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

Giants 400 | Feb 6, 2023

2022 Parking Structure Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. parking structure sector

Choate Parking Consultants, Walker Consultants, Kimley-Horn, PCL, and Balfour Beatty top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest parking structure sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2022 Giants 400 Report.

Market Data | Feb 6, 2023

Nonresidential construction spending dips 0.5% in December 2022

National nonresidential construction spending decreased by 0.5% in December, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $943.5 billion for the month.

Giants 400 | Feb 3, 2023

Top Workplace/Interior Fitout Architecture, Engineering, and Construction Firms for 2022

Gensler, Interior Architects, AECOM, STO Building Group, and CBRE top the ranking of the nation's largest workplace/interior fitout architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.

Multifamily Housing | Feb 3, 2023

HUD unveils report to help multifamily housing developers overcome barriers to offsite construction

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in partnership with the National Institute of Building Sciences and MOD X, has released the Offsite Construction for Housing: Research Roadmap, a strategic report that presents the key knowledge gaps and research needs to overcome the barriers and challenges to offsite construction.

Steel Buildings | Feb 3, 2023

Top 10 structural steel building projects for 2023

A Mies van der Rohe-designed art and architecture school at Indiana University and Morphosis Architects' Orange County Museum of Art in Costa Mesa, Calif., are among 10 projects to win IDEAS² Awards from the American Institute of Steel Construction. 

Multifamily Housing | Feb 2, 2023

St. Louis’s first transit-oriented multifamily development opens in historic Skinker DeBaliviere neighborhood

St. Louis’s first major transit-oriented, multi-family development recently opened with 287 apartments available for rent. The $71 million Expo at Forest Park project includes a network of pathways to accommodate many modes of transportation including ride share, the region’s Metro Transit system, a trolley line, pedestrian traffic, automobiles, and bike traffic on the 7-mile St. Vincent Greenway Trail. 

Giants 400 | Feb 2, 2023

2022 Convention Center Sector Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. convention and conference facilities sector

Clark Group, EUA, KPFF, Populous, TVS, and Walter P Moore top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest convention and conference facilities architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2022 Giants 400 Report.

Multifamily Housing | Feb 1, 2023

Step(1) housing: A new approach to sheltering unhoused people in Redwood City, Calif.

A novel solution to homelessness will open soon in Redwood City, Calif. The compact residential campus employs modular units to create individual sleeping units, most with private bathrooms. The 240 units of housing will be accompanied by shared services and community spaces. Instead of the congregate dorm-style shelters found in many U.S. cities, this approach gives each resident a private, lockable, conditioned sleeping space.

Codes and Standards | Feb 1, 2023

New Jersey to allow private firms to conduct construction inspections

New Jersey recently passed a law that will allow towns to supplement construction code enforcement with help from the private sector. The legislation, which received bipartisan support, also allows municipalities to enter into shared service agreements with neighboring towns for construction inspections. 

Sports and Recreational Facilities | Feb 1, 2023

University of Houston opens 'game changer' wellness center at downtown campus

The University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) recently opened its new Wellness & Success Center (WSC). The $39 million, 75,000 sf facility greatly improves the quality of the school’s exercise programs and areas dedicated to them. It also establishes a dynamic core and recognizable landmark for fostering and nurturing an on-campus community, according to a news release from SmithGroup, which designed the building along with HarrisonKornberg Architects.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category




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