PEOPLE POWER Q&A
PEOPLE 
POWER: 
Q&A with  
Mohammad 
Fakoor
B
CBEC Elements sat down 
with Mohammad Fakoor, the 
leader of the energy model-
ling team at RJC Engineers. 
He has a bachelor of science 
degree in mechanical engi-
neering, a master’s degree and a PhD in 
applied science. He built his own team at 
RJC and helped develop RJC Aspire.
The following has been edited for length 
and clarity.
BCBEC Elements: What first sparked 
your interest in building science?
Mohammad Fakoor: My background is 
in mechanical engineering, but I became 
particularly interested in building 
science when I started teaching and 
working in applied settings early in 
my career. I realized that buildings are 
where thermodynamics, fluid mechanics 
and human comfort all come together 
in a very tangible way. What really 
drew me in was the ability to make a 
real-world impact: improving energy 
efficiency, reducing carbon emissions and 
enhancing occupant comfort at the  
same time.
BE: What led you to RJC?
MF: RJC offered a unique opportunity 
to work at the intersection of struc-
tural engineering, building science and 
sustainability. I was particularly drawn 
to the collaborative environment and the 
ability to work on complex, high-impact 
projects across the country, something 
you don’t see at small firms. It also 
gave me a platform to build a national 
building performance team which gave 
me the opportunity to grow and give my 
knowledge to junior engineers. Having 
this platform and this team have helped 
to expand our services, like energy 
modelling, airtightness testing and 
embodied carbon analysis across Canada.
BE: Do you have any advice for new 
and emerging engineers in the field?
MF: Be curious and take ownership of 
your learning. Don’t wait for someone to 
teach you. Go out and seek knowledge, 
ask questions and try to understand how 
things actually work, especially on site. 
Building science and building perfor-
mance are very applied fields, so the 
more you connect theory to real-world 
conditions, the faster you’ll grow. Don’t 
be afraid to make mistakes. I always say 
if you make a mistake, take ownership; 
without mistakes, you can’t grow; inno-
vation always comes from mistakes. Then 
if that mistake leads to innovation and 
you succeed, the glory is yours. I think 
that’s the type of culture that we’re trying 
to foster at RJC.
BE: What is the most exciting or inter-
esting project you have worked on?
MF: One of the most exciting projects 
I’ve worked on is the VCC Centre 
for Clean Energy. What makes it 
particularly interesting is how it brings 
together Indigenous-inspired design, 
all-electric high-efficiency systems, a 
high-performance building envelope 
and low embodied carbon through a 
hybrid mass timber structural system. 
It’s a great example of how architectural 
vision, cultural context and technical 
performance can align in a meaningful 
way. From a building performance 
perspective, it really demonstrates how 
we can design buildings that are not only 
low-carbon, but also thoughtful and 
responsive to their broader context.
BE: Looking back, which project had 
the biggest impact on you (education-
ally or otherwise)?
MF: Large-scale retrofit and decarbon-
ization projects have had the biggest 
impact on me. What stands out is that 
retrofit work is inherently a multi-faceted 
challenge; it’s not just about improving 
energy performance, but also about 
working within existing constraints, 
coordinating across disciplines and 
balancing cost, constructability and 
long-term value.
8  BCBEC ELEMENTS  A BCBEC PUBLICATION

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