At the cusp of the pandemic, we embraced a work-from-home strategy to keep our staff, their families, and our community safe. As restrictions eased, we had to decide: do we return to "the way things were" or move forward with innovation in mind?

We are proud to have chosen the latter. Inspired by our ambition statement to constantly challenge the status quo, WalterFedy embraces a fully hybrid work strategy that empowers our team to determine where and how they work to meet our client's needs most effectively. Continue reading to learn more about life at WalterFedy and the changes we’ve made to make hybrid work, work!

What is hybrid working? 

A hybrid working approach combines both remote and in-person work. It allows employees to work from the office or home, depending on their needs and the requirements of their jobs.

This approach aims to provide employees with flexibility and autonomy in how they work, while ensuring they have opportunities to collaborate and connect with colleagues in person. Hybrid working can lead to increased productivity, job satisfaction, and work-life balance for employees, and increased efficiency and retention for employers!

WalterFedy's Approach:

Flexibility from day one!

Upon receiving an offer letter, each employee receives a "hybrid work playbook" that outlines our hybrid model. Here we ask our new employees to start thinking about the best work mix for them. There are several options for our employees to choose from, including coming to the office full-time, most of the time, or working mostly remote.

We know that finding a work mix that suits your lifestyle can change and evolve, so no one is tied down to one option if they need to adjust their approach later. 

Touchdown Workstations

Employees that aren’t in the office full-time or most of the time, use a touchdown station when working at the office. A touchdown station is a flexible seating arrangement where employees can reserve a desk for the day when they come in. For employees that want to work full-time or mainly in the office, a desk is assigned to them to ensure they have what they need to work successfully.

Meeting rooms that embrace collaboration

Collaboration is essential to the ongoing success of our hybrid work environment. To keep communication channels open, several of our meeting rooms in Kitchener, Hamilton and Toronto have Teams computers ensuring employees working in-office and remotely can communicate effectively. Even if your coworkers aren't physically present, you can still see their smiling faces on the TV screen!

Work@Home Program 

At WalterFedy, we want our employees to have fair and equitable access to funds that allow them to create a healthy, ergonomic, and productive workspace at home. Through our Work@Home Program, employees can request tech items for their home office, including two monitors, a docking station, a keyboard, a mouse, and a headset. WalterFedy will also reimburse employees up to $500 for home office furniture, such as a desk or chair, for ultimate comfort. Our Health & Safety Coordinator will even provide the best recommendations to ensure it meets our in-office ergonomic requirements.

For employees that would like to elevate their office space, WalterFedy offers a payback program to support the purchase of up to $1000 in home office upgrades. The funds are paid back in 26 easy payroll deductions to distribute the cost over an entire year!

Find your next career at WalterFedy

We hope you enjoyed learning more about life at WalterFedy. As our team continues to grow, we are always looking for talented people like you! We encourage you to visit our careers page to see current opportunities in Kitchener, Hamilton, Toronto, and Calgary. Should you require an accommodation to participate in the application process, please get in touch with hr@walterfedy.com.

Thank you for being so interested in joining the WalterFedy team – we hope to meet you soon! 

KITCHENER, Tuesday, April 18, 2023 - WalterFedy is pleased to announce we are one of Canada’s Greenest Employers of 2023, selected by Mediacorp Canada Inc. This annual awards program recognizes employers nationwide in multiple categories, and we are honoured to be in the company of some of the best organizations in Canada. Employers are evaluated on their unique environmental initiatives, programs to reduce the organization’s environmental footprint, employee involvement in these programs, and the extent that these initiatives are linked to the employer’s public identity. 

The editors at Mediacorp Canada Inc. cited our internal Sustainability Advisory Committee’s employee-led programs, our incorporation of sustainable design into building projects, our partnership and work with Sustainable Waterloo Region, and our commitment to a Beyond Zero Carbon future, as reasons for selection.  

“This award is a testament to our unwavering commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship,” says Garth Cressman, CEO. “We believe that as a business, we have a responsibility to protect the planet and create a better future for generations. I am proud of our team for their dedication, and I firmly believe that our commitment to sustainability sets us apart as an employer of choice. Moving forward, we will continue to prioritize the well-being of our environment as we grow and evolve as a firm.” 

You can visit the WalterFedy profile on the Top Employers website for more information on this award and why we are also one of Waterloo Region’s Top Employers for 2023. 

