All posts by Giulio

Electric cars, Green Energy, Ideas, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories, Trends

Rimac C_Two: The crown jewel of electric hypercars

Established in 2009, Croatian company Rimac Automobili has quickly evolved into industry leaders when it comes to performance electric car technology. In recent years, Rimac Automobili has supplied some of the world’s most power-hungry car companies with vital components which are able to fulfill their highly specific demands.
Among others, Rimac developed a powerful 500 kW battery pack and associated systems for the revolutionary Koenigsegg Agera, the most powerful production car in the world with a combined power output of 1,340 kW or 1,797 horsepower thanks to twin-turbocharged V8 and Rimac Automobili’s potent 75 kg, 4.5 kWh 800 volt battery pack. This system is currently the world’s most power-dense battery pack in a production car, taking Rimac Automobili to the forefront of new automotive technologies.
With electric cars gaining mainstream momentum, Rimac Automobili gained global visibility and international recognition, which prompted big industry players to take interest in a boutique Croatian company.

In June 2018, Porsche AG invested in Rimac Automobili, becoming the minority shareholder with 10 per cent share in the Croatian startup. That way, both companies got their own set of benefits, with Rimac getting a much needed official recognition and financial backing in further endeavors, and Porsche getting exclusive insights straight from the testing grounds.
To showcase the latest in cutting edge electric car technology, Rimac Automobili presented the C_Two concept in 2018. Built as a follow up to the 2013 Rimac Concept One, the new halo car shows just how much the electric car industry has progressed in a short period of time.
Just like its predecessor, the C_Two is an aerodynamically effective two-seater coupé built on an impressive carbon fiber monocoque that weighs under 200 kg. Some drama was added to the sleek silhouette thanks to butterfly doors, a must have in the competitive hypercar world where sensational looks are as equally important as mind-bending performance.

In addition to being a low slung, low drag car which creates the foundation for effective use of air flow, the Rimac C_Two also benefits from active aerodynamics in form of active hood, front splitter, air brake and rear flap, all working together to achieve optimal results in every situation, be it hard acceleration, hard braking or tackling the sharpest corners.
Regardless of undoubtedly impressive exterior, the most important feature of the C_TWO lies underneath the bodywork. It’s the all-electric powertrain comprising of four electric motors powering each individual wheel. Working together, these motors have a total of 1,914 hopsepower and they instantly deliver whooping 2,300 Nm of torque. Thanks to immense power and specially developed Pirelli tires, the C_Two has a lightning fast 0 to 100 kph time of 1.85 seconds while the 0 to 300 kph sprint takes 11.8 seconds.
As that’s not impressive enough, the battery that powers the Rimac C_Two certainly is. Its capacity is 120 kWh, and it produces 1.4MW of power. The power-dense pack enables the autonomy of 550 km when driven in WLTP cycle. The battery pack itself is integrated in the monocoque chassis and it sits in the middle of it, enabling perfect weight distribution and also adding to the impressive torsional stiffness of 8,000 kgm/deg.

The technology controlling Rimac’s latest halo car is as astonishing as its powertrain. Rimac All Wheel Torque Vectoring ensures perfect driving dynamics by addressing the right amount of torque to each wheel. The powertrain can be configured to transform the Rimac C-Two into a rear-biased silent hypercar as well, making it a proper challenge even for the most skillful drivers.
The technology doesn’t end there, as the C_Two is loaded with even more gizmos. In a place where technology meets gaming-like experience the C_Two can load selected racetracks into its on-board systems thanks to the ‘Driving Coach’ function. That way, the driver is presented with perfect racing lines with braking and acceleration guidance and additional steering inputs.

At this moment, the Rimac C_Two is in its prototype phase, but the most discerning believers in electric car technology have something to look forward to since Rimac Automobili plan a very limited run of production variants of their current crown jewel. Electric cars have certainly come a long way, and selected buyers will be lucky enough to reap the benefits of galloping progress thanks to the revolutionary Rimac C_Two.

