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Architecture, Ideas, Sustainability

Dejardins unveils the tallest indoor living wall in the world

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The artwork, called “The Currents”, draws inspiration

from the fascinating view of the St. Lawrence River

The new Desjardins building in Lévis houses the tallest interior living wall in the world. The artwork, “The Currents”, was designed by Green over Grey, a design firm specializing in the creation of living walls (aka green walls or vertical gardens). For this project, they drew inspiration from the views of the St. Lawrence River visible from Quebec City and Lévis.

“When Desjardins began work on revitalizing the Cité Desjardins de la coopération in 2011, we wanted to find a tangible way to show our commitment to sustainable development and enrich our employees’ work environment through meaningful initiatives, such as this beautiful living work of art” stated Monique F. Leroux, Chair of the Board, President and CEO of Desjardins Group.

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“According to our research, this living wall is the tallest indoor vertical garden in the world,” said Patrick Poiraud, co-founder of Green over Grey. “The wall is fully hydroponic (i.e. soil-free) and incorporates plants that thrive in similar vertical environments found in nature, like on tree branches and next to waterfalls. The end result is a visually pleasing piece that provides cleaner indoor air and improves both the acoustic quality and the value of the property.”

The green wall complements the new building’s eco-friendly concept, which is expected to receive LEED gold certification after completion September 2014.

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Facts

• More than 11,000 individual plants artfully arranged according to colour, texture, pattern and size covering a 15-storey wall of the new building at 150 rue des Commandeurs, in Lévis.

• Plants are growing in a hydroponic system (i.e. soil free) made of 100% synthetic recycled materials.

• Green over Grey eco friendly panels are built from 1.5 metric tons of recycled water bottles and plastic bags.

• The living wall is 213 feet high (65 meters) with a total surface area of 2,139 square feet (198 square metres).

• 42 plant species, including philodendrons, monsteras, fig trees, ginger, snake plants (Sansevieria trifasciata), elkhorn ferns (Platycerium bifurcatum), scheffleras, clusias and banana plants.

  • Spathiphyllum ‘Mauno Loa’, commonly known as peace lily, is one of the most effective oxygen-producing plants that clean and purify the air.

• According to the NASA Clean Air Study, the peace lily—native to tropical regions of the Americas and Southeast Asia and known for its distinctive white flower—eliminates significant amounts of pollutants, such as benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene, which are found in photocopiers and construction materials.

• Plants are laid out to evoke the beauty of the St. Lawrence River as seen from the Quebec and Lévis areas, which were chosen due to the cities’ close ties with Alphonse Desjardins.

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Architecture, Ideas, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Trends

A MAD, MAD world

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Green, futuristic Chaoyang Park Plaza breaks ground in Bejing

From the architectural firm behind Absolute Towers in Mississauga – MAD – comes the news that Chaoyang Park Plaza, a realization of the Shanshui City concept, has begun construction in Bejing.

It marks another milestone in one of the practices of MAD’s design theory. This project pushes the boundary of the urbanization process in modern cosmopolitan life by creating a dialogue between artificial scenery and natural landscapes.

 

Chaoyang Park Plaza is located in the central business district (CBD) of Beijing, and is composed of over 120,000 square metres of commercial, office, and residential buildings. The site is on the southern edge of Chaoyang Park, one of the largest public parks in Beijing. Its proximity to the park will not only create breathtaking views of the city, but will also highly impact the skyline of Beijing.

By transforming features of Chinese classical landscape painting, such as lakes, springs, forests, creeks, valleys, and stones, into modern “city landscapes,” the urban space creates a balance between high urban density and natural landscape. The forms of the buildings mimic what is found in natural landscapes, and re-introduces nature to the urban realm.

Like the tall mountain cliffs and river landscapes of China, a pair of asymmetrical towers creates a dramatic skyline in front of the park. Ridges and valleys define the shape of the exterior glass facade, as if the natural forces of erosion have worn down the tower into a few thin lines. Flowing down the facade, the lines emphasize the smoothness of the towers and its verticality. The internal ventilation and filtration system of the ridges draw a natural breeze indoors, which not only improves the interior space but also creates an energy efficient system.

