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Author: Carine De Pauw

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Zibi Complexe O

One Planet Living project one step in reclaiming former industrial site

By Figurr Architects Collective

Located in both Ottawa and Gatineau, the Zibi development aims to be transformative physically, environmentally and socially. The only One Planet Living endorsed community in Canada, Zibi occupies formerly contaminated industrial lands, and is transforming them into one of Canada’s most sustainable communities. Incorporating public spaces and parks, as well as commercial, retail, and residential uses, Zibi will be an integrated, carbon neutral mixed-use community, one that’ll help reinvigorate the downtown cores of both Ottawa and Gatineau.

Complexe O, located on the Gatineau side of the Ottawa River, is Zibi’s first mixed-use building. It arose from the desire to create a socially responsible project that would set a precedent for future development.  The project takes its name from the word ‘eau’ (water) as it offers residents a panoramic view of the Ottawa River and the Chaudière Falls. The six-storey Complexe O building includes a range of housing from studios to two-storey mezzanine units, as well as commercial space on the first floor.

The location is significant; as under the ownership of Domtar (whose paper mill closed in 2007) the land had been inaccessible to the public for nearly 200 years. Now cleaned up and revitalized, the riverbank is once again available to the residents, not only of Complexe O, but all of Gatineau.

The architectural program is based on the ten principles of One Planet Living, one of the broadest frameworks for sustainable development, which sets a range of measurable goals. The fundamental principles guiding the construction of Complexe O are the use of carbon-neutral heating and cooling and sustainable water management. The project has achieved LEED Silver certification.

Carbon neutral energy is supplied from the Zibi Community Utility, a district energy system relying on energy recovery from effluents of the nearby Kruger Products Gatineau Plant for heating, and the Ottawa River for cooling. All the apartments in Complexe O are fitted with Energy Star certified appliances; LED lighting has been used throughout the entire building, including first floor commercial units and amenity spaces; and generous glazing reduces the need for artificial light.

The commercial space on the first floor is leased primarily to local and socially-responsible businesses, enabling residents to shop for essentials without having to rely on transportation. n addition, the central location in the heart of Gatineau is served by numerous bus lines from both Gatineau and Ottawa offering hundreds of trips per day.

This connectivity contributes to the Zibi development goal of a 20% reduction in carbon dioxide associated with transportation as measured by the car-to-household ratio. While the rest of the province has a 1.45 car to household ratio, the residents of Complex O have reduced this to 1:1. In addition all parking spaces are designed to accommodate electric charging units.

The project is located right on the Zibi Plaza, in fact forming one wall of the plaza, which offers residents a quiet and relaxing outdoor space that is closed to vehicular traffic but crossed by a bicycle path. Art exhibits are held in the vicinity to support local artists and artisans. Complexe O also provides residents with 15 garden boxes; gardening being an effective way to foster community.

PROJECT CREDITS

  • Architect  Figurr Architects Collective
  • Owner/ Developer  DREAM / Theia Partners
  • General Contractor  Eddy Lands Construction Corp.
  • Landscape Architect  Projet Paysage / CSW Landscape Architects
  • Civil engineer  Quadrivium
  • Electrical Engineer  Drycore 2002 Inc. / WSP Canada Inc.
  • Mechanical Engineer  Alliance Engineering / Goodkey Weedmark & Associate Ltd.
  • Structural Engineer Douglas Consultants Inc.
  • Other consultants  BuildGreen Solutions, Morrison Hershfield
  • Photos  David Boyer

ONE PLANET LIVING

One Planet Living is based on a simple framework which enables everyone – from the general public to professionals – to collaborate on a sustainability strategy drawing on everyone’s insights, skills and experience. It is based on ten guiding principles of sustainability which are used to create holistic solutions.

• Encouraging active, social, meaningful lives to promote good health and wellbeing.

• Creating safe, equitable places to live and work which support local prosperity and international fair trade.

• Nurturing local identity and heritage, empowering communities and promoting a culture of sustainable living.