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Henriquez Partners Designs Tapered Towers for Vancouver

Canadian architecture practice Henriquez Partners has designed a series of ten towers for a new suburban development in Vancouver. The mixed-use project was made for developer Westbank to create a new 4.5 million-square-foot residential community for the city. Dubbed Oakridge, the towers will include housing, office and retail as a contemporary architecture for the Pacific Northwest.

Oakridge will feature a nine-acre park with landscape work by local firm PFS Studio, and different designers will oversee the interiors of each tower. The project combines commercial, residential, communal areas and green spaces through the different buildings on site. The redevelopment will include three mid-rise buildings for commercial and office uses, as well as a performing arts academy, library, senior center, childcare facility and mall. The design will bring these diverse functions together around a comprehensive programming and sustainability plan.

Oakridge. Image Courtesy of Westbank
Oakridge. Image Courtesy of Westbank
 
Oakridge. Image Courtesy of Westbank

Oakridge. Image Courtesy of Westbank
 

Henriquez Partners‘ neighborhood development plan includes an energy system for heating and cooling that will capture heat and draw from geothermal wells. The system aims to reduce the typical amount of greenhouse gas emissions by over 68 per cent. Made to be a “fully-integrated vessel of culture within the city of Vancouver”, the project will also include on-site solar energy and a water savings program that will use on-site water sources for almost all irrigation grey water uses.

The Oakridge Redevelopment is slated for completion in 2027.

Architecture, Ideas, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories, Trends

DISCOVER BIG’S RETAIL EXPERIENCE AT GALLERIES LAFAYETTE CHAMPS-ÉLYSÉES

Image by Delfino Sisto Legnani and Marco Cappelletti

Located on Paris’s iconic Avenue des Champs-Élysées, the historic Art Deco bank building from 1932 is uncovered by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group to create a carefully curated retail laboratory for the world’s leading fashion, food and lifestyle brands — merging a new hybrid retail model that bonds with the surrounding city.

The 6,800m2 Galeries Lafayette concept store officially opened its doors to the public this spring, welcoming local and global shoppers into the restored Art Deco gem. The generous four-story environment is the largest store on the famed Parisian boulevard, and combines old world elegance with modern chic for hosting established and emerging brands, experiences and events. The 120-year old heritage brand Galeries Lafayette Group brought BIG on board following an international architectural competition in 2016.

Image by Delfino Sisto Legnani and Marco Cappelletti
“At Galeries Lafayette, we usually say that the future begins in the past. By opening on the Champs-Élysées, our Group is not only writing a new chapter in its entrepreneurial and family history, it is also fulfilling its founder’s dream. A dream expressed nearly 100 years ago on the corner of the “Champs” and rue La Boetie, where in 1927 Theophile Bader planned to build a venue offering something midway between retail, services and entertainment,” said Philippe Houze, Executive Chairman of the Galeries Lafayette Group. “Today, almost 90 years later, we are delighted to pursue his grand design with a store concept that is both historic and disruptive, and which by combining two iconic brands ‘Galeries Lafayette’ and ‘Champs-Élysées, will also help promote a certain French Art de Vivre and contribute to the revival of this world-famous avenue.”

BIG’s design pays tribute to the tactility and texture of the historical building. Throughout the store, visitors encounter precious materials and refined details from the past that are reinterpreted and deployed in a contemporary way. Walking around the lofty gallery-like space is an experience in moving through a composition of architectural elements that operate at the scale of furniture and defined in experiential shopping zones. “Working with a family and a company that can look back 100 years gives you – not only the possibility – but actually the responsibility to attempt to look as far ahead as you can look back. With the advent and omnipresence of online retail, the urban department store’s role and relevance must be renewed as the urban agora. We humans are social beings – and more than ever do we need a forum for collective intimacy – where we can’t just get what we want by clicking on it – but where we can engage with others in urban environments that are visually and physically stimulating to all the senses,” said Bjarke Ingels, Founder & Creative Director at BIG.