Landscape elements are injected into the interiors of the towers to augment the feeling of nature within an urban framework. The two towers are connected by a tall courtyard lobby with a ceiling height of up to 17 metres. The site and sounds of flowing water make the entire lobby feel like a natural scene from a mountain valley. At the top of the towers, multi-level terraces shaped by the curving forms of the towers are public gardens where people can gaze out over the entire city and look down at the valley scene created by the lower buildings on the site.

Located south of the towers, four office buildings are shaped like river stones that have been eroded over a long period. Smooth, round, and each with its own features, they are delicately arranged to allow each other space while also forming an organic whole. Adjacent to the office buildings are two multi-level residential buildings in the southwest area of the compound. These buildings continue the ‘mid-air courtyard’concept, and provide all who live here with the freedom of wandering through a mountain forest.

The project expects to achieve LEED gold-certification once completed in 2016. Its use of natural lighting, intelligent building, and air purification system make this project stand out from others being built today. The ideal of “nature”is not only embodied in the innovation of green technology, but also in the planning concept. This project transforms the traditional model of buildings in a modern city’s central business district. By exploring the symbiotic relationship between modern urban architecture and natural environment, it revives the harmonious co-existence between urban life and nature. It creates a Shanshui city where people can share their individual emotions and a sense of belonging

www.i-mad.com

 

Architecture, Green Energy, Ideas, Sustainability, Technology, Trends

Made in Russia

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Energy-efficient dome could provide disaster relief and be built on land or water

With climate change trends constantly drawing more and more attention around the world, it’s no coincidence that architects are tackling new survivalist-type designs.

Case in point: Russian architect Alexander Remizov.
Remizov, from the firm Remistudio, has taken direct aim at the problem of rising ocean levels and flood control. With apologies to Noah from the Bible’s book of Genesis, Remizov’s prototype creation, named The Ark, is a prefabricated structure that could be quickly assembled to deal with any emergency housing needs.

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This energy-efficient domed biosphere would be built of steel, wood and durable-strength plastic with enough space to accommodate up to 10,000 people. Land-based in concept, it could also be positioned on water, with a rounded hull, allowing the structure to float. Hence the nickname.
Currently in the development stage as Remizov seeks investors, The Ark has a dome-like shape because it would utilize wind generators, with warm air accumulating near the top of the building. Solar panels will also be featured, with green foliage throughout and a rainwater collections system. If built on water, thermal water energy could be utilized.
In fact, heat would be collected in order to provide a constant energy supply for the entire complex, no matter what the outside environment is like.

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While the concept could be used for emergencies, the theme also leaves room for more traditional environments, and could also simply be a model for future living, including communities, offices and hotels.
With the building assembly focusing on the use of ready-made materials, each structure would have a buffer zone without the need for traditional insulation. With the materials used, and a light foundation, it’s believed construction costs could also be reduced.
Designed in conjunction with the International Union of Architects’ program called “Architecture for Disaster Relief,” The Ark also features a load-bearing system of cables and arches that would allow weight distribution – a key component when dealing with earthquake situations.
And the framework would be covered with a special foil – the durable-strength plastic – made of Ethylene TetraFluoroEthylene (ETFE), which is often called a miracle construction material. (Why? It’s strong enough to bear 400 times its own weight, for one thing, and can be stretched to three times its length without loss of elasticity, for another.)
The foil would be attached to the framework and then serve as a solar collector and also provide gutters for collecting rainwater from the roof.
As well as guaranteeing an uninterrupted energy supply, The Ark could also produce extra power for supplying adjacent housing or adaptable transportation.

04_remizov_ark_interior

Moreover, The Ark boasts a bioclimatic design. This means it connects with nature and maximizes the benefit that can be derived from a site’s natural features, topography and climate, while allowing for internal comfort conditions to be optimized.

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In short, more than Noah ever bargained for … to be sure.

 

Architecture, Sustainability, Wood

Schooled in Sustainability: Algonquin College’s Perth Campus Meets the Gold Standard

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Algonquin College’s new Perth Campus building by GRC Architects is a 4,155 m2 (44,715 ft2) facility that combined several strategies, including sustainable wood construction, to create an efficient, environmentally responsive educational building.

The building contains two volumes, an Academic Hall and a Construction Wing, which are connected by a passageway. The Academic Hall is a single-storey, 2,463 m2 (26,500 ft2) wood-framed structure with a concrete slab on grade for the ground floor. It is houses state-of-the-art classrooms and specialty laboratories as well as a student commons, cafeteria, lounge, library, fitness facility and computer access centre. The Academic Hall is the focus of this article.

