Films to see this Christmas.

For the person who likes Politics combined with Sport I would recommend seeing Morgan Freeman in Clint Eastwood's latest film "Invictus". Based on the "truish" story of Nelson Mandela, shortly after being elected President of South Africa, and also after his long term imprisonment, realising that for his country to remain a whole it needed some form of Inspiration. He saw the vehicle for this in the Springboks - the South African Rugby Team. With a somewhat predictable story line, the film develops along a positive narrative from hardship to success. However, it does give one a good feeling - is that not a good thing at Christmas time?

"Invictus" is a little better than a similar "feel-good" story in the film "The Blind Side" - also a true story but much more predictable and much more "Hollywood". Middle Class wife comes across a poor black boy who is physically huge. The family takes him in. Discover that he can play American Football - but actually being only slightly more animated than a Fridge. He is a nice enough guy - but this film does nothing to raise the IQ impression of American Football (I have to keep saying American Football as I do not want to  confuse it with real football played with a spherical ball). But despite all that the film is OK, the best one can say is it is in-offensive (unlike the American Football offensive tackles).

If you prefer a film with more meta-realism, a film that is about how things "could-be", a film that could be depressing but in the end is not so, then I would recommend "The Road" based upon the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name. The global environment seems to have been destroyed (we do not know from whence the disaster came), the father (Viggo Mortensen) and his son are two of the very few still walking the roads in search of some better place. I say that it could be depressing because this "new" world is such a bleak place. But the optimism is found in the love that the father shows his son and the way in which he tries so hard to inspire his son to keep on going.

Good film-watching this Christmas.

More outline reviews to come : "Up in The Air", "The Single Man" etc.

The Manasc Isaac team was selected for the laboratory renovations at Athabasca University, in their main building.  This continues our long history doing work at their main campus!Derek will be leading the charge, [good thing Derek is back!] supported by Alejandro and our talented technical team, as well as Bob on construction administration.

Leanne Tobias provided great inspiration for reimagining buildings and creating green real estate at yesterday's luncheon.  There was great coverage in the Edmonton Journal and Edmonton Sun today!

Lori-Ann Claerhout & Mike Gismondi have created a blog to follow the construction of their new low-energy house in Athabasca.  Follow the construction & their thoughts of the home-building process here: http://borealmodern.wordpress.com.

Manasc Isaac is on a roll!  The Water Centre was awarded LEED^® Gold certification from the Canada Green Building Council on December 3rd.  Congratulations to the Water Centre team including Sturgess Architecture for the building that continues to garner awards and attention!

This years staff retreat was one that we likely won't forget for a while.  It was slightly more frugal than gatherings of previous years - understandable given the dreary backdrop of the current economic climate. 

Lunch, for example, was a sandwich potluck affair with proceeds going to United Way and this year we held the staff retreat at our own offices with a catered dinner and an in-house movie night, with our principal, Vivian Manasc, making the popcorn on a little machine that sounded like a vacuum cleaner.

The Canada Green Building Council has just confirmed that the Boreal Centre for Bird Conservation, in Slave Lake, has achieved LEED Gold. This mainly off-grid building collects rainwater, uses composting toilets, is well-insulated and is a delightful interpretative and research facility. For a virtual tour of this facility and its sustainable building strategies, see www.borealbirdcentre.ca/about.htm and for more photos see manascisaac.com/projects/boreal_centre

Manasc Isaac and the NAIT team are designing a world-class Alternative Energy teaching and research centre, located in NAIT's former Services Building. Inspired by the success of NAIT's original fuel cell, this facility will integrate a range of alternative energy technologies, with a view to training technologists who can effectively design the many different systems needed for the next energy economy.

Congratulations to Joel Harding, our brilliant graphic designer who has won a Design Exchange GOLD award for the book design for Agora Borealis: Engaging in Sustainable Architecture. The second edition was published last Spring.  Books are available locally at Audrey's, Greenwoods and The Artworks.

In the Calgary Herald, there was a article on how the Boreal Centre for Bird Conservation acts as a virtual classroom for students...

Check out:

www.calgaryherald.com/travel/Virtual+field+trips+bring+nature+into+classrooms/2134578/story.html

Manasc Isaac and PCL have been selected as the Design-Build team for Morinville's new Library and Cultural Centre. This important new facility will create a dynamic and delightful new focus for Morinville. www.morinville.ca

Last Friday, September 11, 2009, Keith Annett was presented with a plaque honouring his 20 years of exemplary, dedicated service to Manasc Isaac!

