Architecture Awards 2021

5 2021 Architecture Awards BUILD tarting its journey in 2010, HEUGHES Canada inc. began its journey to the top of its industry in the research and development of environmentally friendly aluminium windows. Serving the North American market, HEUGHES has been dealing in eco-efficient solutions and making a name for itself with the exemplary nature of these, as well as supporting its European partners who had extensive prior experience in the field. Fundamentally, it wishes to support the growing sector of eco-friendly architectural and construction solutions, ensuring that such building companies and entities have access to green solutions, and showing them that these solutions hold an edge over the rest of the market in their own right. Its innovative eco efficient technology has created windows with European style designs fit for the North American market, challenging the existing paradigm of traditional aluminium windows. The latter designs have been around since the 60s – and thus are massively behind the times, as far as modern ingenuity goes – but much of the home ownership and creation market still holds a soft spot for more traditional things. HEUGHES, therefore, had a task on its hands in converting some of that loyalty, but it soon became abundantly clear the difference in quality. After many tests and trials of HEUGHES’ ecologically efficient windows versus the traditional style of window, it quickly became evident that HEUGHES’ offering was in fact more energy efficient in general; and that it provided significant benefits to a home upon installation, benefits that paid for themselves and made it worth the larger price tag. HEUGHES therefore funnelled significant effort into working on custom solutions for challenging products. It made itself the company delivering solutions for niches that the wider market at large didn’t cater to, and began to receive significant positive response for this, quickly gaining traction in its industry and making itself a household name in its region. Consequently, this allowed it to move on to several projects in the future, the first being the Stinson school project. This client and the solutions that HEUGHES provided for them was a brilliant springboard for the company due to the prestige and renown of the building itself; being one of the most valuable buildings in Ontario, located in Hamilton city. Moreover, as well as being able to ply its trade in a way that got it noticed by its wider industry, it also gained notoriety for its ability to adapt itself. For example, regarding the Stinson job, the building itself is 19th century and came part and parcel with some extremely sensitive challenges due to the age and protected status of the building. This meant that HEUGHES had to approach every element of its operation with care, diligence, and respect – even more so than usual – as well as being flexible enough to work on matching the heritage look and feel of the old buildings. Luckily, HEUGHES finds such challenges invigorating, and was excited when the Stinson job led to yet more of these. It was presented with another challenge when dealing with installing various glass products for Hotel X in Toronto. Notably, it was challenging for two reasons in particular, the first being the installation of a full curtain glass wall around two full size tennis courts, a delicate and tricky task that required a lot of S detailed planning and precision mathematics. The second was the inclusion of one of the larger sliding doors –needed on the 28th floor – something that necessitated yet more delicate and precise work, but also meaning that in order to make it possible, the glass had to be floated up in stages. Another element that HEUGHES needed to find a workaround for was that the Hotel X had no balcony to work with. This provided it with invaluable experience in many ways, however, experience that it then took on to apply to another brilliantly handled project in the Pavilia Towers. This build, owned by a developer corporation, had one of the highest construction and maintenance standards in Canada, meaning the specifications that must be met for any installation were incredibly specific, standardised, and critical. HEUGHES ensured that every element of it was met by applying to the task its most scrutinising eye for detail, reassuring this client that it would be able to deliver, proving itself at every stage. The resulted in its reputation for both reliability and excellence being solidified in the eyes of one of the big players in the Canadian corporate world, meeting and exceeding the standards of work that they required – specifically, by way of designing and developing a door system in 2 weeks. Impressively, this door system holds the record for the highest water and air tightness in the industry, performance wise being able to handle over 720 Pa. This is required for towers in especially windy conditions, and the diligence with which HEUGHES handled the work was lauded by the client in question, as they appreciated its approach of presenting the best possible quality and performance when it comes to glass and aluminium solutions. This has been an unshakable element of its business model since its founding. Furthermore, it wishes to build things to the best possible costs in its industry, whilst not sacrificing the green nature of its products or the inherent quality that it takes such pride in. Therefore, it has collaborated with a multitude of outstanding industry professionals and leading minds in its sector – from architects to clients themselves – allowing for optimised designs that have some of the best ratings on the market. It will also work in conjunction with a client closely to ensure that costs are fair for projects, making itself a partner to their venture, and a friend of their business, as its work allows them to realise the designs and dreams that they wish to see become reality. This has meant that the reputation it forged in completing its earlier projects has only become more secure over time; and also that none of the work it offers is elevated over regular market price. Importantly, this has added another facet to its character of trustworthiness. In tandem with all of this, the people behind its work are another way in which it has made itself a brilliant element of its market segment. The staff that make up its team are innovative, forward thinking, unbowed by difficulties or hurdles, and are invigorated by the idea of attempting something entirely new. Additionally, emboldened by the operational model that allows HEUGHES to handle such new frontiers so well, its team have made themselves front runners in how a modern windows, doors, and facades developer should behave, every client interaction showing how it leads by example in its industry.