• Protecting and restoring land for the benefit of people and wildlife.

• Using water efficiently, protecting local water resources and reducing flooding and drought.

• Promoting sustainable humane farming and healthy diets high in local, seasonal organic food and vegetable protein.

• Reducing the need to travel, encouraging walking, cycling and low carbon transport.

• Using materials from sustainable sources and promoting products which help people reduce consumption; promoting reuse and recycling.

• Making buildings and manufacturing energy efficient and supplying all energy with renewable.

FIGURR ARCHITECTS COLLECTIVE HAS OFFICES IN OTTAWA & MONTREAL.

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Viewpoint: Natural Resilience

Using Nature-based Solutions to Enhance Coastal Protection

By Joanna Eyquem

Coastal flooding and erosion are a direct threat to the health and safety of people living in coastal communities, and cause damage to local infrastructure and property. The majority of Canada’s coastal population is located along the East (Atlantic) and West (Pacific) coastlines, where sea levels are rising due to irreversible climate change.

Action is required NOW to manage the growing risks to coastal communities. A recent report from the University of Waterloo’s Intact Centre  describes how Canada can scale-up the use of nature-based solutions, in tandem with ‘grey’ infrastructure, to protect communities along the East and West coastlines. Importantly, action must consider natural processes along the coast to a greater extent than has occurred to date. Reduction of flooding and erosion at one site, if not carefully designed, can cause instability further along the coast and degradation of coastal ecosystems on which communities depend.

Canada does not yet have a strategic planning framework or standard classification of approaches for coastal risk management. Coastal risk management responses identified by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) include Protection, Accommodation, Retreat and Avoidance, as well as non-intervention.

A suite of options should be appraised to select appropriate approaches along Canada’s east and west coasts. Coastal protection measures can be divided into two key categories:

• Grey Infrastructure: hard, engineered coastal protection measures, and; Nature-Based Solutions: measures that depend on, or mimic, natural systems to manage flood and erosion risk, Nature-based solutions are further subdivided into those that are:

  • Predominantly sediment-based, such as adding sediment or sand to beaches (a process known as beach nourishment)
  • Predominantly vegetation-based, such as saltmarsh or coastal wetland restoration.
  • Nature-based solutions, in particular, have a vital role to play in managing coastal flood and erosion risk in Canada. International experience and guidance demonstrate that these measures not only provide protection against coastal flooding and erosion, they also deliver multiple benefits, including improved biodiversity, carbon sequestration and storage, enhanced wellbeing and opportunities for recreational activities.

Three courses of action are recommended to scale-up the use of nature-based solutions for coastal protection in Canada:

• Develop national standards to support consistent evaluation of the benefits of nature-based solutions when comparing infrastructure options, including for coastal protection. This should include minimum requirements, regional-specific standards, engagement with Indigenous people and recommended methodologies for reflecting the financial value of benefits provided by nature-based solutions.

• Develop national monitoring standards for coastal protection measures, focused on nature-based solutions. This should include combining Natural and Grey Infrastructure to Protect Canada’s coastal communities; consideration of minimum monitoring requirements, as well as how monitoring should be tailored to document performance against project-specific objectives (funding for long-term monitoring and engagement with Indigenous people could be considered as minimum monitoring requirements).

• Build capacity to finance and deliver nature-based solutions by engaging the private sector. Public private partnerships can potentially assist in financing, delivering, monitoring, and maintaining nature-based solutions. The insurance industry can also assist in managing construction risks and offering innovative insurance products that provide funds to restore natural features protecting the coastline, should they be damaged during extreme events.

The outcomes of these actions will help governments and other organizations make robust management decisions regarding coastal flooding and erosion along Canada’s  coastlines.

Perhaps the greatest challenge in Canada, and globally, in preparing for climate change and sea-level rise along the coast, is a limited sense of urgency to act. For around the past 6,000 years, global sea-level has remained relatively steady.

