Sustainable Architecture and Buiding

July 4, 2023July 4, 2023

Institutional (Small) Award

Bill and Helen Norrie Library – Winnipeg, MB

Jury Comment: “This project clearly articulated the social and cultural focus that has become the primary role of community libraries. Taking visual cues from the Metis village that occupied the site, the building evokes the traditional ‘Big House’. The social, cultural and educational agenda is underpinned by the low embodied carbon and operating energy of the building.”

Located on a busy recreational campus, the 1,300 sq. m library unites the physical energy of the broader site with engaging social spaces to create a home-away-from-home for the community.

Inspired by the Métis heritage and dense residential context of the site, the library is conceived as a ‘big house’, reflecting diverse experiences of home — reading on the porch, playing in the backyard or gathering around the living room fireplace.

The building is strategically oriented on an east-to-west axis on the compact site to maximize daylight

into the library year-round. Positioned to absorb solar heat in the winter and support solar shading in the summer, overhangs minimize glare, direct sunlight and mitigate unwanted heat gain. These strategies reduce energy consumption and costs, and support visitor well-being.

The high performing building envelope, radiant in-floor heating and cooling zones, and a linear, active chilled beam system optimize resource efficiency and support thermal comfort.

Anchoring the approach to the site, a low semicircular bench serves as a resting place while waiting for the bus. Convenient bike storage ties into cycling and walking paths, encouraging active commutes to and from the library and nearby amenities. The modest campus parking lot includes the first EV charging station at a Winnipeg public library.

From the cozy living room and interactive children’s area to the multi-purpose room that accommodates diverse programming, community members of all ages can relax, play and build relationships. Strong visual connections between spaces indoors and out promote awareness of one’s surroundings and contribute to the inclusive family-friendly environment.

Extensive glazing on the north and south facades floods the open, linear library with daylight, creating a bright and uplifting interior setting. Daylight and occupancy sensors maintain consistent lighting levels, while simultaneously reducing the lighting load by at least 50%. All lighting is LED and lighting levels meet IESNA recommendations.

Fresh air is provided by a dedicated 90% efficient, dual core, energy recovery ventilation unit, minimizing long-term maintenance and costs. Demand control, fresh air ventilation is integrated and modulated in conjunction with the zoned VAV boxes to reduce energy use. A minimum MERV 13 Filtration is provided, and fresh air quality meets the requirements of AHSRAE 62-2007.

Project Credits

Architect LM Architectural Group
Owner/Developer City of Winnipeg
General contractor Gateway Construction and Engineering Ltd
Landscape Architect HTFC Planning & Design
Civil Engineer Sision Blackburn Consulting
Electrical, Mechanical and Structural Engineer Tower Engineering Group
Commissioning Agent Integrated Designs Inc
Sustainability Consultant Footprint
Photos Lindsay Reid

Project Performance

Energy Intensity 180 KWhr/m2/year
Reduction in Energy Intensity 44 % (Based on NECB 2011)
Water Consumption from municipal source 11,000 litres/occupant/year
Reduction in Water Consumption 25%
Construction materials diverted from landfill 40%
Recycled materials content by value 20%

SUBSCRIBE TO THE DIGITAL OR PRINT ISSUE OF SABMAGAZINE FOR THE FULL VERSION OF THIS ARTICLE.

July 4, 2023July 4, 2023

Interior Design Award

Aedifica Headquarters – Montreal, QC

Jury Comment: “This LEED Platinum certified interior fit out was impressive; addressing multiple quantitative and qualitative criteria including: efficient water and energy consumption, biophilia and diversity of spaces, low-emitting materials, enhanced air quality, occupant comfort and carbon neutral energy. The LCA documentation was comprehensive and the result refined and elegant.“

Ædifica is a multi-disciplinary design practice whose mission is to enrich human lives by creating sustainable, carbon-neutral and inspiring interiors, buildings and urban environments.

The challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a review of the firm’s culture and how best to deliver its services moving forward. Ædifica decided to relocate to smaller premises and adopt a hybrid work policy which included teleworking and unassigned physical workplaces.

The location in Old Montreal was chosen for the wealth of nearby amenities, easy access by transit and bicycle, and the enduring qualities of the base building. Design ambitions for the project were both qualitative and quantitative: healthy gourmet lunches served for free by a chef, efficient water and energy consumption, biophilia and a diversity of spaces, low-emitting materials, enhanced air quality, occupant comfort, and carbon neutrality in both energy and materials.

The open concept kitchen is the heart of the project. Employees can gather around and eat at the counter or in the brightly lit agora. This layout promotes interactions between co-workers and develops a sense of community. A happy hour zone has also been integrated into the agora to encourage impromptu festivities and thus strengthen team bonds.

With the wellness of its employees a top priority for the company, the new office includes a variety of spaces to create, work, eat and relax. Numerous plants have been installed through the space to contribute to the psychological well-being of staff.

A monumental shelf filled with vegetation separates the main entrance from the kitchen and shrubs are planted in large concrete pots in the agora. These are complemented by natural materials, such as wood (for flooring and furniture) and terrazzo.