Image by Michel Florent Shoppers are invited into the building through an inverse canopy on the street level. A glowing bridge ushers life into the heart of the building: a dramatic circular atrium covered by a monumental glass cupola that has been restored and uncovered for maximum daylight. The entire store unfolds on the ground floor and creates a bright new urban living room for brand activations, fashion shows and other special events. A grand staircase, which doubles as an auditorium during events, takes visitors to the mixed-use space on the first floor occupied by creative and emerging brands, as well as a denim lab, jewelry display, limited edition sneakers and tech products. A continuous golden ring of perforated metal wraps around the columns and creates a series of rooms and alcoves facing the atrium.

Image by Delfino Sisto Legnani and Marco Cappelletti “To create an invitation to enter, ascend and explore, we have designed a handful of elements that find themselves at the intersection of architecture and furniture. Rather than messing with the old bones of the building or delineating function with walls – the program has been provided with a family of pavilions that may change and transform over time. The raw space has an almost urban scale and character that makes it capable of accommodating even the wildest interventions, which makes me excited to imagine what I might expect to find here next time I come back. And it shows me that Galleries Lafayette is not only opening a new department store on Champs-Élysées, rather, they have opened up a new urban room for the Parisians,” continued Bjarke Ingels. 

  

Images by Michel Florent From the ground floor, visitors are immediately able to see the upper levels, enticing them to explore the different destinations and activities. The escalators are finished in warm metal and a ribbon of glass from the same material palette as the central atrium. Exploring the store and its different levels is a discovery of carefully curated environments where furniture is never only storage: interweaving carpets become dressing rooms, countertops are a sculptural stack of elements, and magic carpets for the shoe display double as furniture for shoppers to sit and try the footwear.

Image by Matthieu Salvaing “When we inherited this incredible space from 1932, most of the beautiful materials and Art Deco elements were covered with black painted drywall, the skylight was blinded by sheetrock and the connections to the outside had disappeared. We focused on the heart of the building and preserved all of its precious materials and refined details, wrapping them in gallery-like spaces. The historical architecture is supplemented by the raw qualities of ceiling heights and abundance of daylight,” said Jakob Sand, Partner at BIG.

Image by Salem Mostefaoui The upper levels of the store are further refined and continue the idea of furniture as artifact. The top floor features a series of suspended glass vitrines that resemble independent objects and can host a variety of experiences and activities visible from the lower levels.

Image by Delfino Sisto Legnani and Marco Cappelletti Visitors can take a break from shopping and in the Oursin restaurant while enjoying views to the city or relax at the Citron coffee lounge, both designed by French fashion designer Simon Porte Jacquemus and operated by Caviar Kaspia. Meanwhile, a Parisian food court in the entire lower level, where groceries and eateries are divided into sweet and savory sections and where massive counters are arranged around welcoming shared tables.

Image by Salem Mostefaoui Learn more about the Galeries Lafayette Flagship on Champs-Élysées and many other BIG projects at our FORMGIVING exhibition at the Danish Architecture Center in Copenhagen, on view from June 12th to January 5th: https://dac.dk/en/exhibitions/formgivning-big.

Architecture, Building Envelope, Electric cars, Green Energy, HVAC, Ideas, LEED, Technology, Top Stories, Trends

Singapore’s new 1.3 billion Jewel Changi Airport welcomes the world

View of the Shiseido Forest Valley and HSBC Rain Vortex from Changi Airport Terminal 1

Upon setting foot into Jewel, visitors are greeted by the majestic 40-metre HSBC Rain Vortex, the world’s tallest indoor waterfall.
 

The project transforms the airport from the archetype of ‘non-place’ to a vibrant center of community activity and sets a new standard for airport design, creating not just a new airport amenity but a signature destination for travelers and Singaporeans alike.

Manulife Nets at Canopy Park

Suspended 25 metres above ground, this attraction allows visitors to enjoy views of Jewel while balancing their way across one of the world’s largest indoor nets.
 

Discovery Slides at Canopy Park

Set within a reflective sculpted art installation, these slides offer panoramic views for the young and young-at-heart.

Topiary Walk at Canopy Park

A photo-friendly enclave set within the verdant Canopy Park, this walk features creative topiary art in the shape of life-size animals.
 