This makes the recent, comparably rapid rise in sea-level caused by human-induced climate change less easy to grasp. Decision makers in Canada must realize, sooner rather than later, that the sea level of the past will not be the sea level of the future, and prepare coastal communities accordingly.

Joanna Eyquem P.Geo. ENV SP. CWEM. CEnv., is Managing Director, Climate-Resilient Infrastructure at the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation, Faculty of Environment, University of Waterlo.  joanna.eyquem@uwaterloo.ca

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Interview with Andrew Peel of Peel Passive House Consulting

Founder & Managing Principal of Peel Passive House Consulting, a Passive House Certifier, and a Certified Passive House Consultant & Trainer, Andrew Peel is one of the foremost experts on Passive House design and construction in Canada.

1. How has Passive House grown in Canada in the past five years

The growth has been exponential, especially in large affordable housing projects. The scale of projects (e.g. 40+ storey towers) was unimaginable five years ago and has eclipsed the scale of projects in Europe. Commercial Developers, including Private Equity firms, are committing to Passive House in response to changing market needs and drivers. It is thanks to the pioneers willing to take risks when others were not and the advocacy organizations that the Passive House Standard has experienced this growth. 

2. What are the main obstacles to further growth?

In my experience, these challenges are:

  • Eliminating the perceived risk (i.e. high additional cost) of building and certifying to the Passive House Standard.
  • Developing more locally made Passive House Heat/Energy Recovery Ventilation systems and cold climate-rated fenestration products.
  • Convincing appraisers to recognize the additional asset value that Passive House certification provides.

3. What are the essential first steps to getting a Passive House project off the ground?

The first step is to build the right team. This includes the Passive House Certifier, whose input at the early stages can help set the project on the right (i.e. cost effective) path.  The client must commit to Passive House Certification and all key project team members must be committed to this goal. Passive House experience is not crucial.  We’ve taken novice teams from start to finish to deliver Passive House buildings within budget. With the right attitude and proper training, anyone can succeed.

The second step is to optimize the high-level design consistent with Passive House principles. This seems like an obvious thing, yet it is overlooked on many projects. This often stems from not involving the Passive House Consultant from the beginning.

4. Is it realistic to apply Passive House construction to renovations?

Not only is it realistic, it is happening today. Two leading edge projects, the Raymond Desmarais Manor in Windsor, ON and the Ken Sobel Tower in Hamilton, ON are demonstrating that it can be done cost effectively on large towers. Both projects are committed to EnerPHit certification, the retrofit version of the Passive House Building standard.

5. Once a project has achieved Passive House certification is there anything the building owner must do to maintain the certification?

There is nothing required to maintain certification.  However, to ensure the predicted performance is achieved perpetually, the occupants should be educated on how best to interact with the building and systems and regular maintenance per manufacturers’ instructions should be completed.  Projects that fail to provide adequate occupant education have seen poorer building performance. 

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Materials selection elevates buildings

By CaGBC

A healthy building is made of healthy building blocks. Using sustainable materials that comply with building codes today – and those decades in the future – really help a project stand out.

Over the last decade the building sector has been redefined by innovations in building materials and an increased interest for materials transparency. Occupants are concerned about their exposure to the chemical components of the building materials; owners want to understand what materials are present in their building; and designers and architects are no longer content to simply specify a product without understanding the holistic attributes of that product. Where design and budget constraints traditionally determined materials selection, now a growing awareness and interest in sustainability is driving new behaviours.

Increasingly, manufacturers are offering more sustainable, durable, and resilient materials. By pursuing the highest sustainability standards, manufacturers are diversifying their products with greener alternatives to classic building materials. As a result, more project teams are able to earn credits towards certification for rating systems and standards such Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) or CaGBC’s Zero Carbon Building (ZCB) Standard®.

Today, architects and project teams can access detailed information about building materials and products. This allows them to weigh their options against the building’s sustainability goals and keep LEED Building Product Disclosure and Optimization (BPDO) credits in sight. Information like that included in Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) or Heath Product Declarations (HPDs) provides full disclosure of any potential areas of concern in a product, helping projects limit potential negative impacts on the environment and building occupant health.