The exterior walls of the Academic Hall are wood-frame with plywood sheathing. The stud cavity contains 140 mm (5-1/2 in.) of open-cell spray foam insulation, with an additional 50 mm (2 in.) of rigid insulation on the exterior, for walls that have a total effective insulating value of RSI 5.3 (R 30). Three-hundred millimetres (12 in.) of blown-in cellulose insulation in the roof provides an insulating value of RSI 7.0 (R-40), resulting in an energy-efficient, high performance building envelope.

The wood siding is rough-sawn white pine that was pre-finished on all sides prior to installation. This siding and the wood columns used in the project were sourced and milled within a few kilometres of the site. Inside the building, maple wood slats on the ceilings in the cafeteria, entrance lobby and resource centre reduce noise levels and create a comforting atmosphere. Classrooms feature maple-cased return air plenums at the exterior wall. Solid-core wood doors, built-in wood benches, wood-framed glazed partitions, and millwork are found throughout the building. The majority of the wood structure was sourced from FSC-certified distributors and retailers.

Using sustainably harvested wood products that store carbon, instead of non-renewable, energy-intensive building materials that require large amounts of fossil fuels to manufacture, can help slow climate change. Trees provide the only major building material that is renewable and grown by energy from the sun. Although processing wood into building products does require some energy, it is less than what is required to manufacture alternative materials and the power needs of the mills are often met by using the biomass waste (bark, etc.) created during the manufacturing process.

The total wood volume of the trusses, framing, sheathing, headers and beams of the Academic Hall, not including finishing products, is 277.0 m³. An on-line Carbon Calculator tool hosted by the Canadian Wood Council (www.cwc.ca/index.php/en/resources/electronic-tools) calculates that the net carbon benefit of the choosing a wood structure over alternative materials is equivalent to taking 126 cars off the road for one year.

Selective sourcing of the other materials yielded over 17.5% total recycled content and over 55% of all building materials (by cost) were sourced regionally. The general contractor also diverted over 92% of all construction and demolition waste from landfills.

Triple-glazed windows on the north façade reduce heat loss in winter, and deep overhangs and a reflective roof cover limit solar heat gain in summer. The white roof membrane on flat roof areas reduces heat island effect. The mechanical systems include centralized condensing boilers, a high-efficiency, frictionless centrifugal chiller, and a dedicated outdoor air system with 85% efficient reverse flow heat recovery. Heat is provided from ceiling diffusers and return air plenums are located at exterior walls.

There are operable windows in the classrooms and offices, clerestory windows in corridors, and daylight in all occupied spaces. Lighting throughout the building is a combination of T8 linear fluorescent lighting and TS high output lighting. As a result of these strategies, the facility costs 51% less to heat, cool and power than a similar facility designed to the standard of the Model National Energy Code for Buildings and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 216 tons a year. A 2,000 L rainwater harvesting system is used to flush the toilets and water-efficient plumbing fixtures such as dual-flush toilets and low-flow urinals, reduce water use by more than 60% over a conventional design. Other notable water conservation efforts include drought-tolerant landscaping and water bottle refilling stations for occupants.

Awarded LEED Gold, the Algonquin College Perth Campus Academic Hall is bright, comfortable, easy to maintain and operate, and very energy-efficient. Sustainable strategies include resource conservation measures, efficient mechanical systems, locally sourced wood products, a superior building envelope, numerous water conservation strategies and a healthy indoor environment. The use of wood was cost-effective, met all health and safety requirements and created a sustainable learning environment that is positive and inviting.

This article is based on a case study published by Ontario Wood WORKS! and is printed with permission. To download the full version of the Algonquin College, Perth Campus case study, please visit www.cwc.ca/publications

Architecture, Style, Sustainability, Top Stories

Breaking away

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Barbini Design Build’s luxury contemporary renovation offers the best green features

By GREG McMILLAN
Some builders might encourage homeowners to add one or two green elements to their houses and leave their sustainability efforts at that.

But that’s not the Amedeo Barbini way.

Far from it, as it happens. In fact, Barbini Design Build takes a much broader approach to any renovation or new home design – preferring to adopt a much more conscientious holistic process, according to owner Amedeo Barbini.

