Canada’s first multi-storey, 3D-printed student residence

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This episode highlights:

• Canada's Expanded Nation Building Pipeline: Ottawa has added a second wave of projects worth over $56 billion to its major projects office, bringing the total investment pipeline referred to more than $116 billion. This is part of a broader push toward Canadian economic diversification and self-sufficiency. The priorities focus heavily on the Northwest Critical Conservation Corridor, requiring major new infrastructure—including transmission lines, highways, telecom ports, and rail—to unlock critical mineral deposits in Northwest BC and the Yukon. Key energy projects include the North Coast transmission line and Sylmus LNG, an electrified Nisga Nation-led facility that could draw nearly $30 billion in investment and potentially help double national LNG output. Northern clean energy is also prioritized, including a major hydro project in Nunavut that would be the region's first fully Inuit-owned hydro development, replacing massive diesel use and delivering emissions-free power.

• The Condo Takeover on the West Coast: Apartments are projected to account for 55% of all Metro Vancouver homes by 2050, rising significantly from 46% in 2024. Simultaneously, single-detached homes are forecasted to fall to just 14%. Officials anticipate the region will need roughly 20,500 net new homes per year to reach about 1.7 million dwelling units by 2050. Approximately two-thirds of all new housing is expected to be apartments, reflecting policies that prioritize compact, transit-served development, such as the growth along the Broadway corridor. While townhouses are expected to hold a steady share, the decline of single-detached construction is attributed to land constraints and shifting municipal planning priorities. However, there is controversy, as many view these smaller, expensive condo units as being built more for investors than for people raising families.

• Quebec's REM Deux-Montagnes Branch Opens: Part of one of Canada's largest transit projects under construction, the REM's Deux-Montagnes branch, has finally opened to riders, marking the second major segment to be completed. The complex build, which took seven years and involved tunnel rehabilitation under Mount Royal, now connects directly into three existing metro lines (via McGill, Édouard-Montpetit, and Central Station Bonaventure). While it started as roughly a $6.9 billion project, costs are now expected to be around $9.4 billion due to delays, tunnel surprises, and pandemic impacts. The project is built and operated by CDPQ Infra, Quebec's pension fund's infrastructure arm, which has publicly stated it is absorbing the cost overruns, making it an interesting case study for risk transfer in Canadian mega project delivery.

• 3D Printing Creates a Living Laboratory in Ontario: The University of Windsor has begun constructing Canada's first multi-story 3D printed net-zero student residence. The printing is happening on site using a large-format concrete 3D printer. The building, which will contain seven residential units, is designed to serve as a living laboratory for researchers and engineering students to study 3D printed construction in real time, focusing on long-term structural performance, energy use, and durability. This project aims to demonstrate how 3D printing can potentially make construction faster, more affordable, and more sustainable by dramatically reducing the need for formwork and traditional framing, which can cut down on required skilled labor. The federal government has expressed interest in supporting new construction technologies, making this a pivotal example of additive construction moving from concept to reality