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PH-1 Lonsdale Avenue

Restaurant/office realized with design collaboration and prefabrication

By John Hemsworth

PH-1 is a small restaurant and office infill project in the Lower Lonsdale district of North Vancouver that employed virtual design and construction (VDC) and off-site prefabrication to meet challenges of access and constructability. VDC also made possible the installation of a prefabricated Passive House-compliant building envelope, including a zero-lot line wall adjacent to an existing building.

Originally an area of waterfront warehouses and marine service facilities, the neighbourhood has been transformed over time to a high density, mixed-use community centred on the Lonsdale Quay Market and Seabus Terminal. The consolidation of land required by the introduction of higher density zoning had left lots like this exceptionally difficult to develop.

As a family that had owned the property for three generations, the client was waiting for the right opportunity to do something special on the site. The idea of combining Passive House performance with modern mass timber construction was enthusiastically received, despite the many challenges and uncertainties it presented.

A waiver of the on-site parking requirement made it possible to design a three-storey building (with a ground floor restaurant and two storeys of offices above) that would achieve the full 2.53 FSR permitted by the zoning. The building made use of exemptions (applicable to the extra thick walls used in Passive House construction) to achieve a three-storey building, however, the 92% site coverage eliminated the possibility of an on-site staging area for materials and equipment, typically required for site construction.

Architecturally, the concept was to use the traditional warehouse vocabulary of an exposed heavy timber structure with brick cladding, but to interpret it in a contemporary way. This strategy has translated into an exposed glulam post and beam structure with cross laminated timber (CLT) floors, stair and elevator shafts.

The non-loadbearing brick cladding at the southeast corner of the building is ‘eroded’ away and replaced with large areas of glazing, providing restaurant patrons and office workers with an oblique view to the harbour.  The remainder of the south façade includes extensive glazing at ground level, with a staggered pattern of vertical windows, coordinated with glulam bracing elements, on the upper floors.

While the Code permitted the three exterior walls facing the streets and lane to be of combustible construction, it required the north wall abutting the adjacent property to be non-combustible. Such walls are typically built block by block in concrete masonry, a method incompatible with Passive House performance. A more sophisticated solution was clearly required, one in which the continuous exterior insulation and vapour barrier essential for Passive House performance could be installed without accessing the outer face of the wall in the field.

Using a VDC process involving the architect, structural engineer, building envelope consultant, contractor, and the mass wood fabricator and installer, a prefabricated and pre-insulated wall system was devised, then alternative detailing, assembly and installation strategies explored and optimized.

PROJECT CREDITS

  • Owner  Babco Equities Ltd.
  • Architect  Hemsworth Architecture
  • Structural Engineer  Equilibrium Consulting Inc.
  • Electrical/ Mechanical Engineer  MCW Consultants Ltd.
  • Civil Engineer  Vector Engineering Services Ltd.
  • Geotechnical  GVH Consulting Ltd.
  • Building Code Consultant  LMDG
  • Passive House consultant  Peel Passive House Consulting Ltd.
  • Landscape Architect  Prospect & Refuge
  • General Contractor  Naikoon Contracting Ltd.
  • Photos  Ema Peter

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Decarbonizing cement

By Jeff Ranson, Senior Associate, CaGBC

As we move towards 2050 targets for green building, embodied carbon is increasingly important to staying under the emissions budget and limiting global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius. What is embodied carbon? It’s the product of the materials and construction methods we choose. This value is often stretched over the life of the building to reflect durability, the idea that a building built to last is likely better than one that will need constant repairs. However, the reality  is that those emissions are all fully released up front. Like net-present value in the financial world, a ton of carbon emissions today is worth more than a ton of carbon emissions tomorrow.

Of all the opportunities to reduce embodied carbon, the most significant is in concrete. Concrete is the most widely used building material, cutting across both buildings and infrastructure. And despite strong and promising market growth of alternative low-carbon materials including wood and biomaterials, concrete will continue to be a critical material for construction.

