June 13, 2024
Nadia Kriplani, from A49’s Centrus office wrapped up her Master’s of Architecture this spring from Carleton University. The year-long program included the requirement of a thesis. Nadia’s interest lay in examining rammed earth and the opportunities for mainstreaming the process throughout Ontario construction.
“I decided to focus my research on rammed earth and how mainstreaming could affect and impact the decarbonization of the industry. So, its opportunities and obstacles in Ontario as a case study for how we could use bio based materials to help advance sustainability locally and to decarbonize the industry,” Nadia explained.
Having worked prior to starting her master’s and having that experience Nadia recognized the wealth of resources available to her and wanted to contribute to the development of sustainable practices.
“I wanted to do something good and help,” she said.
Facing such a big issue was daunting and Nadia admits to becoming demoralized in the beginning, feeling as though there was not much she could do as a lone student. However, she persevered and reached out to local professionals asking them what they felt was one thing that could make a change in the industry.
The answers all circled around the idea of biobased materials, code research and renders. From here, Nadia made little projects that she could do herself, some of which were in collaboration or for the industry. These ‘micro-interventions’ address gaps in the field that were identified during her interviews. As her thesis abstract explains, “They include building digital models, submitting a Code Change Request for the NBCC, proposing a Rammed Earth Standard for Ontario, and creating a Rammed Earth Student Guidebook.”
Having completed the master’s program and defended her completed thesis in April, Nadia is ready for her next adventure, moving to A49’s Ottawa office. Having previously worked on Centrus, Nadia notes, “Centrus does really prioritize sustainability and I find that to be inspiring. I now realize how lucky we are to have a whole team that works on sustainability and is so well versed and to have access to that kind of knowledge. I hope to be able to grow and draw from that. I’m sure the Ottawa office has their own version of this and I’m excited to see what comes of it and the projects they are working on.”
So, with a new challenge ahead, how will she bring her thesis into her work moving forward?
“I definitely see the industry through different eyes. Like sustainability in the urgency of climate change,” she says. While she adds it may seem obvious, it had a defining impact while Nadia was at school and she hopes to achieve LEED and other sustainability designations moving forward.
Congratulations to Nadia for her achievement of second place on the Maxwell Taylor Prize and we look forward to seeing what she does next.