In Canadian Architect, Leanne Snodgrass, BScE, P.Eng., Wendy Macdonald, P.Eng., ENV SP, LEED®AP BD+C, and Dominic Mattman, BASc, P.Eng., LEED® AP, argue that reaching zero-carbon buildings depends on early, integrated collaboration across every design discipline—not on better technology. The tools, materials, and systems already exist across Canada. What decides the outcome is timing—when the right people sit down together and how early they commit to a shared goal.

The op-ed points to the new Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) headquarters as a case study. This LEED Platinum, mass-timber building—designed by ZAS Architects + Interiors and Bucholz McEvoy Architects—demanded simultaneous coordination among architects, engineers, contractors, and manufacturers. The authors demonstrate how that upfront alignment, rather than sequential handoffs, was essential to delivering a genuinely low-carbon outcome.

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