Allsteel Showroom
Historic Green Building - Interior fit-up treads lightly on historic space
The Toronto Allsteel showroom was designed according to the Canada Green Building Council [CaGBC] LEED® for Commercial Interiors Rating System [Silver level]. Low VOC paint, carpet tile and millwork were used
by Erika Mayer .Ask most sustainability professionals and they’ll tell you that the greenest building is the one that you don’t build. But the reality is that we need places to live, work and play and the availability of commercial space, in particular, is limited, especially in urban centres.
For many tenants, the newer the better [provided the price is right] and by the way, they want it to be green too! With so many factors at play and so little space in many urban cores, older buildings are too often replaced with higher density buildings that can accommodate more leased space. From a sustainability perspective we talk of higher density being a good thing primarily in the context of reducing urban sprawl and increasing green space.
Perhaps the next best thing to a building you don’t build, is one you don’t demolish. The Toronto Carpet Factory Buildings at Liberty Village, a four-acre city block comprising eight historic buildings of 310,000sf in Toronto, addresses one element that is often overlooked when we talk of sustainable communities, and that is the importance of cultural sustainability. The recognition that historic green building can contribute positively to a city’s cultural identity and the identity of the companies and organizations that inhabit them was the motivation behind the fit up of the Allsteel-Gunlocke Resource Centre.
US-based Allsteel, a commercial office furniture manufacturer, and sister company Gunlocke, made a corporate commitment to sustainable design by having several of their Resource Centres certified using the USGBC’s LEED® for Commercial Interiors Rating System.
The chosen site, the 1899 Boiler House of the Toronto Carpet Factory that supplied steam-generated heat, power and electricity to the factory complex, provided unique opportunities to pursue green strategies that would specifically benefit a retail space. “We knew there would be challenges to seeking LEED certification in a building of this age, but the material richness of the space and the vibrancy of the neighbourhood made it well worth the challenge,” said Allsteel’s Marketing VP Brandon Sieben.
One of the most successful aspects of this project is its approach to lighting. Visitors are struck by the amount of natural light. Double-height spaces with clearstory windows feed daylight into the showroom below. The suspended glass boardroom also allows the natural light to penetrate the mezzanine providing a natural environment to view Allsteel and Gunlocke’s furniture lines.
Retail spaces typically have high-intensity lighting requirements due to the desire to highlight products and other merchandise. But this project is a great example of where less is more. By combining natural lighting strategies and high-efficiency lighting fixtures with lighting sensors, the project has been able to reduce the lighting power density by 44% below ASHRAE 90.1-2004.
The pragmatic design of the historic green building has helped achieve this goal. Industrial buildings were built to optimize natural lighting and ventilation. The narrow plan configuration typical at the time allowed light to penetrate deep into the factory. With limited electric lighting, maximizing the natural light enabled factory owners to extend working hours.
After a generation of artificially lit retail environments, natural light is making a comeback, and not just because of the savings. In the 1999 study conducted by the Heschong Mahone Group [Skylighting and Retail Sales: An Investigation into the Relationship Between Daylighting and Human Performance], retail spaces with skylights were found to have a strong correlation - between 31% and 49% - to increases in retail sales over their non-skylit counterparts. Whether Allsteel and Gunlocke will experience this benefit directly is yet to be seen, but there is no question that the showroom will appeal to their customer base.
The project has numerous other sustainable features that include everything from low-flow water fixtures, to low-VOC materials and paints, to access to public transportation. There’s even a car-share parking spot out front. It is seeking LEED Canada-CI certification.
It is the historic Toronto Carpet Factory buildings, however, that provide that little bit extra. The inspiration for the design that alludes to the carpet factory’s history of manufacturing Axminster Carpets, a naturally lit space that lowers power consumption, and a spatial character that is captured by the material pallet of the historic green building, all contribute to the sustainability of the building and the cultural sustainability of the city.
Add the many tons of waste that have been eliminated by not demolishing these historic structures, and the result is a great space and a great contribution to sustainability.
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Measuring Natural Light
LEED® Canada-CI grants two points for natural lighting, the first for providing daylight to 75% of regularly occupied spaces, and a second for providing daylight to 90% of these same areas. The intent is to provide occupants with a connection between indoor spaces and the outdoors through the introduction of daylight. One way to achieve these points is through a computer simulation model that demonstrates that lighting levels of at least 250 Lux [25 footcandles] is achieved in these areas. Natural light level readings [in footcandles] are shown for the raised meeting room on the main level, and for the suspended boardroom in the boiler room. The raised meeting room has high readings because of windows on two sides. As for the suspended board room, the glass wall surround, combined with the existing windows of the factory building, allows enough natural light to penetrate to meet the LEED® requirements.
Credits
- Building Owner: Toronto Carpet Factory
- Interior Designer: Figure 3, Toronto
- Mechanical and Electrical Engineering: Smith and Andersen Consulting Engineering, Toronto
- LEED Consultant: Jacques Whitford Ltd., Ottawa and Toronto
- General Contractor: Rae Brothers Ltd., Toronto
- Commissioning Agent: CFMS Consulting Inc., Richmond Hill, ON
- Lighting Designer: Smith and Andersen Consulting Engineering, Toronto
- IAQ Testing: Jacques Whitford Ltd., Ottawa and Toronto
- Photos: Interior Images, Toronto
Materials
- Lighting: Suspended Beam luminaires by Access Lighting with high output T5 lamps, MR11’s float on the diagonal at 18ft.AFF. A feature box suspended from the ceiling is illuminated by vertical lengths of maintenance-free LEDs in acrylic tubes provided by Illumineer. T5 lamps hidden behind walls provide illumination and display lighting. Adjustable double MR16 lamps highlight objects on tables while providing textured ambient illumination. Daylight sensors control all lighting via Lutron dimming system, taking advantage of the natural light provided from full storey windows. The lighting design achieved full LEED points [3 point allowance 35% below ASHRAE], and won a 2007 IIDA Lighting award.
- Interior: InterfaceFLOR carpet tile, Benjamin Moore interior Eco-spec paint, low flow bathroom fixtures