Different spaces are designed to encourage collaboration between colleagues or focused individual work. Open-plan workstations, conference rooms, small offices and telephone booths have been designed to meet all possible needs.

Project Credits

Architect Ædifica
Owner/Developer Ædifica
General contractor Sidcan
Electrical Engineer Ædifica
Mechanical engineer Ædifica
Commissioning Agent Virgile Schwab
Photos David Boyer

Project Performance

Energy Intensity 98 KWhr/m2/year
Reduction in Energy Intensity 20% (Based on ASHRAE 90.1)
Water Consumption from municipal source 2,834 litres/occupant/year
Reduction in Water Consumption 51%
Construction materials diverted from landfill 62%
Recycled materials content by value 10%

SUBSCRIBE TO THE DIGITAL OR PRINT ISSUE OF SABMAGAZINE FOR THE FULL VERSION OF THIS ARTICLE.

July 4, 2023July 4, 2023

Residential (Small) Award

SoLo House, Soo Valley, BC

Jury Comment: “This off -grid project provides an object lesson in how to address the imperatives of carbon neutrality, energy self-sufficiency, occupant health and more efficient, low-impact construction materials and methods: in short, how to future proof our built environment. Realized in a remote area, these lessons could nonetheless be applied in urban locations.“

SoLo house is a 380 sq.m, self sufficient, off-grid home with a 40 sq.m ancillary building, sitting lightly on a forested knoll overlooking the spectacular Soo Valley north of Whistler in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia.

Reflecting the client’s expressed intention to ‘Set a new benchmark for environmental performance, health and well-being’, SoLo is not a typical alpine home.

Rather, it is a prototype that demonstrates a unique approach to building off-grid in a remote environment where every choice has consequences. Challenging conventions in both aesthetics and construction, the prototype acts as a testing ground for low-energy systems, healthy materials, prefabricated and modular construction methods, and independent operations intended to inform the approach to larger projects.

The house includes living space and a master bedroom suite on the main level linked to a sauna and storage space in the adjacent ancillary building. The upper level includes two more bedrooms and two bathrooms.

Given the valley’s extreme climate, it was critical to have an ‘enclosure-first’ approach to ensure energy efficiency and outstanding comfort. A two-layer solution was used for the enclosure with an outer heavy timber frame acting as a shield against the weather, and the heavily insulated inner layer acting as the thermal barrier.

With the goal of eliminating fossil fuels and combustion, SoLo includes a photovoltaic array and a geo-change system, with a hydrogen fuel cell for backup energy storage. To avoid snow build up in winter, the PV array is mounted vertically on the south elevation. In addition, the house collects and treats its own drinking water and processes its waste water.

Because of the remote location and short construction season, modular building elements were fabricated off-site by a local contractor. This enabled quick erection of the building in the summer season while also minimizing the number of deliveries to the site and the amount of construction waste created.

Project Credits

Owner/Developer Delta Land Developments
Architect Perkins&Will
Structural Engineer Glotman Simpson
Mechanical and Electrical Engineer Integral Group
Building Envelope Consultant RDH Building Science General
Contractor Durfeld Construction
Code Consultant GHL Consultants
Photos Latreille Photography

SUBSCRIBE TO THE DIGITAL OR PRINT ISSUE OF SABMAGAZINE FOR THE FULL VERSION OF THIS ARTICLE.

November 8, 2021November 8, 2021

The Passive Narrowtive House

Infill project a model of gentle densification and adaptability to changing needs

By Nick Bray Architecture

“The Passive Narrowtive” is located on a narrow infill lot near the centre of Vancouver. The house is lived in by the architect’s young family, with a tenant living in the garden suite below.

The intent was to demonstrate that a certified Passive House could be built on a small and challenging site, rethink housing design, and test innovative products and technologies.

The size and orientation of the site presented unique challenges, being long and narrow with the south elevation limited to a width of only 5.5 metres. More critically, its location in a peat bog with a high water table, required an innovative, low-impact foundation system to maintain the natural hydrology and comply with new environmental regulations. The house sits on a grid of beams spanning between 46-12m deep piles, its basement waterproofed with a durable, high quality tanking membrane.

The original one-bedroom house was beyond repair and was deconstructed, with over 90% of materials recycled. The elongated plan of the new house, with a depth of 14.6 metres, resulted in a high surface to volume ratio and hence a less than ideal form factor for the Passive House energy modelling. The narrow south-facing elevation was designed with large windows and deep solar-shading canopies to provide sufficient natural light, winter-solar-gain, and to prevent overheating in summer.

Space-efficiency was a critical design objective, the main consideration being to minimize the environmental impact of the building over its anticipated 100-year service life. The 246m² home contains five spacious bedrooms and five bathrooms.

The above-grade walls built with pre-fabricated structural insulated panels. The air barrier used on the house, the NS-A250 barrier by Naturaseal, is an eco-friendly waterproof, vapour resistant, UV stable elastomeric coating that is cold-applied using a spray system.

Large glazed doors bring natural light into the basement apartment. The high performance triple-glazed wood windows and doors, and the HRV ventilation system, were supplied by Vetta Building Technologies.

PROJECT CREDITS