View of Shiseido Forest Valley and HSBC Rain Vortex from the South Viewing Deck

With its innovative structural design, Jewel is an architectural marvel – making the multi-dimensional lifestyle destination a photographer’s paradise.

The soaring glass-enclosed building integrates an expansive indoor forest—featuring the world’s tallest indoor waterfall, tree-top walking trails, and additional interactive attractions—with retail galleries, restaurants, a hotel, and landside airport operations. Fully publicly accessible, Jewel is linked to Terminals 1, 2, and 3, as well as the city’s public transportation grid. To realize this groundbreaking vision, Safdie Architects brought together and led a global collaboration of the best minds in the fields of engineering, landscape architecture, water feature design, interior design, and art.

Photo credit: Jewel Changi Airport Devt

 
Architecture, Building Envelope, Green Energy, HVAC, Ideas, LEED, Technology, Top Stories, Trends

BIG AND PARTNERS UNVEIL OCEANIX CITY AT THE UNITED NATIONS

Image by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group

As part of UN-Habitat’s New Urban Agenda, floating cities non-profit OCEANIX, the MIT Center for Ocean Engineering, BIG and partners propose a vision for the world’s first resilient and sustainable floating community for 10,000 residents: Oceanix City.

The first UN high-level roundtable on Sustainable Floating Cities brought together innovators, explorers, marine engineers and scientists at the UN Headquarters to share ideas and solutions to the threats faced by coastal cities and countries due to rising sea levels. The roundtable was co-convened by OCEANIX, the MIT Center for Ocean Engineering, The Explorers Club and BIG.

“We are the UN agency mandated to work with cities, be they on land or water. We are ready to engage in dialogue on Sustainable Floating Cities to ensure this burgeoning sector is mobilized to good effect and for the benefit of all people.” Maimunah Mohd Sharif, the Executive Director of UN-Habitat and UN Under Secretary-General.

By 2050, 90% of the world’s largest cities will be exposed to rising seas. The vast majority of coastal cities will be impacted by coastal erosion and flooding, displacing millions of people, while destroying homes and infrastructure. Marc Collins Chen, Co-Founder and CEO of OCEANIX, said humans can live on floating cities in harmony with life below water. “It is not a question of one versus the other. The technology exists for us to live on water, without killing marine ecosystems. It is our goal to make sure sustainable floating cities are affordable and available to all coastal areas in need. They should not become a privilege of the rich.”

Designed as a man-made ecosystem, Oceanix City is anchored in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, channeling flows of energy, water, food and waste to create a blueprint for a modular maritime metropolis.

Image by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group “9 out of 10 of the world’s largest cities will be exposed to rising seas by 2050. The sea is our fate – it may also be our future. The first sustainable and self-sustained floating community Oceanix City is designed as a human made ecosystem channeling circular flows of energy, water, food and waste. Oceanix City is a blueprint for a modular maritime metropolis anchored in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The additive architecture can grow, transform and adapt organically over time, evolving from a neighborhood of 300 residents to a city of 10,000 – with the possibility of scaling indefinitely to provide thriving nautical communities for people who care about each other and our planet.” Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner, BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group. Image by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group Oceanix City is designed to grow, transform and adapt organically over time, evolving from neighborhoods to cities with the possibility of scaling indefinitely. Modular neighborhoods of 2 hectares create thriving self-sustaining communities of up to 300 residents with mixed-use space for living, working and gathering during day and night time. All built structures in the neighborhood are kept below 7 stories to create a low center of gravity and resist wind. Every building fans out to self-shade internal spaces and public realm, providing comfort and lower cooling costs while maximizing roof area for solar capture. Image by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group Communal farming is the heart of every platform, allowing residents to embrace sharing culture and zero waste systems. Below sea level, beneath the platforms, biorock floating reefs, seaweed, oysters, mussel, scallop and clam farming clean the water and accelerate ecosystem regeneration. Image by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group By clustering six neighborhoods around a protected central harbor, larger villages of 12 hectares can accommodate up to 1,650 residents. Social, recreational and commercial functions are placed around the sheltered inner ring to encourage citizens to gather and move around the village. Residents can easily walk or boat through the city using electric vehicles. Image by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group Aggregating to reach a critical density, six villages connect to form a city of 10,000 residents with a strong sense of community and identity. A larger protected harbor is formed in the heart of the city. Floating destinations and art, including six specialized landmark neighborhoods with a public square, market place and centers for spirituality, learning, health, sport and culture create destinations drawing residents from across the city and anchoring each neighborhood in a unique identity. All communities regardless of size will prioritize locally sourced materials for building construction, including fast-growing bamboo that has six times the tensile strength of steel, a negative carbon footprint, and can be grown on the neighborhoods themselves.

