Ontario Construction News staff writer
Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe carried a clear message at the 35th annual Merkley Supply Show on Thursday: the construction industry is the primary engine for solving the region’s housing crisis.
As more than 900 contractors, architects, engineers, suppliers and consultants gathered for several educational sessions, trade show displays and extensive free food and refreshments, the mayor formally signaled the city’s intent to act as a partner rather than a barrier to development.
The event, hosted by Robert Merkley, president of Merkley Supply Ltd., celebrated three and a half decades of bringing the masonry and construction sectors together. Sutcliffe praised Merkley’s leadership, noting his role as a philanthropist and the company’s place as a community builder for more than 125 years in the Ottawa region.
“We want to be the most builder-friendly city in the country,” Sutcliffe told the audience. He emphasized that with Ottawa’s population expected to grow by half a million over the next 25 years, the city is focused on making it “cheaper, easier, and faster” to build through streamlined approvals and deferred fees.
“Sustainable siblings”: Lessons from Ottawa’s largest Passive House projects
At a technical session titled “Sustainable Siblings,” a veteran team from Hobin Architecture detailed how high-performance “Passive House” standards are being used to create high-density, affordable housing that remains architecturally rooted in Ottawa’s masonry tradition.
The presentation focused on Mosaïq I (811 Gladstone) and Mosaïq II (820 Gladstone), two affordable housing projects for Ottawa Community Housing (OCH).
The expert panel
The session was led by several key members of the Hobin team:
- Barry Hobin (founding principal): Introduced the session, noting that Passive House technology must “fit into the neighborhood” and not look like “three-dimensional experiments”.
- Marc Thivierge (principal): Outlined how traditional masonry aligns naturally with high-performance wall assemblies.
- Ryan Fleming (architect): Discussed the design evolution, noting that Mosaïq I was the largest residential Passive House in Canada at its inception.
- Cameron Deans (sustainable lead specialist): Detailed the technical challenges of mitigating thermal bridging in concrete structures.
- Sean O’Rourke (technologist): Explained the building science and detailing required to make Passive House designs perform in the real world.
- Shawn Leduc (technologist): Was recognized for his role in ensuring the complex developments come together as designed.
Key technical takeaways
The team highlighted that Passive House construction is not fundamentally different from conventional methods but requires a much higher level of precision. Notable findings included:
- Energy results: In 3°C weather, the well-insulated units were being heated by a single 120-volt electric heater, leading to reports from site managers that the units were “too hot” even on the lowest setting.
- Masonry innovation: To support heavy brick outboard of eight inches of insulation, the team utilized the Faro bracket system, which provides a thermal-bridge-free support for masonry.
- The “Airtightness boss”: The team recommended designating a specific person responsible for the air barrier to ensure the building meets performance targets an order of magnitude higher than standard code.
The architects noted that these lessons are now being applied to Gladstone Village Phase 2, which will bring over 1,000 new affordable homes to the Corso Italia LRT station area.
The Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus: A $2.8-billion transformation
The redevelopment of The Ottawa Hospital’s Civic Campus is poised to become one of the most significant healthcare and research initiatives in Canadian history. Tim Kluke, president and CEO of The Ottawa Hospital Foundation, provided an update on the “Campaign to Create Tomorrow,” which aims to fund the innovation and technology required for the new facility.
Kluke emphasized that while the government funds the “bricks and mortar” of hospitals, philanthropy is essential for the equipment, research space, and advanced technology that will make the new campus a world-leading academic research center.
The session was introduced by Robert Merkley, who highlighted his 25-year history of fundraising for the hospital. Merkley recalled co-chairing the Builders and Construction Committee with Barry Hobin, an effort that grew from an initial $2-million goal to a $10.2-million success.
The new campus, located on Carling Avenue, is designed to accommodate the region’s rapid growth while integrating the latest in patient-centered care and medical research.
