With the attention of the nation recently focused on the greenest ever Winter Olympics [no irony intended], everyone seemed to be rushing to the microphone.
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A public record of achievement

Welcome to the LEED® Canada Buildings in Review Supplement, the first in an annual series produced with SABMag. The Supplement serves as a public record of all buildings and interiors in Canada that have obtained LEED certification from the beginnings in 2002 to 2009 inclusive.

VIew spreads

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An experiment in warm pockets

SELECTIVE INSULATION is an artist’s studio located in Hexham, UK. The project, which is a small insulated enclosure within a larger working space, is a response to the chilly working conditions in the Old School House, which is now an artist’s facility.

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New store tests design for recoverability

Stand alone retail buildings have the shortest life expectancy of any building type, 25 years on average, with lack of maintenance, rezoning and redevelopment, and problems of adaptability to new uses the main reasons for demolition. The suburban retail pad development is a flawed model by any analysis other than a short term economic one. MEC Burlington is a commentary on this development type.

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Vancouver Convention Centre | Simple outward appearance belies underlying complexity of Canada’s largest green roof

The Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project [VCCEP] which opened in April 2009 occupies a prominent site on the city’s Coal Harbour waterfront, with sweeping views west to Stanley Park and north and east to the Coast Mountains. Designed by Seattle-based LMN Architects, in conjunction with Vancouver’s Musson Cattel Mackey Partnership and DA Architects & Planners, the 100 000sq.m [1.1 million sf] facility was conceived as a model of sustainable design for large-scale civic buildings.

SEE ARTICLE SPREADS

By Bruce Hemstock

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The basics on the all-important “nerve centre”

Controls are the brains of a building and are responsible for the performance of the mechanical and lighting systems. Because these systems are the primary consumers of building energy, the controls must be well designed, commissioned and maintained if energy performance is to meet design expectations.

By Richard Lay, Stan Holko,Tim Dietrich and John Kokko

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What price the old paradigms?

by Robert Malczyk

Retrofitting urban areas to be greener is one of the most important aspects of sustainable development - but our cities have been designed to an earlier paradigm and dismantling the legislation that created and perpetuates them will be quite a trick.

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Modern form breaks chalet mould, delivers high performance

By Jim Taggart

Nestled in BC’s Coast Mountains, and one of the world’s premier skiing destinations, the Resort Municipality of Whistler [RMOW] has a resident population of around 10,000. Seasonal workers increase this number to more than 20,000 during the skiing season. Weekenders, who own recreational property in the area, constitute the third significant element of Whistler’s unusual demographic. When these weekenders are in residence and tourist accommodation is full, the town can reach a population of 55,000.

Since the establishment of the RMOW in the 1970s, the cultural life of the municipality has been strongly connected to the environment. Principles of environmental stewardship were formalized in 2000, when RMOW became one of the first municipalities in North America to adopt the ‘Natural Step [TNS] program’ as a way of guiding its policy-making and development toward the goal of community sustainability.

Developed in Sweden in 1989, the overall objective of TNS framework is to maintain the natural balance of the Earth’s ecosystems through stewardship of resources and minimizing the negative impact of human activity – strategies dependent on social and economic systems that give individuals the power of choice. These strategies form the basis of RMOW’s community development plan known as Whistler 2020 that has been recognized internationally for its leadership in this area. Among its many attributes, Whistler has an extensive network of walking and cycling trails and a free public transit system.

The Whistler Public Library was established in 1984 and, in the absence of a suitable permanent facility, was located temporarily in two portable buildings near the town centre. After a long campaign to raise public awareness and funds for the project, the creation of a new 1,350m2 [14,500sf] library facility was designated as the RMOW’s millennium project.

The new building occupies a prominent corner location in the centre of Whistler, close to the main pedestrian route known as the Village stroll, and benefiting from unobstructed views of the adjacent park and distant mountains.

To give the building a civic presence on a site that slopes steeply down from Main Street, the-L-shaped library structure has been set on a podium that accommodates a parking garage and end of trip bicycle facility. To preserve the views, the remainder of the program has been arranged on a single level and maintains a low profile with  a shallow shed roof.