### 

ABOUT WALTERFEDY 

WalterFedy is an integrated design collaborative delivering creative solutions and practical built environments. Since our inception in 1951, we have continued to learn, adapt, and evolve to best serve our clients. In 1970, we became one of Canada’s first integrated design firms to deliver a level of coordination and team commitment not served by the traditional project model. Today we serve clients across the country, helping bring their projects to life through innovative, sustainable, and intersectional design approaches. 

Today, our expertise includes energy and carbon solutions; architecture; mechanical, electrical, structural, and civil engineering; asset and facilities management; and project management. The value of our integrated nature shines through our modern team structure, which allows us to share lessons learned and discuss project challenges organically. 

WalterFedy Media Contact 

Katie McQuaid 

Manager, Marketing and Communications 
kmcquaid@walterfedy.com 

519-576-2150 x229 

Oh, what a night!

While the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Business Excellence Awards Gala is always a  good time, it’s even better when you win an award! Thank you to the Chamber for choosing WalterFedy as the winner of the Employee Engagement Award for 2023! They stated that our hybrid work philosophy, internal professional development offerings, Employee Appreciation Week,  mentorship program, and our people-first initiatives as the reasons we stood out this year.

At WalterFedy, we have been working hard to become a people-first organization. To us, people-first means spending time upfront to hire the right employees and then continuing to encourage their development while they are part of our team. 

We intentionally invest in programs that bring people together to collaborate, allow them to be their best selves, and to further enhance our skills collectively. A fully engaged team is the most productive team, and when we are all working together and moving in the same direction, we can achieve great things.

Our leaders have a huge part in moving us toward our goal of being a people-first organization. They've worked hard, put in a ton of effort to bring our people-first initiatives to life, and have invested in their teams (and themselves) to make it happen.

The biggest thank you for this award goes to our employees for actively participating in our action and ambition statements and getting involved. Engagement programs are just ideas until employees embrace them and make them part of corporate culture, and that’s what our team has done!

The Employee Engagement category was filled with fantastic organizations, and we are honoured to be chosen as the winner amongst them. Congrats to our fellow nominees for all their work in the employee engagement space: Igloo Software, Parents for Community Living, Reis Informatica, The Food Bank of Waterloo Region, Waterloo Regional Police Service, and Your Neighborhood Credit Union.

Thank you again to the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce for such a wonderful evening.

WalterFedy group at the Chamber Gala (l to r): Garth, Ben, Elena, Matt N, Victoria, Marie, Matt W and Rob

WalterFedy was proud to support the Food Bank of Waterloo Region by participating in Canstruction for the 14th year!

This year, our team created the face of the Sphinx in a build we called A-Nile-ate Hunger. Even if you haven’t seen the Sphinx in real life, you know it’s there. The same goes for hunger in our community. Even if you haven’t experienced it, the need is now there more than ever. That is why WalterFedy supports Canstruction every year.

Our team worked on the design and logistics of the build for a few months making sure we perfected all the measurements and can choices. We are very proud of what we came up with!

Thank you to the WalterFedy team for your support through our fundraising initiatives. This year, the team delivered Candygrams and hosted a Joker’s Wild event. Their hard work paid off and they were able to raise money to support a good portion of the build.

The best part about Canstruction is that all the cans used by us and the other teams get donated to the Food Bank and to those most in need. If you’d like to see all the builds from this year and who took home the awards, you can visit the Food Bank of Waterloo Region’s Canstruction page on their website.

Canstruction Build Team: Maria, Angenie, Ridvan, Jordan, Michael, Marie, Matt and Bob

To celebrate National Engineering Month in Canada, WalterFedy hosted a virtual event on March 10 with NEM Ontario and OSPE. Our virtual event, Pitch Perfect: Refining Your Interview Skills, consisted of an hour-long panel and open Q&A session featuring Matt Woods, Tyler Bowman, and Samantha Farrow from our Engineering Services team, along with Talent Acquisition Manager, Amanda Poll, and moderated by Human Resources Assistant, Jody Godwaldt. 

After welcoming 46 virtual attendees from all over the country, our panelists shared their experiences, discussed what makes a great interview, and revealed tips and tricks to help students and new graduates break into the working world with success. Following the presentation, we had a lively Q&A session where our panelists had a great time engaging with participants. As an added bonus for attendees, we are also providing a handful with the opportunity to participate in a one-on-one resume review with a human resources or engineering professional. We want to help the next generation of engineers polish their CV’s and perfect their pitch, so they are prepared for the job market upon graduation.