“Barbini takes the approach of creating the best building envelope, thereby using the smallest carbon footprint and providing comfort, a clean environment and savings to the future owner,” says Barbini. “In those cases when there is a client, we provide them with a complete shopping cart of benefits that they can choose to incorporate into their home.”

A recent project at 61 Talwood Drive in Don Mills, Ontario, serves an apt example of the Barbini way, offering a contemporary renovation on a 4,500 square-foot, two-and-a-half storey home . It incorporates open spaces with plenty of light and a long list of green features to enhance its aesthetic appeal and create a more sustainable living environment. And the home has been evaluated as exceeding the Ontario Building Code by 26 per cent under the Home Energy Rating System (HERS).

Located in a quiet neighbourhood, near schools and parks, the home provides a complete array of elegant design details, with the advantages of a superior building envelope and efficient heating and air-conditioning systems delivering pure air quality and energy-efficient operation. It’s been future-proofed to evolve with the ever-changing technology requirements, including a 100-amp panel for an electric car charger, plus preparation for solar paneling to be integrated with the HVAC system.
The home, says Barbini, represents how his company’s holistic mentality kicks in.

“The home performs as a total environment and all the components are experienced together,” he explains. “To say that the entire first floor that is heated hydraulically is better than the windows performing differently on the south side as opposed to the north side is not the point. All components contribute to the overall experience.”

Barbini says the whole design process needed to be considered holistically versus focusing on individual smaller elements.

“From the planning stage, we needed to understand the mechanics and the building envelope in order to designate enough room for all the components we were implementing. One started by designing the shell, or the envelope, of the building first – that is the footprint, looking at exterior wall materials, R-values, glazing, canopies, the roof, etcetera. Then we looked at what was put inside the walls – the mechanicals.”

 

After considering the long-term savings, and not just immediate upfront costs, Barbini established what would go into the home and then assembled a team of suppliers and contractors to assemble the structure, Barbini explains.

“Site supervision was extremely important. In this case, we were always working above the building code.”

Here are some of the specific green features included at 61 Talwood Drive:

 

  • Energy monitoring system;
  • Higher efficiency window systems;
    Programmable thermostat;
  • Dual flush toilets;
  • Insulating from the ground up;
  • Garage ceiling insulation;
  • Sealing to prevent energy leakage;
  • Recovering energy from drain water;
  • Recovering energy from air exhaust;
  • Reducing indoor air contaminants;
  • Heating hot water as needed;
  • Water-conscious landscape design;
  • And engineering floor systems.

 

Barbini points out that one consideration must always be kept in mind – a home architecturally designed does not necessarily have inherent green features. Those components, he says, are often selected to make the house perform more efficiently, thereby delivering savings and substantially higher comfort control.

“Simple changes in our everyday lives can help slow climate change and this includes how your home operates,” says Barbini. “Canada is the largest consumer of energy in the world on a per capita basis and we use as much energy as the entire continent of Africa.

“Wasting energy not only hurts nature but our wallets,” he continues. “Thus, by providing tighter and better built homes, energy efficiency means lower bills as well as less pollution on our planet. With every project that we take on, we try to outdo ourselves and really design spaces for the future.

“We future-proof the homes we design and build so that they can evolve and adapt to the requirements and the technological changes of the future. By doing this we are building way above the building code requirements and providing the end user with a better living environment – whether it’s with air quality, mechanical systems or significant energy savings – which, in turn, lower the carbon footprint of that residence and family.
“At Barbini, whether it’s a renovation or a new home, we always recommend to our clients to do what they can to make their home more sustainable.”

www.amedeobarbini.com

Building Envelope, Ideas, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories

A century based on trust

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By Greg McMillan

When you’ve been in the construction business for 100 years, expect to deal with a few changes along the way.

So it’s no wonder M. Sullivan & Son Limited, Canada’s oldest privately-held construction business, has been able to make adjustments seamlessly in the green building marketplace.

Based in Eastern Ontario, Sullivan has definitely moved with the times and today embraces Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) certification projects, showing a responsibility to be more responsible to the environment, and incorporating green ideas into its building designs and construction practices.

The company, most recently, received LEED® Gold certification for the design and construction of the Prescott Border Crossing in Johnstown, Ontario. Earlier LEED® Gold recognition was awarded for the Kingston, Ontario, Police Headquarters and the St. Lawrence Power Development Visitor Centre, for OPG, in Cornwall, Ontario..


