ISSUE 2 | NOV 2011

The State of Canadian Sustainable Design

By Jim Taggart, FRAIC editor of SABMag

In 2006, the year SABMag launched, most architects were still coming to terms with the complexities of designing in response to a multitude of inter-related environmental parameters, rather than according to the more rigid formal rules under which they had been trained. Few buildings transcended the new quantitative focus (on energy efficiency, reduced water consumption and the elimination of harmful chemicals), to realize truly integrated and inspiring architecture.

By and large, architects were still the nominal leaders in a traditional linear design process in which other consultants were introduced sequentially on an as-needed basis. Even though the goal was to achieve a more sustainable architecture, the focus remained largely on the individual building, and gave only limited consideration to the functional relationship of that building to its surroundings.

Five years later while much remains to be done, there has also been much positive change. In the mainstream of Canadian architecture, sustainability has gone from being something of an afterthought, to being a central concern in most market sectors.

The design process for all but the simplest of buildings is now increasingly integrated, with a multitude of consultants and numerous stakeholders formally engaged and providing input to the design process from conception to completion. Moreover there is widespread recognition that buildings do not exist in isolation, but rather have an impact on (and are impacted by) their surroundings. Read more

LEED and BOMA BESt - How they differ

By Richard Roos - Candidate for MASc in Building Science, Department of Architectural Science, Ryerson University, and Dr. Mark Gorgolewski - Professor and Director of the graduate program in building science. Department of Architectural Science, Ryerson University

LEED Canada for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance [LEED Canada EB:O&M] and Building Owners and Managers Association’s Building Environmental Standards [BOMA BESt] are complex green rating systems that offer owners, managers, consultants and tenants distinct value propositions for existing buildings.

Significant variations between the systems are evident in certification process, cost, rigour, engagement, marketing, accessibility, transparency, management and program philosophy. A recent report by the Department of Architectural Science at Ryerson University for Bentall Kennedy [Canada] LP aims to identify and articulate the approach of these two programs in the context of the needs of multiple industry stakeholder groups.

The report provides insight into these two green rating systems that will allow industry groups to make informed decisions about appropriate programs to improve building environmental performance, and also address aspects such as continual improvement, accessibility and perceived social benefits.

The report, based on interviews with industry representatives, finds that despite the many differences these programs are often seen to be complementary and are sometimes used in tandem for the same building.
LEED Canada EB:O&M is a performance-focused program that sets high standards in an attempt to create top performers. BOMA BESt embraces environmental improvement ambitions, regardless of the level of initial performance, allowing building stakeholders to determine their own path to sustainability.

LEED Canada EB:O&M’s prerequisites as well as exhaustive initial and ongoing documentation requirements do much to ensure the perception of high levels of performance and accountability, at the expense of being seen as exclusive and expensive, and addressing only the top tier of commercial and institutional buildings. BOMA BESt’s inclusive approach addresses potentially most or all of the commercial building stock in Canada, but is perceived to lack in systemic rigour; this allows for a larger spectrum of possible improvement outcomes.

The LEED brand is accepted throughout North America as a symbol of quality in ‘green’ building. Within the consultant community BOMA BESt is often misunderstood to be an entry-level program. It is important to distinguish between the lowest level of BOMA BESt, which is based on adopting best practices, and higher levels that may achieve significant environmental improvement.
The full report is available at www.arch.ryerson.ca/index.php?q=people/faculty/full-time/dr-mark-gorgolewski

SAB Awards presentation at Greenbuild

	The seven 2011 SAB Canadian Green Building Award winners were recognized October 5 during a presentation at the Greenbuild conference in Toronto. The presentation event took place in the Steam Whistle Brewery of the restored railway roundhouse which the Canada Green Building Council had set up as the Canada House Pavilion.
Invited guests were greeted by SABMag editor Jim Taggart, FRAIC who commented on how entries to the SAB Awards over the past four years have shown a steady increase in architectural merit, and more representation of private sector projects. SAB Awards manager Don Griffith followed with a PowerPoint presentation describing the seven winning projects and why the jury selected them. See the winning projects here
SAB Awards manager Don Griffith describes the seven winning 2011 projects,	SABMAG / SAB HOMES editor Jim Taggart opened the event by describing how the SAB Awards program is helping to publicize and advance sustainable building design in Canada.
Framed certificates were then presented to representatives of the architectural firms of the winning projects by two of the six sponsors in attendance as follows:

Representative of sponsor Baillargeon Wood Doors, Ghislain Jacques [left], presents award certificate to Alain Prince accepting on behalf of Nick Milkovich Architects Inc. and Walter Francl Architecture for the Creekside Community Centre in Vancouver, and as well for Walter Francl Architecture for the False Creek Energy Centre also in Vancouver.	Representative of sponsor InterfaceFLOR, Claude Ouimet [left], Vice President and General Manager, InterfaceFLOR Canada and Latin America, presents to Tõnu Altosaar of B+H Architects, architects of record of the RBC Tower in Toronto.