Image by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group Floating cities can be prefabricated on shore and towed to their final site, reducing construction costs. Pairing this with the low cost of leasing space on the ocean creates an affordable model of living. These factors mean that affordable housing can be rapidly deployed to coastal megacities in dire need. The first Oceanix Cities are calibrated for the most vulnerable tropical and sub-tropical regions around the globe.

Image by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group https://big.dk/#projects-sfc

Architecture, Ideas, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories, Trends, Wood

The race to mass timber is on – 77 Wade Avenue to be among the tallest mass timber commercial buildings in Canada

Located in Toronto’s Junction, 77 Wade Avenue will be a purpose designed and built office with collaboration space for the new digital age industrial worker. Designed by Bogdan Newman Caranci (BNC) Architecture and Urban Design, and developed by Next Property Group, 77 Wade Avenue will be 8 storeys and approximately ~150,000 square feet, making it among the tallest modern mass timber office and commercial buildings in Canada targeting LEED Gold, and the first of its kind to be built.

The key design intent of this project was to fuse contrasting materials to enhance the inherent warmth of an exposed wood structure comprised of composite mass timber, concrete and steel structural assemblies. Unlike the construction of 20th century post and beam buildings, construction of 77 Wade optimizes the use of a mass timber hybrid structural system by way of pre-fabricated components and just-in-time delivery and construction practices to achieve spans akin to traditional concrete and steel superstructure projects for modern commercial office buildings.

The overall design celebrates the advanced use of mass-timber construction within the ever-evolving architecture of Canada. The development and design of 77 Wade maximizes and streamlines the inherent structural and aesthetic qualities of exposed wood construction in a new and modern way; ultimately showcasing both our Canadian talent pool and our renewable wood resource. The building’s envelope will predominately be clad in a folded plain curtain wall to expose the innovative structure within, while also adding a dynamic form to the streetscape. The approach to the building is unified with an origami based geometric soft and organic front entrance, retail and flexible collaboration spaces. Perched above the form is a wood canopy that creates shading for the outdoor amenity and social space.

The rear of the building has a sunken parking area as well as a unique bike storage feature, connecting pedestrians and cyclists though the site, from the adjacent and elevated GO Barrie line corridor to be constructed complete with a linear park and Multi-Use Trail below (aka Metrolinx’s ‘Davenport Diamond’ project).

Today, tech-oriented and innovative companies desire work environments that hum with architectural character. 77 Wade achieves this with the use of wood construction and the fusion of contrasting materials. The provision of communal spaces for both the building’s users and the public, paralleled with the use of appropriate landscape design and softer and transparent cladding materials, makes 77 Wade Avenue a state-of-the-art contemporary office building that addresses the City and its urban citizens with a unique and innovative architectural language.

About BNC Architecture + Urban Design Established in 1969, Bogdan Newman Caranci Inc. is a Toronto-based firm with expertise in architecture, urban design, and master planning. For 50 years, BNC has been involved in projects across Canada, the US, and internationally, creating vibrant places for living, learning, working, and leisure. From institutional, cultural, commercial, mixed-use, and residential projects, to new community designs and urban redevelopment projects at all scales, the practice has a long, rich, and deep portfolio. Visit www.bncarchitects.ca .