Features incorporated into the design and construction include: a white reflective roof for reflectivity to reduce the heat island effect, optimization of energy modelling through mechanical systems and building envelope design, as well as reflective energy efficient glazing, automatic lighting controls, the use of slag in the concrete, high recycle and regional content in the materials used, indoor air quality monitoring, a tobacco-free environment, bicycle racks, an electric car charging station and the use of FSC certified wood products.

Low VOC paints, flooring adhesives and solvents for pipe and conduits contributed to the low-emitting materials credit. Sediment run-off controls were installed and monitored throughout the construction. As part of the indoor air quality credit, the building HVAC system was used to flush the air for a required duration prior to and after occupancy, which was monitored through the building’s automation system.

A third party commissioning agent was retained to manage and verify the commissioning and training and achieve the best practice commissioning credit. Rainwater was collected from the large roof areas into a cistern and used as non-potable water in toilets and urinals. A geothermal heating/cooling system was designed for the Cornwall project.


According to Tim Pruner, Sullivan’s vice-president, business development, sustainability has become part of the firm’s culture, as it also signifies a commitment to energy conservation, life-cycle improvements, environmental responsibility and the community.

“It has become part of our firm’s culture, as the new ‘greener’ generation takes over,” Pruner says. “From recycling to energy conservation, sustainability is evident in all of our daily lives. It has become second nature and will continue to evolve as technology leads the way with new greener products, equipment and methods developed to meet more stringent environmental and energy efficiency criteria.

“We are finding now that most projects, even the ones that are not designated to meet LEED certification, are incorporating a lot of the LEED concepts and principles, so the process is working.”

At Sullivan, Pruner points out that “our success has always stemmed from our readiness to champion innovations in our industry.”

In a company brochure, it states: “We were industry leaders long before the practice of construction was divided into so many disciplines. Our respect for the traditions of our craft – and the innovations that propel the construction industry – makes us a company of choice on challenging projects that demand specialized expertise, from hydroelectric generating stations to health-care facilities.”

Sullivan, which enjoys ongoing recognition at the Platinum level as one of Canada’s best managed companies, had an extra reason to celebrate in 2014, as the company marked its 100th anniversary with the launch of a book, aptly titled A Hundred Years on a Handshake (Lessons Learned In Building a Successful Business For Life). It had long been a dream of Tommy Sullivan ( Sullivan’s previous chairman) to have a book to preserve the history of the firm and the family.

Back in 1924, the year of its tenth anniversary, Sullivan logged just $5,012 in revenues. Fast forward to its 100th year and the firm now boasts more than $100-million in annual sales. Collectively, the business has generated more than $4.7-billion in sales and 6,300 person years of employment to local contractors in Ontario, Nova Scotia and other provinces.

The book, though, also reveals what it took to turn Maurice Sullivan’s obsession into a multi-generational legacy as larger-than-life characters – rooted in old-world ethics – helped shape the way business is done in Canada. More than just a riveting family history, the book is an entertaining guide for anyone wishing to create and sustain a successful and long-lasting company.

“I’ve been with M. Sullivan & Son for mostofmy career, and it’s been an invigorating experience from the start,” Robert J. Ball, president and chief executive officer, said at the book launch back in February. “Everybody works hard all day and all night if they need to, everyone is fair and honest, and every single employee gets treated like family. I could not name another Canadian firm that has been able to say that for a whole century.”

Added Greg Sullivan, fourth-generation builder and vice president of Sullivan’s Kingston operation: “Every time we build, we put our family’s name on the line and our family’s money behind the project. We’re proud of everything we do, and still go by our original Sullivan motto – you can never do a job too good.”

wwwsullivan.ca

 A full-service industrial, commercial and institutional construction firm, M. Sullivan & Son Limited provides general contracting, construction management, design-build and project management expertise for clients in the public and private sectors.

Style, Sustainability, Top Stories

A step ahead

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By GREG McMILLAN
One thing is bound to happen each time a project gets underway for Chatsworth Fine Homes – there will be a discussion about sustainability.

