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high performance building

Evolv1, Waterloo, ON

Commercial/Industrial [Large] Award | Stantec

Evolv1 is a commercial office building targeting net positive energy and net zero carbon. In order to achieve this standard, the building must produce 105% of its own energy requirements. The 10,000m2, Class AAA building is located in the David Johnston Research + Technology Park, within Waterloo’s Idea Quarter.’ The goal of the project was to inspire development of regenerative buildings by producing an economically-viable prototype that works within the real market. The building is targeting LEED platinum certification and has been certified by the Canada Green Building Council as the first Zero Carbon Building in Canada.

A multipronged low energy design approach was used to meet the client’s environmental goals, including a ground source open loop geo-exchange system, that significantly reduces the heating and cooling loads, and photovoltaic panels installed by VCT Group to produce more energy than the building was going to consume.

The team used an Integrated Design Process (IDP), taking advantage of collaboration between different disciplines, considering the advantages and trade-offs between performance, user comfort and costs from an early stage.

The design team knew what was achievable technically, but had to find ways to make it feasible in the marketplace in order to ensure widespread impact. The team used a proprietary parametric modelling tool that enabled them to analyze thousands of design scenarios simultaneously.

The choice of site was also important; being on the University of Waterloo campus and thus able to leverage the university’s culture of innovation and attract young, tech-savvy tenants. Proximity to the new LRT station was also an advantage. 

PROJECT PERFORMANCE

  • Energy intensity (base building) = 44.5KWhr/m²/year
  • Energy intensity (process) = 33.5 KWhr/m²/year
  • Energy intensity reduction relative to reference building under ASHRAE 90.1 2007 = 105%
  • Water consumption from municipal sources = 1,748 litres/occupant/year
  • Reduction in water consumption relative to reference building under LEED = 69%
  • Recycled material content by value = 28%
  • Regional materials (800km radius) by value = 49%
  • Construction waste diverted from landfill = 82.5%

PROJECT CREDITS

  • Client:  Cora Group
  • Architect/Landscape Architect:  Stantec Architecture Ltd.
  • Civil/Elec/Mech/Structural Engineer: Stantec Consulting Ltd.
  • General Contractor  Melloul-Blamey
  • Commissioning Agent  CFMS West Consulting Inc
  • Photos  Jesse Milns

A large PV array installed by VCT Group on the roof and in the parking lot helps the building to produce 105% of its own energy requirements.

Part of the cladding is slat wall panels made of öko skin from Sound Solutions and consists of glassfibre reinforced concrete that can be mounted horizontally or vertically on a substructure in a rainscreen system.

The geo-exchange system: Water, at a fairly constant at 10°C, is taken from the aquifer 160m below ground, filtered, and sent to a heat exchanger to provide heating and cooling to the building all year round.

Passive strategies were used to reduce energy consumption, followed by active strategies and efficient equipment such as Mitsubishi Electric AC units and fan coils

Sechelt Water Resource Centre, Sechelt, BC

Commercial/Industrial [Small] Award   |  Public Architecture + Communication

Jury comments: We hope this project marks the beginning of a new era in which the invisible infrastructure that has long-supported urban life is brought out into the daylight. Only through making infrastructure visible can we fully grasp and understand the implications of our linear systems of production, consumption, treatment and disposal. Alongside the learning opportunities provided by this facility, the volume of waste discharged into the ocean has been reduced by 90% compared to its predecessor and the bio-nutrient by-products can be used for industry and agriculture.

The Sechelt Water Resource Centre (SWRC) rethinks traditional municipal wastewater treatment. Instead of sequestering this essential service behind a locked chain-link fence, the transparent suburban facility reveals the mechanical and biological systems that clean wastewater, replacing the traditional ‘flush and forget about it’ systems with one that encourages the public to consider their role in the hydrological cycle.

In comparison to the facility it replaced, the SWRC discharges ten times fewer waste solids into the sea, boasts double the treatment capacity and nearly half the operational costs; and, captures resources (biosolids, heat, and water) for industry, parks, and agriculture. A sewage treatment plant, botanical garden and teaching facility in turn, the centre also provides a more humane work environment where employee duties include harvesting tomatoes and pruning roses.

Wastewater is treated and reused at its source instead of being pumped back and forth from an energy intensive pipe network, effectively closing the water loop. The SWRC replaces an existing packaged extended aeration plant with the first North American installation of the Organica Fed Batch Reactor System.

This system is set apart by the inclusion of microorganisms, which live among the roots of plants grown in a greenhouse above the reactors. The plant roots create a complex environment which fosters a biologically diverse community of insects and bacteria that consume the organic matter.

What is remarkable about this system is the elimination of noise pollution and odours associated with conventional treatment as well as its reduced footprint. The entire process is housed in a single building, which integrates with the surrounding neighbourhood and nearby Sechelt Marsh Park.

PROJECT CREDITS

  • Owner/Developer: District Municipality of Sechelt
  • Architect:  Public Architecture + Communication
  • General Contractor:  Maple Reinders Group Inc.
  • Landscape Architect: Urban Systems
  • Civil Engineer:  Urban Systems
  • Electrical Engineer:  IITS Ltd.
  • Mechanical Engineer:  HPF engineering Ltd.
  • Structural Engineer:  CWMM Consulting Engineers Ltd.
  • Commissioning Agent:  CES Group 
  • Photos:  Martin Tessler

PROJECT PERFORMANE

  • Energy intensity (process) = 584 KWhr/m²/year
  • Energy intensity reduction relative to reference building under ASHRAE 90.1 2007 = 22%
  • Water consumption from municipal sources = 12,597 litres/occupant/year
  • Reduction in water consumption relative to reference building under LEED = 69%
  • Recycled material content by value = 17%
  • Regional materials (800km radius) by value = 26%
  • Construction waste diverted from landfill = 96%

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2014 AWARD-WINNING PROJECT: UNBC Bio-Energy Plant, Prince George