Potential as a climate solution

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from concrete is a national priority. Natural Resources Canada and the Cement Association of Canada have committed to develop a decarbonization roadmap for the industry. For the designing construction industry, there are a few significant ways to reduce emissions today, and some very promising opportunities emerging.

In the immediate term, there are two opportunities to reduce emissions from concrete. The first is simply to minimize the amount of concrete projects use. This involves looking at how much concrete is required for the project and optimizing its use. This requires designers be conscious of how design choices such as massing impact material requirements. In many cases, designers are evaluating alternative low-carbon materials like mass timber to replace concrete, but nothing is as effective as just using less material.

One area in relation to embodied carbon that has been overlooked is the impact of land use planning. Infrastructure like roads, sewers, and transit require concrete.  There is no realistic substitution. Low-density suburban development oriented around the automobile results in huge amounts of embodied carbon, seldom considered in any municipal carbon strategies. CaGBC has been in discussions with researchers at the University of Toronto to better understand the relative carbon impacts of different development patterns, but at present there isn’t a well-established practice for evaluation. With more research we hope to understand the impact of embodied carbon from infrastructure and the importance what we build and where we build it.

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Viewpoint

Exploring new architectural innovations to turn wasted energy into reusable electricity

By: Zenon Radewych, Principal, WZMH Architects

The earth is heating up at an unprecedented rate – in fact, according to NASA, 2016 and 2020 are the warmest years on record to date. That’s why now, more than ever, is the time to be creative and look for opportunities to reduce greenhouse gasses. One of these creative opportunities lies in turning the ‘wasted’ energy in our buildings into reusable electricity.

It’s no secret that many of the buildings we live, work, and play in are major polluters. Buildings and their associated construction make up 36 percent of global energy use, and 39 percent of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions annually (The United Nations Environment Program). Here in Canada, our buildings account for nearly one-quarter of our GHG emissions (Environment and Climate Change Canada).

But buildings, largely due to the volume of human and machine activity that goes on within them, also represent a unique domain for energy harvesting from non-traditional sources. At the highest level, we consider three main energy resources in our buildings: people, environmental, and recyclable energy. The environment can of course provide wind, solar and geothermal energy. People bring kinetic and thermal energy, and recyclable sources include artificial lighting, waste heat, machinery vibrations, elevator regeneration, among others.  

Our buildings also contain a vast number of components and systems that are DC (low-voltage) based. For example, most of our modern electronics (including computers, phones, lighting and fans) are inherently DC powered and most of the lights in buildings are LED (low-voltage).

Coincidentally, many components of a renewable energy system (such as batteries and solar PV) are also DC-based. But traditionally, we have used the AC grid in our buildings to integrate these DC sources and power DC loads. This results in conversion losses of approximately 10-20% – and can lead to a variety of other complications at the energy grid level. 

Exploring the concept of a DC-Microgrid community

At WZMH Architects, we believe that we need to be investing the time, funding and talent to discover new insights about how we design buildings that drive towards net-zero energy use and are carbon neutral. One of our first initiatives included research into off-site construction (prefabrication and modular) and how to combine multiple building systems into one component thereby reducing materials, waste and expediting construction installation.

The result from this research was our invention of the Intelligent Structural Panel (ISP) – a modular structural floor slab that includes a DC (low-voltage) highway imbedded in the thickness of the panel. Since the development of the ISP, WZMH Architects formally launched our Innovation Lab several years ago.

One of our latest studies, conducted in partnership with Ryerson University, includes the use of a community-based DC microgrid, where multiple buildings are all connected through the grid – including residential, commercial (office), retail, data centres, etc. By combining different types of buildings into the DC microgrid community, there are many benefits from the opportunities that relate to recycled energy, or harnessing energy losses.