Architecture, Ideas, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories, Trends, Wood

3XN TO DESIGN TALLEST TIMBER OFFICE BUILDING IN NORTH AMERICA

Newest addition to Toronto’s emerging Bayside community offers flexible work spaces and connects the city to the waterfront

International real estate firm Hines has announced plans for T3 Bayside, the first office building in Toronto’s emerging Bayside community, located on the shores of Lake Ontario. Designed by the renowned Danish architecture firm 3XN, the 10-story structure will stand at 42 meters high, becoming the tallest timber office building not only in Toronto, but in all of North America.

3XN was selected by Hines to design an office space as part of the unprecedented 2,000-acre revitalization initiative that will transform Toronto’s waterfront. T3 Bayside joins 3XN’s two residential buildings in the area, Aqualuna and Aquabella, which activate Toronto’s newest and most dynamic live-work-play community. The new building and adjoining plaza will serve as dynamic visual and pedestrian gateway to the entire neighborhood, connecting residents and visitors to the revitalized waterfront.

“With 3XN’s world class design and the building’s unrivaled amenity offering, T3 Bayside will truly set a new benchmark for creative office space and will ultimately be responsible for creating more than 3000 jobs at Bayside,” explained Avi Tesciuba, Senior Managing Director and Country Head from Hines.

T3 Bayside is designed to reflect and emphasize the emerging neighborhood in which it sits, a community modeled around the intertwining principals of life, work, and play, offering a multitude of opportunities for the next generation of Torontonians. The building creates a continuously activated ground level, with abundant retail opportunities available on all sides. At the base of the building a new central plaza has been created, around which are additional stepped community and shared spaces, including exhibition and gallery spaces, flexible offices space and coworking facilities.

“We are honored to contribute to the development of this new neighborhood in Toronto,” said Kim Herforth Nielsen, Founder and Creative Director of 3XN. “3XN believes in creating buildings that focus on people and contribute to the public realm, which is our aim in this project as well. WithT3 Bayside we created flexible office spaces that can meet the requirements of a diverse group of tenants both at the moment and in the foreseeable future.”

Located at the northern edge of the Bayside development, situated along Queens Quay East and flanked by Merchant’s Wharf, T3 Bayside presents an opportunity to enhance and enforce the existing master plan on multiple levels. Through a series of stepped roof terraces, the building strengthens and emphasizes the movement and heights of the existing master plan at either end of the site. The same terraces step downwards toward the plaza, a new urban gateway and focal point that invites visitors and residents alike into the Bayside community as a whole. T3 Bayside marks the entrance to the neighborhood, leading all visitors toward the new waterfront promenade and thus connecting the city of Toronto with Lake Ontario.

Equal parts urban market, social space, and landscape, the new plaza is the public heart of the T3 Bayside project. Along the edge of the central plaza, corner lobbies, retail and café spaces are designed with flexibility and operability in mind. The building incorporates flexible event and community spaces that face the plaza on multiple levels, all of which can be used individually or booked together to facilitate various programming and events throughout the year. In this way, all activities within the space are visually connected to the central plaza, assuring that activity within the building is part of the exterior experience as well.

T3 Bayside will be the tallest timber office building in North America. The use of timber contributes to the sustainability of the building, both reducing construction time and allowing the building’s elements to be easily disassembled and re-used for other purposes.  The idea of using timber was suggested by the developer Hines. The materiality of timber defines the unique interior aesthetics and will also be reflected in the exterior of the building. Both the material and the shape of the wooden frame will ensure great acoustics. The use of wood, a breathable and absorbent material that allows the release of moisture, ensures a naturally regulated and healthy indoor environment.

“Canada, with its great forests, seems a natural place to build the tallest timber office building in North America and we are excited to be part of this development,” said Jens Holm, Partner in charge of 3XN North America and Head of Design for the T3 project. “The wooden structure will be a prominent part of the design and provide a warm tactile environment for the tenants that doesn’t compromise sustainability. The flexible layout will be able to meet the diverse needs of the users and bring people together.”

