Normand Maurice Building
Quebec LEED project hails government direction in sustainability
The south-west elevation showing the extent of the green roof, the rooftop light scoops, and diagonal louvers. The project is being evaluated by the Canada Green Building Council for a LEED Gold Certification
Brian Wakelin .The Normand Maurice building is a 15,000sq.m facility housing office headquarters, warehouse and armoury storage for the Department of National Defence [DND] and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police [RCMP], Canada Customs, and several other public bodies. The building was designed to address the diverse functional and security needs of its government occupants while incorporating a number of shared spaces and following a green mandate set by Public Works and Government Services Canada [PWGSC].
Bordered by Bel-Air, Saint-Antoine, Rose-de-Lima, and Saint-Jacques streets within Montreal’s historic St. Henri district and near the Lionel-Groulx subway station, the building occupies the site of a former foundry.
The bottom portion of the building is a large secure structure housing a drill hall, armoury, shooting range, fully enclosed trucking depot and secure storage for the DND and RCMP. In order to fit this volume into the historic district, the extensive base is constructed of masonry and retains fragments of the original industrial foundry upon whose site the new facility was built.
A narrow plan, three-storey office structure sits on top of the warehouse and is shared by the RCMP and the DND who are located at opposite ends. Three key architectural elements stitch this linear structure to the warehouse base. The first is a glazed corridor on the southwest facade that links high security spaces and functions as a thermal buffer zone for the offices to the northeast.
The corridor glazing is protected by custom aluminum louvres. Extensive modelling with Ecotect software determined that optimal summer shading and winter solar transmission would occur with louver blades inclined in two directions. This solution had the additional benefit of using 20% less material than horizontal louvres. Behind the glazing is a thermal mass wall constructed from bricks salvaged from the original buildings on site.
The second architectural element is a series of light scoops that spatially connect the separate floors, supplement the natural day-lighting, and ensure that 78% of the regularly occupied building spaces have access to natural light. At the same time, at least 90% of these spaces have access to views. The light wells and south corridor also act as the ducts for the natural ventilation system and are part of the heat recovery strategy.
The third element is an original building fragment of the former foundry that functions as the office main entry, and connects secure and public areas of the building with the street outside.
The site landscaping and green roof that covers the main floor drill hall and armoury area require no irrigation. Potable water for uses such as car washing and toilet flushing are reduced by more than 30% through the collection of rainwater in an on-site cistern. It is calculated that the use of potable water for the conveyance of sewage was reduced by 54%, through the use of waterless urinals and low flow fixtures.
The Normand Maurice building was the first large scale project in Quebec to incorporate the LEED requirements as part of the fixed price bidding package. Consensus based design and project goal setting and comprehension were maintained with integrated design meetings, which included various construction trades.
PWGSC has set itself the goal of leading the way in designing and constructing environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient buildings, and in observing the principles of sustainable development. As a result, PWGSC created the Office of Greening Government Operations, with a mandate to accelerate the implementation of sustainable strategies in these areas.
The Normand Maurice building has set a new benchmark for environmental quality in the workplace and responsible urban development, and follows the mandate that all new office buildings for the Government of Canada be constructed according to LEED Gold requirements.
Through the use of an integrated design team, synergies between mechanical, electrical and other building systems were exploited resulting in operating costs 35% lower than comparable facilities - an annual energy savings of $200,000, or $5 million over 25 years. In addition, the integration of sustainable strategies resulted in a reduction of CO2 emissions by more than 1,200 tonnes per annum.
Green housekeeping and gardening practices have been implemented for the interior and exterior of the building, and signage is displayed throughout to demonstrate how the building functions. Guided tours and lectures are provided for the public, further elaborating and educating on the sustainable features of the building.
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Credits
- Client: PWGSC Architect ABCP, Beauchamp et Bourbeau, Montreal; Busby Perkins+Will, Vancouver
- Industrial Design: Componance Inc., Vancouver
- Structural Engineer: Saia Deslauriers Kadanoff, Leconte, Brisebois, Blais, Montreal
- Structural consultant: Fast + Epp, Vancouver
- Mechanical Engineer: Pageau Morel et Associés, Montreal
- Engineer consultant: Keen Engineering [now Stantec Consulting], Vancouver
- Electrical Engineer: Pageau Morel et Associés, Montreal
- Code review: Groupe CSB, Longueuil, QC
- Landscape Architect: Groupe Rousseau Lefebvre, Montreal
- General Contractor: Decarel, Montreal
- Photos: Marc Cramer, Montreal | Nic Lehoux, Vancouver
Materials
- Structure: Steel frame with slab on grade ground floor, and profiled metal deck with concrete topping on steel I joists for upper floors.
- Exterior: Reclaimed brick masonry and curtain wall of metal cladding panels on furring, sprayed insulation, gypsum sheathing, metal studs and semi-rigid insulation by Owens-Corning; glazing in aluminum frames and diagonal louvers; green roof on main building base, low albedo roof on office component.
- Interior: Exposed reclaimed masonry thermal wall, resilient flooring including Forbo linoleum [Marmoleum], radiant floor heating, CGC brand drywall with Sico low VOC paint, ground source heat pump and heat recovery units, low-flow bathroom fixturesb on grade ground floor, and profiled metal deck with concrete topping on steel I joists for upper floors
- Exterior: Reclaimed brick masonry and curtain wall of metal cladding panels on furring, sprayed insulation, gypsum sheathing, metal studs and semi-rigid insulation by Owens-Corning; glazing in aluminum frames and diagonal louvers; green roof on main building base, low albedo roof on office component.
- Interior: Exposed reclaimed masonry thermal wall, resilient flooring including Forbo linoleum [Marmoleum], radiant floor heating, CGC brand drywall with Sico low VOC paint, ground source heat pump and heat recovery units, low-flow bathroom fixtures.