flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Triple-LEED for Engineering Firm's HQ

Triple-LEED for Engineering Firm's HQ


By By Robert Cassidy, Editorial Director | September 13, 2010
A Grander View's narrow floor plate allows daylight to penetrate workspaces, while while recessed windows prevent glare.
This article first appeared in the September 2010 issue of BD+C.

With more than 250 LEED projects in the works, Enermodal Engineering is Canada's most prolific green building consulting firm. The firm is responsible for two-fifths of all LEED Canada certified buildings.

In 2007, with the firm outgrowing its home office in Kitchener, Ont., the decision was made go all out with a new green building, which it labeled A Grander View. The goal: triple Platinum for New Construction, Commercial Interiors, and Existing Buildings: O&M. Working with contractor Melloul-Blamey Construction, structural/civil engineer MTE Consulting, and designer Robertson Simmons Architects, the company last year completed the first triple LEED Platinum building in the world.

The narrow, 2,150-sm building-it stretches only 12 meters across, to allow plenty of daylight-was designed to use only 65 kWh/sm, an 80% savings over conventional buildings. The building tracked at 70 kWh/sm over the first eight months of use, most of that during a frigid winter.

The mechanical system brings outdoor air in through concrete earth tubes and tempers it, thereby decreasing energy use. In winter, heat and moisture recovered from exhaust air is transferred to the incoming air through energy recovery ventilation units; the ventilated air is then delivered to building occupants. The process is reversed in summer, so only one system is needed.

The building is heated and cooled by three roof-mounted air-source pumps; they are connected to 60 small fan coil units in a “multi-split” system that give occupants greater control of temperature and humidity in their work areas. The M/E system employs variable-flow compressors to pipe refrigerants to the pumps at very low speeds, again saving energy. Other green features include:

  • 24 rooftop PV panels that provide 5.5 kW peak electricity. Enermodal took care to mount the panels on concrete pads in order to maintain the watertight roof membrane.
  • A system to recapture heat pump condensate for flushing toilets; to date, the building is saving 89% on water use.
  • A vegetated parking island, part of an elaborate system to treat and return cleaned-up stormwater to the municipal system.
  • Innovative use of salvaged materials: stone from a demolished church for the first-floor façade, beech flooring from a demolished building, and a retaining wall from a demolished tunnel.

The firm says that total construction costs were about 10% greater than in a conventional building, but that premium will be paid back in less than 10 years through energy and water savings. The firm went out of its way to address community concerns. Enermodal purposely chose an urban infill site along the Grand River in a neighborhood that was undergoing revitalization. Working with community groups and the city, the firm extended a river trail along its property and agreed to maintain this portion of the trail. BD+C

PROJECT SUMMARY

Special Recognition
A Grander View
Kitchener, Ont.

Building Team
Submitting firm: Enermodal Engineering Ltd. (owner, LEED certification,
M/E engineering, commissioning)
Architecture consultant: Robertson Simmons Architecture
Structural/civil engineer: MTE Consulting
Contractor: Melloul-Blamey Construction, Inc.

Related Stories

Museums | May 31, 2022

University of Texas at Dallas breaks ground on new 12-acre cultural district

The University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) recently broke ground on the Crow Museum of Asian Art, the first phase of a new 12-acre cultural district on campus.

BAS and Security | May 26, 2022

Can your intelligent building outsmart hackers?

ESD's security services studio leader Coleman Wolf offers tips, advice, and lessons for protecting real estate assets from cyberattacks.

Sports and Recreational Facilities | May 26, 2022

WNBA practice facility will offer training opportunities for female athletes and youth

The Seattle Storm’s Center for Basketball Performance will feature amenities for community youth, including basketball courts, a nutrition center, and strength and conditioning training spaces.

Multifamily Housing | May 25, 2022

9 noteworthy multifamily developments to debut in 2022

A 1980s-era shopping mall turned mixed-use housing and a mid-rise multifamily tower with unusual rowhomes highlight the innovative multifamily developments to debut recently.

Coronavirus | May 20, 2022

Center for Green Schools says U.S. schools need more support to fight COVID-19

  The Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council released a new report detailing how school districts around the country have managed air quality within their buildings during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Regulations | May 20, 2022

Biden’s Clean Air in Buildings Challenge aims to reduce COVID-⁠19 spread

The Biden Administration recently launched the Clean Air in Buildings Challenge that calls on all building owners and operators, schools, colleges and universities, and organizations to adopt strategies to improve indoor air quality in their buildings and reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Building Team | May 20, 2022

Caltech breaks ground on a new center to study climate and sustainability

The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) recently broke ground on its Resnick Sustainability Resource Center.

Laboratories | May 20, 2022

Brutalist former Berkeley Art Museum transformed into modern life science lab

After extensive renovation and an addition, the former Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive at the University of California, Berkeley campus reopened in May 2022 as a modern life science lab building.

Sports and Recreational Facilities | May 19, 2022

Northern Arizona University opens a new training center for its student athletes

In Flagstaff, Ariz. Northern Arizona University (NAU) has opened its new Student-Athlete High Performance Center. 

Energy-Efficient Design | May 19, 2022

Shipping containers used to build Research Triangle Park’s first community gathering space

Shipping containers were the prominent building material used to construct Boxyard RTP, the first public community and gathering place in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park (RTP). 

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Warehouses

California bill would limit where distribution centers can be built

A bill that passed the California legislature would limit where distribution centers can be located and impose other rules aimed at reducing air pollution and traffic. Assembly Bill 98 would tighten building standards for new warehouses and ban heavy diesel truck traffic next to sensitive sites including homes, schools, parks and nursing homes.




halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021