Novel by Kingsley Amis

First pulished in Great Britain 1954

I was 3 years old when Amis published this comic novel about Jim Dixon, a teacher at an un-named "new" red brick university. The name "red-brick" university denotes the facy that is neith Oxford nor Cambridge and thus has lower class education (how we love those distinguishing marks.)

These 2 video tutorials will help you blog effectively:

1. Blogging Overview

With this 6 minute video tutorial nobody has any excuse not to blog away merrily.  You'll definitely want to view it full-screen. 

The Water Centre has received a Green Good Design Award, from the THE CHICAGO ATHENAEUM: MUSEUM OF ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN & THE EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR ARCHITECTURE ART DESIGN AND URBAN STUDIES.

This is quite a prestigious award- and we're in good company, with other winners like Richard Meier, William McDonough, ARUP, Behnisch, etc.

Shafraaz Kaba talks about the Servus project on City TV with guest host Todd Babiak

Edmonton on Aug 7 2009.

With an increased focus on making existing buildings more sustainble. Manasc Isaac has launched an intitiative called reimagine. www.reimagine.ca

Reimagine inspires building owners to re-skin existing buildings, dramatically reduce greenhouse gases, reduce energy consumption, make the buildings more attractive on the street and dramatically improve the interior working environment. Our latest integrated design charettes point to the amazing opportunities that a better building envelope offers. And with thousands of buildings built the 1970's reaching their 40th birthdays, this is an amazing time to reimagine major portions of our cities.  www.reimagine.ca.

Vivian Manasc presenting at Heritage Canada's Annual Conference

http://www.heritagecanada.org/eng/main.html

Friday September 25th

On Friday , July 31, 2009, Ian Jarvis of Enerlife Consulting joined the Manasc Isaac team to talk about the Canada Green Building Council's Green Up programme,

http://www.cagbc.org/initiatives/green_building_performance/green_up_program.php

The Manasc Isaac annual staff summer picnic will be happening Thursday, July 9th at Kinsmen Park. Activites will include 9 holes of Pitch n Putt golf (for all those who have RSVPd to Joanne by the end of the day today), tennis at the nearby courts, soccer, badminton, or anything else people would like to organize.

The M.A.D.E. in Edmonton 8th Annual Street Furniture Competition took place this past Saturday and Sunday on Churchill Square as part of the The Works Art & Design Festival. Among the competitors were Manasc Isaac's own Shafraaz Kaba and Karen Fedoruk, who competed with style, flair and good sportsmanship.

By Ian O'Donnell

Setting forth at 8am this past Saturday with 1650 others in support of the MS society, team 'Green Revolution' embarked on a leisurely 190km 2 day ride in +28 degree weather from Nisku to Camrose and back.

Brought to you by Edmonton on the Edge, M.A.D.E. in Edmonton, the University of Alberta (City-Region Studies Centre, Faculty of Extension, External Relations), Edmonton Design Committee-City of Edmonton, ISL Engineering and Land Services. 
___________

Edmonton on the Edge presents author Peter Newman on June 18, 2009 at 7pm in the Shaw Conference Centre (9797 Jasper Avenue, Salon 4). Peter will be speaking about his new book, RESILIENT CITIES: Responding to Peak Oil and Climate Change. (Doors open at 6:45pm. Admission is free and a reception follows. Cash bar. Musical entertainment by Melissa Majeau.)

From 14 to 18 June 2009, 600 participants from 57 countries are gathering in the City of Edmonton in Western Canada for the triennial World Congress of 'ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainabiltity', a global network of 1100 cities working on sustainable development. The program will touch upon many areas of urban environmental sustainability, from Climate & Energy to Biodiversity and from Resilience & Adaptation to Water, in large plenaries and small working groups.

On Tuesday, our office will be the last stop on a tour of innovative projects that have reimagined old buildings as part of the ICLEI World Congress.

Manasc isaac is a key sponsor of PK4, taking place Tuesday night.

After three sold-out events, Next Gen concludes its first series of PK nights with a sustainability themed Pecha Kucha in celebration of the ICLEI World Congress. Sustainability reaches far beyond the reduce, reuse, recycle mandate that many Next Geners grew-up with and Edmonton’s Next Gen wants to explore its widest terms.