Thank you to OSPE and NEM Ontario for collaborating with us and providing the platform to engage with future engineers across the country. Another big thank you to our panel for generously sharing their expertise. We could not have pulled it off without you! Happy National Engineering Month!

WalterFedy is happy to announce we have opened an office in Calgary – our first in Alberta.

As WalterFedy has continued to thrive in

the Ontario market, we have been looking for opportunities to expand our business into new markets across Canada. Calgary jumped out as a great option for us. We are renting space in the beautiful Stephen Avenue Place WeWork office in downtown Calgary. One reason we're so excited about being in the WeWork space is the opportunity to mingle and connect with others in Calgary daily, which will help grow our network and presence in the city. It will also give us the chance to explore the city and find the right place for permanent office space in the upcoming months.

As with all our offices, our goal is to have architects and engineers working together in the same ecosystem. This gives members of the WalterFedy team a unique perspective on projects and into the A/E/C industry while our clients reap the benefits of having architects and engineers in close quarters ready to collaborate at any time.

As architects and engineers, we recognize the crucial role in shaping the way our communities feel and function. Our ambition is to enhance the world around us. We look forward to delivering thoughtful holistic design solutions to a variety of projects, including a focus on education, food production, and the future of energy/sustainability, through our collaborative, multidisciplinary practice.

The city has a lot to offer and we are ready to meet potential clients and partners, and get to work! If you’re interested in collaborating with us or finding out more about WalterFedy, email solutions@walterfedy.com and we will get in touch.

From left to right: Benjamin Gregory, James Johnson, Jon Neuert

KITCHENER, Monday, December 5, 2022 – The WalterFedy Board of Directors is pleased to welcome three new shareholders to our ownership team: Benjamin Gregory, James Johnson, and Jon Neuert. Ben, James, and Jon are leaders in the architecture, engineering, and construction space, and have made exceptional contributions to the communities we serve. We wish them continued success as they grow in their practice and as partners in the firm.

“The addition of these three people to our shareholders’ table is great news for WalterFedy,” says Garth Cressman, CEO. “I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with each of them. Their unique viewpoints and experience will be instrumental as we continue to grow WalterFedy into a future-focused organization.”

In addition to their personal experience, our new shareholders bring with them the perspective of the talented teams they represent, including architecture, engineering, and the newly acquired boutique firm Baird Sampson Neuert.

Benjamin Gregory, OAA, MRAIC, M.Arch, LEED AP, is a problem-solver, passionate about design and particularly interested in architecture’s ability to promote social and environmental sustainability. He is certified as a LEED® Accredited Professional and is working towards becoming a Passive House Certified consultant. Ben’s expertise is focused on the residential and commercial sectors working with private developers, owner-operators, and non-profit groups such as the House of Friendship, YW Kitchener-Waterloo, and Beyond Housing. Ben has provided his design expertise and project management on many high-profile commercial and residential projects (including mass timber) and is currently designing a 9-storey Passive House project which, when constructed, will be the first in The Waterloo Region. Ben is also a mentor and team leader who brings a passion for his work, strong client focus, and creativity to every project in which he is involved.

James Johnson, P. Eng, is a seasoned mechanical engineer. His design experience is vast and varied, from institutional research laboratories and pharmaceuticals to office buildings and district energy. Backed by a solid technical foundation, James excels at finding creative solutions to complex design challenges and has a natural ability to navigate adversity. His vast experience make him a knowledgeable and supportive leader and mentor who willingly shares his expertise to help grow the next generation of engineering professionals. Outside of work, James supports his community as a Cub Scouter and as chair of the property committee at the Church of the Holy Trinity, Toronto.

Jon Neuert, OAA, AIA, LEED, CAHP, FRAIC, has extensive experience in the programming, planning and design of a wide array of community facilities that extends over 30 years of professional practice — the last 20 as Principal of Baird Sampson Neuert. His professional experience has been focused in the area of public building and post-secondary facility planning, programming, and design, and includes projects completed for over a dozen University campuses. Inducted as a ‘Fellow’ of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, Jon has served as project architect, designer, and principal-in-charge of many of the firm’s award-winning projects, including three projects recognized by Governor Generals Medal - Canada’s highest architectural design award. Jon is a keen collaborator and has decades of experience leading and working with stakeholder teams in the realization of impactful, public-minded projects and sustainable community development. 

Congratulations Ben, James and Jon. The WalterFedy community looks forward to your leadership as we strive to enhance the world around us.