“Sustainability is talked about during the pre-construction phase,” says Fil Capuano, Certified Engineering Technologist (CET) and Project Manager for Chatsworth Project and Construction Management Inc. “If it is not mentioned by the homeowner, then it is something that will be brought up by Chatsworth.”

Either way, it’s a given that green considerations are front and centre with any custom home undertaken by Chatsworth, a mainstay in the construction industry for over 30 years.

“The architects we work with can factor in as much or as little [green elements] as the client would like,” Capuano says. “As the project manager, Chatsworth can make recommendations to the homeowners and guidelines for the trades to follow – for example, on-site recycling programs to limit waste removal, the benefits of triple glazed windows, or sourcing products locally.”

 

As Capuano points out, building custom homes is always a challenge, whether the home has green features or not. At the same time, however, he stresses that there is more of an opportunity to incorporate green features into custom homes

“If that is something of interest to the homeowner, yes, we can look at that,” he says. “An average sub-division homebuilder tries to build for the lowest possible price, therefore many of them do not have special green features, whereas our clientele are building their forever home and are really invested in the project and the home’s features.”

While LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)certification remains a hot topic consideration among owners, a client often “doesn’t want to go through the whole LEED process,” says Capuano.

He added that Green, LEED, and sustainability are all terms talked about regularly – clients’ minds start with questions, as they don’t understand the barrage of green terminology. They want advice and our opinion on:

1)     What is a gimmick and what would be useful?

2)     They think “green” is something to be done on government projects that aren’t really cost effective regardless of how you slice it;

3)     They want to be socially responsible and do their part but the pocket book speaks loudly … What’s the ROI? Is this a short or long term investment?

4)    Will the end result fit with the aesthetic of the project? Will I get a label that says I’m more energy-efficient than everyone else?

Some of the more common features that customers often incorporate:

 

  • Rainwater harvesting systems for landscape irrigation;
  • LED lighting;
  • Solar retrofit program;
  • Triple glazed windows;
  • Geothermal HVAC system;
  • Slate roofing;
  • Insulated concrete forms (ICF).

While each project is definitely unique, Capuano pointed to a particular project along the Niagara Escarpment in Kilbride, Ontario, where creativity and cooperation were definitely applied in working specific sustainable features into the design.

The owner of the house had a vision for a relaxing, completely wheelchair accessible retreat where his family could enjoy the outdoors without having to leave the comforts of home.

The house is completely geothermal, has a rainwater harvesting system and is entirely spray-foam insulated. Working through a complicated appeal process with the Niagara Escarpment Commission, Chatsworth was able to come up with an alternate tertiary septic system that would fit the space. Part of that challenge was jackhammering a rock base during excavation. The result: Chatsworth completed the project and the home turned out to specification. Mission accomplished.
With the evolving sustainable landscape, Chatsworth has a constant goal – to keep up to date with the latest industry standards and techniques.

To that end, key Chatsworth team members such as Contracts Manager Nick Capuano and Office Manager Nancy Bland have attended courses to help educate them on green initiatives and developments.

Capuano became a part of a local community and professional network of green building professionals when he attained the designation of Sustainable Building Advisor. Bland has been recognized as a certified LEED Green Associate and she is regularly updated on all the latest green building practices – something that is important to both Chatsworth and its clients.

“Many people think a large luxury custom home can’t be eco-friendly, but it can be,” Blandwrote in a blog on the company website. “Our clients are increasingly concerned about being environmentally and socially responsible.”

www.chatsworthfinehomes.com
www.chatsworthproject.ca

With over 30 years of experience, Chatsworth is known for its high standards, elevated level of excellence, and dedication to the latest and finest custom construction techniques. Chatsworth’s focus is to guide clients through the complex stages of construction and make sure the time involved while building is an enjoyable and pleasant experience. Years of experience building luxury custom homes, multi-million-dollar grand estates, elaborate commercial facilities, including a luxury spa and impressive golf clubhouse, have allowed Chatsworth to excel in customer relationship management.

 

Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories

A step ahead

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Empire Communities embraces green building and with a constant eye on the future

By GREG McMILLAN
It’s one thing to talk about green building goals, it’s quite another to actually have a top-of-the-line track record that’s beyond reproach.

And as an undisputed leader in sustainable design and development, Empire Communities falls comfortably into the latter grouping.

