COURS BAYVIEW, Ottawa, ON

Hobin Architecture – Existing Building Upgrade Award

Jury: This conversion of a 1940s City Works Yard building into an Innovation Hub demonstrates how the careful and pragmatic adaptive reuse of an unprepossessing building can transform the dynamics of a neighbourhood, create a sense of place, and at the same time support social and cultural continuity. The act of preservation conserves embodied energy in the existing structure and avoids that associated with a new building. The LEED Gold certification is exemplary for an adaptive reuse project.

Also known as The Innovation Centre at Bayview Yards, Cours Bayview Yards is Ottawa’s epicentre for entrepreneurial programs and services. The centre was developed within a 4,460 m² (48,000ft²) industrial building, originally constructed in the 1940s as a City Workshops facility, and now having historical importance as one of the few survivors of a once sprawling industrial area.

The project showcases the potential for the adaptive reuse of vacant industrial buildings and demonstrates that such adaptation can be done both affordably and sustainably. Aside from retaining more than 85% of the original structure, the project integrates a broad spectrum of design strategies that address issues of economic, social and ecological sustainability.

These include maximizing thermal performance through the use of premium insulation and fenestration, achieving an envelope performance twice that required by the MNECB; specification of high-efficiency mechanical and electrical systems, supplemented by a comprehensive building automation system that modulates equipment runtimes to varying building loads and not fixed schedules; embracing alternate modes of transportation and urban agriculture.

The Well, a multipurpose space for events, parties and exhibitions, is also accessible for casual use when not in use. Daikin supplied the Maverick roof-mounted air handler unit, and SmartSource water source heat pumps.

PROJECT PERFORMANCE
Energy intensity (building and process energy) = 78.3KWhr/m2/year
Energy intensity reduction relative to reference building under MNECB = 47.2%
Reduction in water consumption relative to reference building under LEED = 41.5%
Recycled material content by value = 9%
Regional materials (800km radius) by value = 30.47%
Construction waste diverted from landfill = 76.4%
PROJECT CREDITS
Owner/Developer Invest Ottawa
Architect Hobin Architecture
DESIGN/BUILDER Morley Hoppner Limited
Civil Engineer D. B. Gray Engineering Inc.
Electrical/Mechanical Engineer Bouthillette Parizeau Inc.
Structural Engineer Adjeleian Allen Rubeli Limited
Commissioning Agent Arborus Consulting
Interiors 4Té Inc.
Heritage Architectural Planning Commonwealth Historic
Resource Management
Photos Steve Clifford (photos 1 and 3); Invest Ottawa (photo 6); MIV Photography (photos 2, 4, 5 and 7)