###

ABOUT WALTERFEDY

WalterFedy’s ambition is to enhance the world around us. As one of Canada's first integrated design firms, we play a crucial role in shaping the way our communities feel and function. We understand the art of multi-disciplinary collaboration and leveraging our collective talents to elevate design solutions. It’s an incredible responsibility backed by 70 years of experience and a simple principle – everything matters.

In 2022, WalterFedy acquired Toronto architecture firm Baird Sampson Neuert, a partnership that has extended both teams’ capacity to offer intelligent design solutions across Canada delivered by passionate architecture and engineering professionals.

WalterFedy Media Contact

Katie McQuaid

Manager, Marketing and Communications
kmcquaid@walterfedy.com

519-576-2150 x229

 

For the fifth consecutive year, the WalterFedy team has made the coveted Waterloo Area’s Top Employers list.

The annual selection is curated by the team at Mediacorp Canada Inc., best known for administering the Canada’s Top 100 Employers contest. Employers are judged on their ability to offer exceptional workplaces with a focus on physical workplace; atmosphere and social culture; health, financial, and family benefits; vacation/time away; employee communications; performance management; training and skills development; and community involvement.

The selection team pointed to WalterFedy’s retirement planning assistance services; retirement savings matching contributions; and vacation, volunteer, and time away policies as reasons for selection. The flexible nature of WalterFedy’s health benefits was also commended.

“As people start to return to the workplace, this year’s winners have made it clear that their employees deserve both the time and space to focus on their families, their health, and their education,” says Kristina Leung, Managing Editor at Mediacorp. “Organizations are doubling down on their commitment to flexibility, such as flexible working hours or a health plan that allows employees to tailor coverage to suit their needs.”

"Receiving this award for the fifth year in a row is a great achievement for WalterFedy and our team,” says Victoria Campbell, Director, Human Resources. “Our employees play an important role in shaping WalterFedy as we continue to grow. Their suggestions for continuous improvements have been essential to our overall employee experience.”

The announcement rounds out an exciting year for the WalterFedy team, which has seen a 22% increase in staff since January. This large jump in staff has also coincided with new initiatives like the roll-out of a people-first culture strategy and the launch of a comprehensive Learning Management System.

“As we continue to grow within the Waterloo Region and beyond, we strive to create meaningful work opportunities for our team,” says Garth Cressman, CEO. “We want our employees to love the work they do and love working for us. When our employees are thriving, so is our business.”  

View WalterFedy’s award profile on Canada’s Top 100 Employers website along with the full list of Waterloo Area’s Top Employers.

Interested in joining our team? We'd love to hear from you. Visit our careers page for a complete list of open opportunities.

KITCHENER, Thursday, September 15, 2022 

WalterFedy and Baird Sampson Neuert (BSN) Architects are pleased to announce the joining of our firms to advance our common goal of enhancing the world around us through collaborative design excellence. 

“We are pleased to announce that BSN, a renowned Canadian architecture firm, will be joining our complement,” said Jamie Van Dyk, Board Chair and Principal Architect, WalterFedy. “This partnership will elevate both studios’ ability to deliver enhanced collaborative design, focused on innovation and sustainability. We are looking forward to the new opportunities this partnership will afford both firms.”   

BSN is a Toronto-based architecture firm with a 50-year history of award-winning projects that advance sustainable design and technical achievements in Canadian architecture. Founded in 1972, BSN rapidly gained a national profile for its innovative approaches to urban design. BSN’s portfolio is distinguished by a wide array of award-winning designs and technical achievements including three prestigious Governor General’s Awards and an American Institute of Architects Honor Award. Beyond architectural projects, their work includes ground-breaking urban design and planning projects for a broad cross-section of public and private sector clients. 

“We are inspired by the potential to leverage a new relationship with WalterFedy and expand BSN’s capacity to innovate and deliver holistic design through a collaborative, multidisciplinary practice environment," said Jon Neuert, Principal Architect, BSN. 

This partnership will amplify WalterFedy and BSN’s presence in Canada and enable both firms to enhance their services while elevating client experience. “The joining of BSN and WalterFedy is an exciting time for everyone involved,” said Garth Cressman, CEO, WalterFedy. “Through reciprocal growth, knowledge sharing, and mentorship, the firms are well positioned to provide innovative and exploratory design solutions. Our partnership will expand our capacity to realize exemplary project outcomes through intentional values-driven design.” 