T3 Bayside brings together a flexible office space with a mix of coworking and community spaces, offering an experience that appeals to a broad array of tenants. The shared office spaces each hold the potential to combine intimate, single-height zones and social, double-height zones that suit ideas of coworking and are designed to accommodate a variety of programs. These office spaces can be directly connected to the lobby and help to activate the central plaza. Diagonal cuts in the building volume break the massing down to a more human scale around the plaza, and build back up to city scale as they rise across the façade.

About 3XN:

3XN is one of Denmark’s most-renowned architecture firms. Since it was founded in 1986 by Kim Herforth Nielsen, 3XN has been advancing Scandinavian traditions of clarity and generosity in architecture and translating them for a global audience. The firm’s work is grounded in ongoing research into how buildings reflect and influence human behavior and the environment, which results in innovative solutions to increasingly complex contemporary challenges. Among 3XN’s highest-profile projects are Olympic House, the new HQ for the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Quay Quarter Tower in Sydney, The Blue Planet (National Aquarium) and Royal Arena, both in Copenhagen, and the Museum of Liverpool. Based in Copenhagen, the firm also maintains offices in Stockholm, New York, and Sydney.

Photos credit: 3XN

LEED, Sustainability, Top Stories, Trends

Canada ranks 2nd in the global LEED buildings outside USA

 

The US Green Building Council (USGBC), creator of the LEED green building rating system, has revealed the top 10 countries for LEED buildings outside of the US.

The list ranks countries and regions in terms of cumulative LEED-certified gross sqm as of December 31, 2018.

Mainland China tops the list with more than 68 million gross sqm and 1,494 projects, followed by Canada with more than 46 million sqm and 3,254 projects.

leed2.jpg

leed3.jpg
Image credit: USGBC

“For the last 25 years, LEED has played a key role in sustainability efforts around the world,” says Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO, USGBC and Green Business Certification.

“A better future requires a universal living standard that leaves no one behind – and that future would simply not be possible without the extraordinary work being done in these countries.”

LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the world’s most widely used green building program with 96,275 registered and certified projects in more than 167 countries and territories.

Architecture, Building Envelope, Ideas, LEED, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories, Trends, Wood

CREATING A PATHWAY TO CLIMATE POSITIVE COMMUNITIES

By Charlotte Matthews, Director of Sustainability, Sidewalk Labs

I love buildings. When I was eight years old my family moved to Hong Kong, one of the world’s most amazing cities. But even as I grew up fascinated by architecture, I also saw, in vivid detail, the heavy impact human activity had on the world around us.

So, I also care deeply about protecting the environment. The environment can’t speak for itself. It needs us to speak — and act — on its behalf.

How the built and natural environments can intersect for the benefit of both — and ultimately, for us, the people who live in them — is the focus of the work I do here at Sidewalk Labs. With Quayside, we’ve set ourselves a goal I am the first to admit is absurdly difficult: we are proposing to plan, build and operate the first climate positive community in North America.

What, exactly, do we mean by climate positive? You may be more familiar with the terms ‘net zero energy’, “nearly zero” and ‘carbon neutral.’ To achieve these classifications, a project must be able to show that over the course of a year, it can generate as much energy onsite from renewable resources (or purchase green energy through the power grid) as it consumes. Typically, honours are attained based upon projected energy use, estimated with computer models and assuming energy efficient tenants, rather than the project’s actual operating energy, because the role of the developer ends on opening day.

Getting to net zero, or even close to, is no easy feat. Those efforts are to be applauded. That said, to achieve true sustainability, we need to take a step further, to climate positive. Why? Because, to stave off the worst impacts of global warming in the decades to come, we cannot maintain existing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We must reduce them significantly. Which brings us to the challenge — as absurdly difficult as it is — of creating a neighbourhood that goes beyond zero and improves the health of the existing environment through its development.

The opportunity to aim for climate positive in Toronto is an objective of Waterfront Toronto for the Quayside development. In 2014, Ontario demonstrated world leadership by completing its elimination of coal fired power generation; a remarkable reduction from 25% of supply to zero in just ten years. Today, 90 percent of the power generated in Ontario is GHG-free. That’s like moving the starting line in a 100 metre dash up 65 metres because you have access to ample GHG-free energy through the power grid. In the race to get to climate positive, it gives Toronto a huge advantage over other cities in North America.

