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
| May 2, 2011
Perkins+Will merges with Vermeulen Hind Architects, offically launches Perkins+Will Canada
Ottawa and Hamilton-based Vermeulen Hind Architects, one of Canada’s leading healthcare architectural firms, has merged with Perkins+Will. Vermeulen Hind joins Toronto-based Shore Tilbe Perkins+Will and Vancouver-based Busby Perkins+Will to create Perkins+Will Canada. The combination marks the official launch of Perkins+Will Canada, a merge that will establish the firm as among the pre-eminent interdisciplinary design practices in Canada.
| Apr 26, 2011
Ed Mazria on how NYC can achieve carbon neutrality in buildings by 2030
The New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects invited Mr. Mazria to present a keynote lecture to launch its 2030 training program. In advance of that lecture, Jacob Slevin, co-founder of DesignerPages.com and a contributor to The Huffington Post, interviewed Mazria about creating a sustainable vision for the future and how New York City's architects and designers can rise to the occasion.
| Apr 26, 2011
Video: Are China's ghost cities a bubble waiting to burst?
It's estimated that 10 new cities are being built in China every year, but many are virtually deserted. Retail space remains empty and hundreds of apartments are vacant, but the Chinese government is more concerned with maintaining economic growth—and building cities is one way of achieving that goal.
| Apr 25, 2011
Earn $300 million by NOT hiring Frank Gehry
An Iowa philanthropist and architecture aficionado—who wishes to remain anonymous—is offering a $300 million “reward” to any city anywhere in the world that’s brave enough to hire someone other than Frank Gehry to design its new art museum.
| Apr 20, 2011
Marketing firm Funtion: to host “Construct. Build. Evolve.”
Function:, an integrated marketing agency that specializes in reaching the architecture, building and design community, is hosting an interactive art event, “Construct. Build. Evolve.” in Atlanta’s Piedmont Park on Thursday April 21, 2011 at 11:00AM EDT. During the event attendees will be asked to answer the question, “how would you build the future?” to rouse dialogue and discover fresh ideas for the future of the built environment.
| Apr 20, 2011
Architecture Billings Index: new projects inquiry index up significantly from February
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the March ABI score was 50.5, a negligible decrease from a reading of 50.6 the previous month. This score reflects a modest increase in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index was 58.7, up significantly from a mark of 56.4 in February.
| Apr 19, 2011
What are the 15 most-watched construction and engineering stocks?
According to Motley Fool, a multimedia financial services company, the most-watched construction and engineering stock is Fluor (NYSE: FLR), which ranks #1 on BD+C’s Giants 300 engineering list with $1.994 billion in revenue in 2009. Check out the 14 other most-watched A/E stocks.
| Apr 19, 2011
AIA announces top 10 green Projects for 2011
The American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment announced its Top 10 Green Projects for 2011. Among the winners: Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles, the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., and the Vancouver Convention Centre West in Vancouver, British Columbia.
| Apr 18, 2011
Greening and Upgrading Today’s Vertical Transport Systems
Earn 1.0 AIA/CES HSW/SD learning units by studying this article and passing the online exam.
