Byrne was joined by Alice Gibson as project architect; Irene Rivera, an architectural designer; Natalie Krakovsky, architect; and Kelly Fisher, a Passive House consultant who helped develop the certifiable Passive House design. The YWCA Hamilton project is the first time she’s had a womenled design team, working for a women-led client. Did having a women-led team contribute to the building’s innovation? “We understand what women have to deal with, especially women on their own with children,” says Byrne, who says she’s incredibly proud of her team — most of whom are under 40. “I think we can look at it from that perspective and be thoughtful in the design. We get it.” There were also women on the engineering and construction side. For most of her career, Byrne says she’s been one of few women in the room — and women architects are often supporting male leaders. “It’s unusual,” says Byrne. In her experience in the industry, “the leaders are usually men.” But the industry is changing. The Ontario Association of Architects says it has about 28 per cent women — up from 23.7 per cent in 2015 — adding that nearly half their interns are women. In Canada, the association says about 31 per cent of registered architects are women, according to data from the Canadian Architectural Licensing Authorities. THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
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