The Rona MS BIke Ride rolls through Alberta June 13 & 14. Team Green Revolution (including Vivian, Mike, Ruben, Garth and Sandra) are inviting you to join them!

All you need is a bicycle, helmet and enthusiasm. You can camp or stay in a hotel overnight and all your bags are transported for you.

Only Canadian firm recognized this year by North American awards program

Manasc Isaac was named one of North America's top Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) firms in the May issue of Building Design and Construction Magazine. The eleven unranked 2009 AEC Best Firm winners were chosen based on innovative recruitment and retention practices, professional development, social and corporate responsibility, workplace environment, compensation/benefits, business practices and public perception of the firm.

This weekend is the May long weekend and that means that the City Market on 104 Street is opening for the season!

The market is open Saturdays from 9 am to 3 pm, from May 16 to October 10 in good weather or bad. Location: 104 street between Jasper Avenue and 102 Avenue.

Manasc Isaac participated for the second year in the Edmonton Canstruction contest. The Manasc Isaac Smart Car was built May 8th by Garth Crump, Rolly Hoath, Shafraaz Kaba, Bob Korneluk, Ian O'Donnell and Steve Vallerand.

The team at deVine has garnered approval from the City of Edmonton to close 104th St. between Jasper ave. and 102nd Avenue the night of Saturday, June 13th in order to stage an everyone welcome block party culminating with a two-and-a-half storey outdoor movie screen showing of "Big Night" with Stanley Tucci and Minnie Driver.

Join us for the 20^th Edmonton Earth Day, April 26^th, at Hawrelak Park.

6 hours of mainstage entertainment, environmental, advocacy and wholistic exhibitors, hands on activities for the kids, workshops and speakers, and more - this is a fun free family educational event you will not want to miss.

Reminder that Friday April 17 is the office clean-up. Starting at 3:00 all staff members are expected to tidy ther own desks and help clean out old files etc. stored around office.

We still need volunteers to assist with the yearly Capital City Clean Up.

Join Manasc Isaac on Tuesday, April 21 for the Staff and Family Earth Day Event!

Manasc Isaac will provide drinks, games and prizes, Joel and Mike will provide music, and staff will bring potluck dinner and conversation.

Manasc Isaac will be pedalling on the Heart and Stroke Foundation Big Bike again this year. This event is a very fun way to raise money for the Foundation - and also a chance to win some prizes.
We need 29 people to ride the bike.

Another Manasc Isaac Ski Trip has passed! A big thanks to Ian for making all of the arrangements for our fantastic weekend. More photos are available on the Media Drive/Images/MIA Office and Staff. Please add any good photos that you have of the trip. 

A Community Conversation Forum to Engage the Community in a Discussion on the possibilities and challenges of existing and future land use on the Edmonton City Centre Airport Lands.

When: Saturday, April 4, 2009, from 9:30am – 3:30pm

Onsite Magazine Presents Architecture and Oil

The lecture and panel discussion is brought to you by OnSite Magazine through a joint Canada Council and Alberta Arts Foundation grant.

When: April 9, 2009

Where: Telus Centre for Professional Development, University of Alberta,

Edmonton Symphony Orchestra Season Launch

In the last 50-plus years, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra has taken its place as one of Canada's foremost orchestral ensembles.  Its current roster includes 56 musicians from Canada and around the world, performing a wide-ranging repertoire from the great classical masterworks to pops and children's concerts, bringing to the stage their unique experiences and incredible musical talents.

Welcome to the first Manasc Isaac newsletter in blog format! Andrew has been working hard to develop this and other components of the new website. Unlike the wiki, which allows users to edit each other's entries to create a shared knowledge base over time, the blog is the posting space for dated newsy items. All future newsletters will be published here and when the new website is launched the blog will be the News page. Some articles (such as an award announcement) will be visible to all those who visit the blog, while others (such as internal announcements) will only be visible to those who are logged in.

Please take the time to explore the blog and its features. You'll notice at the bottom of the page there is room for comments. Let us know what you think about the newsletter, the format and the blog either by leaving a comment or sending an email to Sarah Crummy or Andrew Masri.

Introduction

This part of the blog article is part of the intro/teaser section which extends from the start of the article to a special marker, which is only visible when editing the document.  There is more information on inserting the special marker later in this article...