So, what exactly is a microgrid? A microgrid can be broadly defined as a localized network of electric loads and power sources, with the ability to function independently or in conjunction with a larger grid system. In our context, a DC microgrid represents an alternative power system in a building, where we can power our equipment with various ‘Green Energy Producers' (GEP), including solar, wind, and even innovative sources like exercise bikes, elevators and use of thermoelectric generators. 

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DISTRICT ENERGY PLANT – University of Victoria, Victoria, BC

Commercial/Industrial (Small) Award

DIALOG

Jury Comment: Rehabilitating and repurposing an existing parking lot on the university campus and simultaneously reducing overall campus energy consumption by 10%, this project provides an important showcase for the University’s energy reduction strategy. By engaging students through visibility and transparency, it creates a sense of connection and elevates concern for the critical infrastructure that supports all of our communities. 

The new University of Victoria district energy plant (DEP) replaces and centralizes three outdated boilers and the supporting infrastructure, which were scattered across campus. It provides increased capacity to the campus heating system, and services 32 buildings. The DEP was built on an existing parking lot in the southwest corner of the campus, adjacent to a forest, publicly-accessible botanical gardens, and an interfaith chapel.

This site had been identified as the most appropriate location for a number of reasons during an earlier campus planning exercise. 

The use of the brownfield site minimized the impact on campus ecosystems and also provided adequate space for future expansion should the university decide to increase the DEP’s capacity. This location also makes it easy to connect to nearby buildings not initially part of the district energy loop. In addition, it is directly linked to municipal streets, which allows service vehicles to avoid circumnavigation of the campus ring road.

Massing for the building was driven by a combination of required equipment height clearances (which in turn enhance cross-ventilation and natural ventilation) and a desire to increase visibility of the plant’s inner workings for the public.

The plant has a full output potential of 27.5 MW of thermal heat – enough for 2,000 single-family homes. The plant and network provide 10% energy savings annually, and greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions of 6,500 tonnes/year.

PROJECT CREDITS

  • Owner/Developer  University of Victoria
  • Architect  DIALOG 
  • General Contractor  Farmer Construction
  • Landscape Architect  HAPA Collaborative
  • Civil Engineer  Westbrook Consulting Ltd.
  • Electrical engineer  AES Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineer  FVB Energy Inc.
  • Structural Engineer  RJC Engineering
  • Commissioning Agent  C E S Engineering
  • Photos  Martin Tessler

PROJECT PERFORMANCE

  • Energy intensity (building and process energy) = 135KWhr/m2/year
  • Energy intensity reduction relative to reference building under ASHRAE 90.1 2007 = 72%
  • Water consumption from municipal sources = 40,970 litres/occupant/year
  • Reduction in water consumption relative to reference building under LEED = 33%
  • Recycled material content by value = 16%
  • Construction waste diverted from landfill = 95.8%

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BNP PARIBAS OFFICE INTERIOR – Montreal, QC

Interior Design Award

Provencher_Roy

Jury Comment: At a time when the nature of work is in flux, the transformation of six floors of rigorously repetitious 1970s office space into a dynamic, flexible and inspiring workplace provides cause for optimism. The open, collaborative spaces and non-specific perimeter workstations flow through all levels, encouraging mobility and personal choice of working and relaxing environments throughout the day. Sit/stand desks, lighting programmed to support natural circadian rhythms, and 20 living walls contribute further to psychological and physiological wellbeing.

The first project in Canada to be certified under Version 2 of the WELL Building Standard, the new headquarters for BNP Paribas , the French international banking group, exemplifies current best practice in employee-centred office design. To alleviate overcrowding and bring its 140 staff under one roof, the company chose to relocate and refit 140,000 sq.ft. of space spread over six floors of an existing 1970s office building.

From the outset, the aim was to achieve WELL Building certification and to create a dynamic work environment that would promote social interaction and collaboration as well as the health and comfort of occupants. The challenge was to meet the client’s desire for a fluid, flexible, non-Cartesian layout of space within the physical constraints of the existing structure, which included working with the two feet by four feet ceiling grid.