### 

About WalterFedy 

WalterFedy’s ambition is to enhance the world around us. As one of Canada's first integrated design firms, we play a crucial role in shaping the way our communities feel and function. We understand the art of multi-disciplinary collaboration and leveraging our collective talents to elevate design solutions. It’s an incredible responsibility backed by 70 years of experience and a simple principle – everything matters.  

Media Contact 

Katie McQuaid 

Manager, Marketing and Communications, WalterFedy 

kmcquaid@walterfedy.com 

519-576-2150 x229 

You’ve probably heard of circadian rhythm, the natural sleep-wake cycle of the body, but have you heard of circadian lighting?

Light exposure plays an important role in human health, regulating our internal clocks and functions. Natural light signals when it’s time to rest or rise, it triggers hormone production, and it directly impacts our mental wellbeing. Circadian lighting is a method of illuminating a space or place in a way that respects and supports the body’s circadian rhythm.

We met with our in-house lighting specialist Dawn Brown to talk about this new technology and why it’s becoming an emerging trend. Here’s what we learned:

What is Circadian Lighting?

Like plants, humans need natural light to thrive; unlike plants, we typically work a 9-to-5 job inside a building. You probably wouldn’t keep a plant under a white fluorescent light all day, but you might also be sitting under one while reading this. Long-term exposure to a traditional electric light can confuse the body’s natural rhythms, especially its sleep-wake cycle — this is where circadian lighting comes in.

Circadian light is electric light mimicking the colour spectrum of natural light. Depending on the intensity at which this light is provided to the human body, it triggers a specific biological response. High intensity triggers a daytime response, activating the various hormones we need for daytime activities such as problem-solving, eating, and exercise. Low light intensity triggers a nighttime response, which activates the hormones we need for restful sleep, including those associated with memory building and physical restoration.

Naturally, Dawn is a major advocate: “Circadian lighting helps us become more aligned with nature by allowing us to establish and maintain a sleep-wake cycle that supports our personal needs.” It’s that natural element that stands out the most to those adopting the trend. Biophilic design is an industry concept valuing occupants’ connection to the natural environment, which many specialists believe to bring a wide variety of health, economic, and environmental benefits. “This is technology that adds back a component of nature that we're currently missing in the built environment.”

Why it Matters

The main goal of circadian lighting is to help us achieve consistent, quality sleep. Sleep is the foundation of good health, impacting all aspects of life from your cognitive abilities to hormonal functions such as those controlling your appetite, as mentioned previously. It is also an essential factor in determining your daily energy, your personal satisfaction, and your ability to reach your goals.

As well as affecting our sleep, circadian light can improve our local atmosphere, and by extension, our mood. For example, Ontario’s long, dull winters don’t allow for the same quality of light throughout the year as you might get in a place like Florida. If you’ve ever experienced Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), circadian lighting could be part of the solution. By allowing us to control the intensity of our light as needed, circadian lighting can respond to the conditions that trigger SAD to help us regulate our mood year-round, wherever and whenever.

“Whether we’re factory workers, nurses, or teachers, we can use electric light to create the structured day/night cycle our body needs.” Being inside for so long every day, in offices and elementary schools alike, doesn’t allow our bodies much time to absorb natural daylight. Reintroducing natural light patterns through circadian lighting can significantly improve our alertness, focus, and efficiency during the day while allowing us to rest at night.

When to Design with Circadian Lighting

Circadian lighting is one important aspect in a multi-faceted plan to create healthier spaces. Dawn’s suggestion is to implement circadian light “in any space that will be occupied by the same person or people for more than three hours in a given day.” The lighting solution will be driven by the user, meaning anyone who will occupy a space, and how they’ll use that space.

You may wonder, “won’t windows do the trick?” While they certainly aren’t out of a job, if windows are primarily located in transitional spaces such as lobbies or corridors, the light they provide isn’t a major benefit to the space’s users. Even with many windows, circadian lighting can still prove highly impactful in those spaces they can’t quite reach. The full process runs much deeper: “A windowed space with an eastern exposure will receive the morning light, which is excellent. However, if your occupants don’t arrive until the late afternoon, or if they close the blinds due to glare, circadian lighting can still meet that need.” A thorough understanding of both users and how spaces are used will help answer whether or not circadian lighting can enhance their experience.

Overall, the benefits circadian light can offer to our long-term health, productivity, and success are worthy of recent interest. If you are interested in exploring circadian lighting in your next project, Dawn would be happy to share her knowledge with you.