Certified products keep indoors healthy

Chemicals are absorbed into our bodies in three ways: inhalation, through the skin and ingestion. With indoor air two to five times more polluted than outdoor air, and with people spending 90% of their time indoors, Lung Associations, the World Health Organization and Environmental Agencies view indoor air pollution as one of the greatest risks to human health.

By Hugh Perry

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Public building makes a statement with energy and water savings

by Jim Taggart

The 1,600 sq.m office and conservation centre has cut the need for potable water by 70%, and passive heating, high-efficiency boilers, and heat recovery ventilators have reduced energy use by 42%. The building has become a destination to learn about LEED construction, and best practices in water conservation and on-site septic treatment.

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Wastewater testing facility

Low environmental impact and high indoor air quality drive design

The low profile building is clad with cedar siding, brick and stucco that help connect it to its residential neighbourhood

Completed in 2007, the new 26,340sf water and wastewater testing facility, part of the City of Hamilton’s central sewage treatment plant, sits in a mixed residential and industrial neighbourhood.
The location presented some unusual design challenges including: how to offset the heavy building systems loads and environmental impacts inherent in this building type; how to minimize the facility’s environmental impact on the adjacent residential community; and how to maximize indoor air quality. (more…)

Simplicity of design and execution make a winner

The north elevation. All windows are operable for natural ventilation

In cross-section, this two storey, 1,115 sq.m office building is a simple flat roofed rectangle, the upper level being a partial mezzanine leaving double height spaces to promote stratification of warm air. In plan the building is elongated in the east-west direction, maximizing the benefits of north and south exposure for day-lighting and passive solar heating. (more…)

Water and energy conservation highlight mixed commercial / residential

The master plan required an almost full build-out of the site, a former parking lot. Located in an older single-family and store front neighbourhood, The Vento uses sensitive massing and varied exterior finishing materials. Along with 100% of the rainwater falling on the site, water from sinks, showers and bathtubs is stored and re-used for toilet flushing and site irrigation - the first project in Alberta to be granted approval for such. Moreover, the project has achived energy efficiency of 47% as compared to the MNECB.

The Vento is a three-storey mixed use development of 3,613 sq.m, with retail space and two affordable housing units on the ground floor, and 22 two-storey suites above. The project is part of the first phase in the comprehensive redevelopment of a former hospital site in suburban Calgary. (more…)