Low at the entrance lobby with deep overhangs protecting the south-facing windows, the roof rises to the northwest where a high performance window wall floods the reading room with natural light. Although the shallow roof fit with both the urban design and environmental objectives of the project, its departure from Whistler’s chalet tradition was controversial.

Designing the roof structure was also challenging as it was required to carry not only the 250kg/m2 [50lb/sf] of an intensive green roof, but an 815kg/m2 [160lb/sf] live snow load. A conventional glulam and purlin structure would have required a depth of more than 1.5m [5ft], increasing the internal volume and external surface area of the building, and impacting both capital and operating costs.

As an alternative, structural engineers Fast + Epp devised a solid wood solution using locally available 100 x 300 [4x12] hemlock timbers. These were staggered horizontally and vertically and lag screw laminated to form prefabricated panels that could free span up to 13.5m [44ft] across the library, with a depth of only 400mm [16in]. This solution appeared to address the structural and life cycle cost concerns, particularly as the material was locally sourced, processed and fabricated.

The soffit of the hemlock panels is left unfinished and exposed internally, part of a palette of natural materials and finishes that also includes local stone, western red cedar siding, low VOC millwork and paints. The north-facing window wall is composed of high efficiency double glazing that reduces heat loss while admitting copious quantities of natural light. This potentially reduces the building’s dependence on artificial lighting and reduces lighting energy consumption.

The library has a geothermal heating system that uses 17 boreholes to extract heat from the ground during the heating season, and to dispose of excess heat during the summer months. A displacement ventilation system introduces conditioned air through a raised floor, delivering heating or cooling directly into the occupied zone of the building. High efficiency hot water radiators add to the comfort of the study carrel areas. Cross ventilation is achieved through operable windows, controlled automatically by sensors.

In addition to its quantitative environmental benefits, the Whistler Public Library has made a qualitative difference to the community, and has quickly become a de facto living room for local residents and seasonal workers alike.

Jim taggart, mraic is the editor of sabmag

Credits:

• Client: Resort Municipality of Whistler
• Architect: Hughes Condon Marler Architects
• Structural Engineer: Fast + Epp Structural Engijneers
• Mechanical Engineer: Stantec Engeneering
• Mechanical Engineer: Acunem Engineering
• Landscape Architect: Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg
• General Contractor: Whistler Construction Company
• Roof panel fabricator: StructureCraft Builders Inc.

Project Performance:

• Projected heating energy [propane]: 92MJ/m2/year
• Projected electrical energy 116.3kwh/m2/year: 418.7MJ/m2/year
• Projected total energy consumption: 510MJ/m2/year
• Projected energy savings relative to MNECB: 43.9%
• Projected water consumption: 469litres/m2/year
• Saving relative to reference building: 34%
• Locally sourced materials [by value]: 32.8%
• Recycled materials [by value]: 18.3%

Materials:

• Structure: 100 x 300mm hemlock timbers staggered horizontally and vertically and lag-screw laminated to form prefabricated panels that free span up to 13.5m across the library, with a depth of only 400mm
• Exterior: High-efficiency curtainwall, and operable wood double-glazed windows controlled automatically by sensors for cross ventilation, rigid EPS insulation with air/vapour barrier, western red cedar siding; built-up roofing by Soprema carries 250kg/m2 of an intensive green roof, and 815kg/m2 live snow load
• Interior: Low VOC paint by Benjamin Moore, carpet tile by InterfaceFLOR, raised flooring
• HVAC: McQuay air handling units, geothermal heating and cooling, natural gas boilers,
• building controls by Siemens

New Eco-lab puts focus on green building technologies

Claudette McKay Lassonde was an innovator in Canadian Engineering and instrumental in raising the profile of women in engineering practice and education. It is fitting that the addition to the UWO engineering school that bears her name, is equally committed to the spirit of innovation. Read the rest of this entry »

A primer to help choose what to buy

by Hugh Perry and Jim Taggart

In our very seasonal Canadian climate, home designers, builders and homeowners have to balance the desire for large windows that give style, views and natural light with the need to conserve energy. This article reviews the essential things to consider in choosing and sizing windows for a new home, or replacing old windows.

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