Claude Ouimet presents to Gera Feigan of Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates PC, design architects of the RBC Tower in Toronto.	Ghislain Jacques presents to Dermot Sweeny of Sweeny Sterling Finlayson &Co Architects Inc., collaborative design architects of the RBC Tower in Toronto.

Claude Ouimet presents to Guy Favreau of Ædifica architecture + design for Affordable Housing Bellechasse in Montreal.	Ghislain Jacques presents to Jim Henderson of Dialog for the Schoolhouse project in Vancouver.

Claude Ouimet presents to Doug Marter of the City of Calgary accepting on behalf of Simpson Roberts Architecture Interior Design Inc, for the city-owned Shepard Wetlands, Ralph Klein Legacy Park Environmental Education Centre in Calgary.	Ghislain Jacques presents to John Hemsworth of McFarland Marceau Architects for Vancouver Island University Deep Bay Marine Field Station on Vancouver Island.

Thanks to the sponsors of the 2011 SAB Canadian Green Building Awards: Lafarge, Canam, Baillargeon Wood Doors, Real Ceadar, Autodesk, and InterfaceFLOR.

Registration for the 2012 SAB Awards will open in January, 2012.

CaGBC launches LEED ND in Canada

The Canada Green Building Council [CaGBC] officially launched LEED 2009 for Neighbourhood Development [LEED-ND] at the Greenbuild Conference in Toronto, October 6
The CaGBC has taken the USGBC LEED –ND 2009 rating system and applied Canadian Alternative Compliance Paths [ACPs] for the Canadian building market. The ACPs are formally approved approaches that provide clarity and guidance for Canadian projects, addressing sections of the rating system that contain US-specific standards or wording. Canadian projects interested in pursuing LEED 2009 ND certification are encouraged to review these ACPs, and employ them as needed as part of the certification process. The ACPs have been embedded within the original LEED 2009 ND rating system, and can be viewed in draft form here.
Canadian project teams can immediately take advantage of the ACPs, as no technical content changes are anticipated.
A final version of the draft ACP document [available in English and French] will include an overview of the rating system, guidance on applications and the certification process, and an overview of the ACP development process.

Certification Process for Canadian LEED for Neighbourhood Development Projects
Currently, all LEED 2009 ND projects worldwide register and certify through the Green Building Certification Institute [GBCI]. Canadian LEED 2009 ND projects will continue to follow this certification process, referring to the LEED 2009 ND Canadian ACPs as required. The CaGBC will continue to work with the GBCI to ensure that this process serves the needs of Canadian project teams, and will endeavor to address any certification process issues that may arise. In order to further assist our organizations to improve the certification process, all projects outside the U.S. are required to provide feedback in the form of a questionnaire and interactive sessions.

You told us what you think

Should Net Zero be today’s goal?

By Stephen Carpenter

The implication is that we should strive for buildings that consume only as much energy as they generate on site. The Living Building Challenge has set this target and the 2030 Challenge aims for zero carbon emissions from buildings by 2030. But is this the right end goal? While achieving net zero is laudable, in the Canadian climate it may be a technically unrealistic target or, at best, financially impractical, because of the significant capital investment required in on-site renewable energy generation.
If net zero isn’t realistic based on where conventional and most green buildings are today, then what is? We believe a realistic and cost effective target is 100kWh/m2 [360MJ/m2]. There are three reasons why this is a better goal:
1. It’s Achievable
Of Enermodal’s 100 LEED certified projects, 10 would meet this target making it a challenging yet achievable goal for most projects.
2. It’s a Worthy Challenge
It is interesting to note that in the fine print of the 2030 Challenge, that program allows for 20% of energy to be from green energy purchases. In other words, the actual building energy consumption for its net zero buildings needs to be 20% of current values or 80 ekWh/m2 – pretty close to the 100 noted above.
3. Sets building up for Future Net Zero Performance
A building using under 100 kWh/m2 is perfectly set up to meet its energy use by on-site renewable energy generation or by connecting with neighbouring buildings to make use of complimentary heating and waste heat requirements. But 200 ekWh/m2 is just the average. What about the very best performing buildings from an energy perspective? Read full article

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SABMag wins publishing award

For the second straight year, SABMag has won an international publishing award – a Tabbi Award - from the Trade Association Business Publications International [TABPI], the organization that created the Tabbie Awards to “allow editors, publishers and art directors the opportunity to have their best work judged by their peers.”

SABMag received its award in the Feature Article category for the Salt Building revival, a project by Acton Ostry Architects Inc. in Vancouver. The article appeared in SABMag May/June 2010, issue #23. SABMag previously won a 2010 Tabbie Award for the article Design for Disassembly by Vince Catalli [SABMag Sept/Oct 2009, issue #19] in the Technical Article category. Info: www.tabpi.org

COMING in the nov/dec issue of SABMag

Contains the annual Directory of Products and Services for Green Building, with an associated web version on the SABMag web site organized by Product Category and by LEED Category.

NEWS from our partners

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Western red cedar providing environmental transparency among building materials

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SOPREMA’s New Primer

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