Research & Development Services
Our research is innovative and proven in practice
Our research is innovation proven in practice. It’s what drives change and is the core of what we do – we continuously invest in innovation to address social, economic and environmental impacts and challenges. We collaborate in a multidisciplinary approach, driving forward research to inform new services and products underpinned by evidence and quality assurance in the built environment based upon global best practices. We continuously invest in producing relevant solutions which is key to addressing built environment impacts and challenges. With a strong commitment to research & development (R&D), we continue to set new standards for sustainability in buildings, communities and the construction material and technology sectors.
We work with leading institutions and grant funders to drive new knowledge, innovation and social purpose. We help industry and universities take center stage in conducting leading-edge research in areas of critical concern to Canada and the world. We are continually looking for ways to improve products and services through collaboration with Colleges, Universities and industry. We use our research findings to inform how we deliver our services and we learn from the people and businesses we serve about issues that need to be answered through research.
EcoSpex provides research to government and industry by drawing on our multi-disciplinary expertise along with our technical partners and peer review teams delivering quality project management and multi-partner research initiatives.
R&D Projects
Design4Dementia
Design4Dementia is a multi-disciplinary approach that enables and engages design teams to improve the environment for people living with dementia. We continue to invest in providing guidance on home & commercial adaptation for Design4Dementia. We continually innovate through best practices to improve the lives of people living with dementia in the built environment. Improvement only occurs when robust research results are proven in practice and communicated and implemented into daily life.
Small Rural Low Carbon Attainable Housing Strategy and Framework
Small, rural and remote communities face unique challenges developing affordable housing solutions. We support these communities by identifying their challenges and issues. We enable new tools, policies and resources to support government and industry. By working collaboratively with municipalities, local county’s, developers, not-for-profit, and builders by defining priorities and requirements to help fast track Attainable Housing projects.
Digitizing BIM
The digitization of construction materials and technology information is in its infancy. The lack of standardization and inability to share accurate and verified information is limiting the effectiveness of BIM. EcoSpex is developing automated tools to enable the AEC industry to work smarter through partnerships to support the next generation of tools for professionals by connecting sustainable materials and technologies data to BIM. In collaboration with Autodesk and the Centre for Construction and Engineering Technology (CCET) at George Brown College (GBC) where we conduced research to apply the LEED4v.1 standards by adopting the EcoSpex verification process by testing materials and assemblies in a sample Building Information Modeling (BIM) model.
Green Product Manufacturing Initiative
The Green Product Manufacturing Initiative undertook a deep market analysis, data on the green economy outlining the size and scope of the market for green building products by quantifying the economic opportunity in the building the products industry in Ontario. The work provided the foundation of the size and market for green building products by identifying several gaps within the construction market. Findings provided a snapshot of how Ontario is well-positioned to play a significant leadership role in the green building products (low carbon, water, energy technologies and other products needed to support high performance buildings) to increase the adoption rate and deliver innovative economic opportunities for manufacturing.