This led to the development of a workplace where the main open spaces are divided into several zones alternating those intended for work, collaboration and rest. Work areas are not assigned; employees can settle wherever they want in the building, or even telecommute. The workstations are arranged at the perimeter, so employees benefit from maximum natural light.  Common spaces are located at the core of the building and include glazed meeting rooms, changing rooms, and sanitary facilities.

To energize the occupied spaces, the strategy was to create what the design team refers to as “organized chaos” through the choice and arrangement of lighting and office furniture. Artificial lighting integrates a variety of high-performance luminaires, adapted to the functions of the different areas with dynamism in mind. As required by WELL, the lighting is designed not to disrupt the occupants‘ circadian rhythms.

The office furniture system includes a spine that integrates all the wiring required. Workstations can be moved along this spine in either direction to modify the space and employees can alternate between sitting and standing positions. Low VOC materials minimize airborne pollutants and 20 living walls help purify the air while enhancing the human biophilic response.

PROJECT CREDITS

  • Architect  Provencher_Roy
  • Owner/Developer  GWL (Great West Life)
  • General Contractor  Avicor Construction
  • Electrical Engineer  Planifitech
  • Other  Make Space Work, Ameublement intérieur
  • Senoir Design  Haworth
  • Photos  David Boyer

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GRAND THÉÂTRE DE QUÉBEC: CONSERVATION & REHABILITATION – Quebec City, QC

Existing Building Upgrade Award

Lemay and Atelier 21

Jury Comment: A sophisticated resolution of what had originally seemed an insurmountable technical challenge; that of conserving a deteriorating Brutalist concrete masterpiece and the built-in sculptures it contains. The glass veil preserves the character of the original building with a lightness of touch that is both respectful and refreshing. Given the nationwide challenge we face in remediating and reusing so many buildings of this type, this project inspires us to embrace the challenge and simultaneously enrich the urban narrative.

Famed for its brutalist architecture by Victor Prus and entwined with its historic, sculptural mural by Jordi Bonet, the Grand Théâtre de Québec is a prized cultural icon for all Québecers, inaugurated for the Confederation Centennial in 1971. Designed by prominent architect Victor Prus in the Brutalist style, prefabricated concrete interior and exterior walls are the defining architectural elements of the building. In addition, nearly 60% of the interior is covered with an integrated mural by sculptor Jordi Bonet

The existing prefabricated concrete envelope had major condensation and rust issues. The fragility of the mural and the inaccessibility of the concrete anchors required a radical solution. Adding a new glass envelope stopped the deterioration and significantly extended the service life.

Requiring only a prefabricated steel structure and glass infill panels, the solution minimized the use of new materials, left the existing envelope untouched and avoided invasive interior work. Cleverly resting on the existing foundations, the steel framework reduced the use of concrete and site excavation.

The new glass envelope provides and innovative solution from an architectural, structural and mechanical point of view. It also dealt with logistical constraints, including the requirement that the theatre maintain its daytime and evening operations during construction. Noise could not impact rehearsals or performances and construction activity could not hinder building access. In addition, as the mural was connected to the exterior concrete panels, vibration and other potential impacts on the envelope had to be avoided. An integrated design and delivery process was essential to the success of the project.

PROJECT CREDIT

  • Architect  Lemay
  • Associate Architect  Atelier 21
  • Owner/Developer  Le Grand Théâtre de Québec
  • Construction Manager  Pomerleau
  • Landscape Architect  Lemay + Atelier 21
  • Civil Engineer  WSP
  • Electrical, Mechanical, Structural Engineer  WSP
  • Commissioning Agent  Ambioner
  • Other  ELEMA, Metal Presto, Vitrerie Laberge
  • Photos  Stéphane Groleau
  •  

PROJECT PERFORMANCE

  • Recycled materials  The steel used for the new exterior structure has 25% recycled content.
  • Energy Intensity  With the addition of the tempered double envelope, the energy intensity increased from 235.9 KWh/m2/year to 241.6 KWh/m2/year, a 2.39% increase.   
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