With the development at Quayside, we have the opportunity to use design principles and building techniques and materials to create structures modelled on the concepts behind Passive House. Passive House is one of the most rigorous voluntary standards for energy efficiency, and it has its roots in Canada with the construction of Saskatchewan Conservation House in Reginain 1977.

We also have the opportunity to learn from completed projects that have sought and achieved unprecedented performance. Many of these projects have found how in construction and operations, modeled results fall short.

Rather than build first and learn later why our buildings don’t meet modeled projections, we decided to study the energy use of existing buildings in Toronto, and compare actual building performance with modeled projections. That work is captured in detail in a white paper you can read here.

The study found that, on average, multifamily buildings in Toronto are using 39% more gas for heating and 21% more gas for domestic hot water generation than modeled, and on the flip side, residents are using 26% less electricity than predicted. The diagnosis for these gaps includes optimistic modeling of exterior wall construction, and how well steel components (which are superhighways for heat) are insulated (like a stirring spoon in a hot cooking pot) and outdated assumptions about the energy intensity of equipment and devices. And beyond modeling conventions, there are also lessons to learn about how systems are actually operated in buildings versus idealized models.

 

One of the major choices we’ve made with Quayside, to move us to our goal of climate positive, is to go 100% electric — including heating. As I mentioned earlier, Toronto and Ontario are already ahead of the climate-positive curve by having electricity generation that is 90% GHG free. That said, the reality of demand cycles is that power drawn during peak hours, even in Toronto, is at its most GHG-intensive. In Ontario, this is when gas-fired generation plants come online. To bridge the supply gap in Quayside, we’re planning on using a combination of solar and battery power, as well as geothermal exchange, sewer (waste water) heat and the heat rejected by air conditioning systems which run year-round for some commercial and industrial uses.

We’re also moving toward the goal of making our buildings more autonomous. We want them to learn from how their occupants use them and, for example, turn down or up the temperature when a space is unoccupied. Many people have early versions of this technology in their homes today in the form of smart thermostats. We’re looking at expanding this approach to a building’s entire energy ecosystem.

We have many more ideas in development, many of which we shared at Roundtable 4. We’re building on those ideas later today at Waterfront Toronto’s Design Review Panel, where I’ll be making a public presentation on our Pathway to Climate Positive Communities. I’ll be covering six main areas where we’re working today:

Advanced Power Grid: How we can use solar, batteries and new dynamic electricity rates to reduce peak demand (when grid-based power is at its highest GHG content)

Thermal Grid: Like a power grid, a thermal grid with heat pumps can exchange energy between “sinks” and “sources” to move heat from areas with excess (like the sewer system, which is full of hot water from showers) to areas that want more (like your home on a cold winter day) and also to seasonal thermal batteries, which is a service that geothermal wells can provide.

Low Load Buildings: Insulated and airtight buildings require less heating and cooling and can maintain occupiable temperatures without heating through a wintertime power outage of at least three days.

Advanced Energy Management: Expand automated, easy-to-use controls to a building’s entire energy ecosystem to reduce energy waste and customer utility costs.

Active Stormwater Management: Developing a connected, green stormwater infrastructure that reintroduces nature into a gritty urban environment while reducing the need and cost of concrete infrastructure in buildings.

Smart Disposal Chain: Using smart chutes and a pneumatic waste system to enable “pay as you throw” disposal, feedback to individuals on the community’s sorting practices and streets without garbage trucks.

The proposed community of Quayside is just that, a proposal. Everything we’re planning is iterative. All of our hypotheses will not play out. It’s also why we’re sharing our plans, and listening to feedback, every step of the way.

Toronto already has a reputation as a world leader in building and energy innovation. Quayside offers the potential to build on that progress and deliver a North American first — a community that is actively and measurably climate positive.

Want to know more? You can download my presentation to Waterfront Toronto’s Design Review Panel here and read the reports on our residentialand commercial building studies.

Renderings credits Picture Plane for Heatherwick Studio