15pm
12:15pm – 1:15pm
1:15pm – 2:15pm
SESSION DESCRIPTION
SPEAKERS
Sara Dubinsky | Lidstone & Company Law Corporation
Matthew Voell | Lidstone & Company Law Corporation
2:15pm – 2:45pm
2:45pm – 3:45pm
SESSION DESCRIPTION
Meeting ambitious housing, economic development, affordability, and sustainability goals depends on strong partnerships between local governments, utilities and industry. Across BC, sectors face similar challenges—how to build critical infrastructure in dense, space-limited urban environments while balancing competing priorities. This session brings together BC Hydro subject matter experts to share how collaborations with municipalities are supporting better outcomes for builders, customers and communities, profiling pilot projects with local governments. The session will also include updates on the customer connection process, best practices, tips and tricks for builders and developers to support efficient customer connections.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
SPEAKER BIO
Shari Holmes-Saltzman, Local Government Partnerships Project Manager | BC Hydro
Shari is a project manager with the Local Government Partnerships team at BC Hydro. This team plays a crucial role in advancing infrastructure delivery and supporting local governments in achieving their goals. They work closely with local government to represent BC Hydro’s interests and coordinate relationships from a technical and planning perspective. Having spent over 15 years working in local government as a Planner managing a range of portfolios, Shari brings a broad understanding of local government operations to her work at BC Hydro.
4:30pm – 6:30pm
Kick off Night 1 with a relaxed evening of connections and conversation. Enjoy a complimentary drink, light appetizers and the chance to explore the Exhibitor Showcase. It’s the perfect opportunity to network with fellow builders and industry professionals, while taking some time to meet and learn from the exhibitors who help bring the Summit to life.
*Open to all registered delegates, sponsors and exhibitors.
7:30am – 8:30am
SESSION DESCRIPTION
SPEAKER BIO
8:30am – 9:30am
SESSION DESCRIPTION
The Design Decisions That Shape Cost, Yield, and Livability
Housing affordability is not only a policy challenge; it is also a design challenge. This talk explores how early design decisions shape what gets built, how much it costs, how many homes can be delivered, and how livable those homes and neighbourhoods become.
Key takeaways:
SPEAKER BIO
Naama Blonder, Co-Founder | Smart Density
Naama Blonder is a registered architect and urban designer focused on redefining what good housing and neighbourhoods can look like in growing cities. As the co-founder and Principal of Smart Density, she brings together architecture, planning and urban design to create innovative solutions that support housing affordability and inclusive neighborhoods. Her work focuses on the relationship between housing, density, mobility, and the public realm, at the scale of large urban sites and growing neighborhoods, challenging conventional approaches to growth.
She is the co-author of Building Charm, a book exploring why so many new neighbourhoods feel generic — and what it takes to create places people genuinely love.
Her work has received numerous awards, including four Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) SHIFT Awards, the OAA Best Emerging Practice Award, In 2023, she was selected for the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Women of Influence, followed by the Ontario Professional Planners Institute PlanON Public Education Award in 2024 and the City of Toronto Urban Design Award in 2025. In 2026, she received the BILD Under 40 Leadership Award.
9:30am – 10:00am
10:00am – 11:00am
SESSION DESCRIPTION
Critical Fire, Sound, and Egress Requirements for Designers, Builders & Inspectors
Moving from single-family residential to small multi-family developments introduces a whole new layer of code compliance. This session is designed specifically for professionals scaling up to duplexes, townhomes, and urban infills. Learn exactly where the BC Building Code diverges from standard single-family practices. We’ll dive deep into the mechanics of fire-resistance ratings, acoustic separations between units, complex egress paths, and when sprinkler systems become mandatory, helping you streamline approvals and avoid costly mistakes.
SPEAKER BIO
Tony Giroux, President | BCABD
Tony Giroux is the President of the BC Association of Building Designers and the principal of Giroux Design Group Inc. As a third-generation Building Designer with over 30 years of personal experience, Tony oversees a firm that has been a fixture in the industry for more than 75 years. An ASTTBC Registrant and Registered Building Designer, he specializes in complex infill, multifamily, and Part 9 commercial projects. Beyond the drafting table, Tony is a dedicated advocate for the industry, working closely with municipalities and associations to harmonize communication between the design, inspection, and construction sectors.
11:00am – 11:15am
11:15am – 12:15pm
12:15pm – 1:15pm
1:15pm – 2:15pm
2:15pm – 2:45pm
2:45pm – 3:45pm
SESSION DESCRIPTION
This session examines wall assemblies designed to meet Part 9 lateral wind and seismic load requirements, along with practical strategies on air barrier detailing from design through to construction and inspection. Drawing on real-world project experience, the presenter will share proven approaches for maintaining a continuous air barrier system at transitions, interfaces, and penetrations, helping practitioners improve constructability, performance, and code compliance.
SPEAKER BIO
Mark Bernhardt, President | Bernhardt Contracting
Mark is the President of Bernhardt Contracting Ltd., a former President of CHBA BC, and a licensed builder based in Victoria, BC. In 2012, Bernhardt Contracting built the first Certified Passive House on Vancouver Island and has since gone on to build or consult on dozens more.
Mark is also a Certified Energy Advisor and Passive House Consultant, and over the past year has spent much of his time helping other builders gear up for Step Code and higher performance buildings. He serves on several provincial code committees and chairs the CHBA BC technical committee. He is also the CEO of Energy Code Solutions, a new company formed for the purpose of using big data and automation to inform design and code compliance across the country.
3:45pm – 4:00pm