“We strive to create the best possible homes to meet our customers’ evolving needs, and plan to continue innovating to make a positive environmental impact in the long-run,” says Paul Golini Jr., Empire Communities’ executive vice-president and co-founder.

The proof is in the track record. Empire was one of the first in the new home industry to offer Energy Star qualification – an international criterion for energy efficient consumer products – as a standard on every home, using the Energy Star name and logo as part of their green halo for the company.

Moreover, Empire is the leading new home builder in Southwestern Ontario for Energy Star and the fourth largest Energy Star builder in Canada. The company, with headquarters in Vaughn, Ontario, believes that building green is the key to building communities and homes that will benefit both the homeowner and surrounding environment.

Empire was part of the Energy Star Next Generation 2013 committee, attended the Innovative Information Home and the Green Builder Conference, while Golini Jr. serves on the board of directors of EnerQuality, a group that designs and delivers green building programs to the residential construction industry in Ontario.

When it comes to awards, Empire steps to the front of the line, as well. In 2013, 2012 and 2011, the company was named green builder of the year by the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD), a prestigious three-year run that recognizes best-in-class builders leading the way in sustainable design and development.

Empire was also awarded the green builder of the year award by EnerQuality, a company that designs and delivers green building programs to the residential construction industry in Ontario, in 2013, 2011 and 2008. The Hamilton and Halton Home Builder Association (HHHBA) also bestowed its green builder of the year award to Empire in 2008 and 2011, while the Waterloo Region Home Builder Association followed suit in 2012.

“Working in concert with private sector companies like EnerQuality and government entities like Natural Resources Canada (NrCan) has contributed to the cultivation of a very healthy collaborative building environment,” says Golini Jr. “Our combined efforts are producing structures that meet or exceed recommended green building standards, and the people of Canada are reaping the benefits with lower energy costs, and a lower impact on the environment.”

Empire adheres to the Energy Star standard set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In accordance with these guidelines, its homes include high performance windows, taped ducts for better air tightness and upgraded insulation. And Empire also utilizes products and services from Reliance Home Comfort, a leading provider of heating and cooling solutions.

Empire tends to go the extra mile when it comes to sustainability. For example, in Niagara Falls, Golini Jr. points out that its Imagine site is the most progressive green home community available to consumers from any volume builder ever in Canada. Empire has built two geothermal model homes in the community and this is available as an option for Imagine homeowners. In addition, Empire has installed an electric vehicle charging station by the presentation centre and an additional one in the garage of one of their model homes to showcase how this option would appear in the home. All in all, the initiative is yet another example of how Empire is surpassing the use of Energy Star in creative and innovative ways.

“We are the first production builder in Ontario to adopt Energy Star as a standard across all product lines and in every one of our sites in the Greater Golden Horseshoe area,” Golini Jr. says. “We constantly strive to keep up and exceed current and upcoming versions of Energy Star.

“Empire works with trades and manufacturer partners to test and measure new technologies to employ in our homes, while always having a current Discovery home in construction,” adds Golini Jr.

“We took a leading role in planning, marketing and constructing the Archetype Sustainable House project at Kortright Conservation Centre, a joint venture with BILD and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), and we are currently building an Optimum home at our Summerlea community (near Hamilton) which takes Energy Star to the next level.”

Each Empire home is carefully designed and built to reduce energy bills and promote a healthier living environment, helping residents to save money and enjoy a higher quality of life. Golini Jr. says the company also employs a green team of experts to educate homeowners on the inner workings of their new energy-efficient homes.

 

Web: http://www.empirecommunities.com/

Recognized for its outstanding attention to detail and best-in-class customer service, Empire Communities designs and builds commercial, industrial, low-rise and high rise residential, luxury new homes, and affordable housing properties. Over the past 20 years, Empire has developed some of the most successful master-planned communities in the area, including over 5,100 houses and 3,200 condominium units. Its commitment to using energy-efficient amenities and appliances sets the standard for eco-friendly living to help promote a sustainable future.

 

Architecture, Ideas, Sustainability, Trends, Wood

Safe, Strong and Sophisticated – New Construction Option to Transform Ontario Streetscapes

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By Michael Giroux

A change in construction rules for midrise buildings in Ontario will not only reduce their carbon footprint through the increased use of renewable wood products, but will also create more job opportunities and increase government tax revenues – all under one roof.

The government’s recent decision to propose amendments to the Ontario Building Code to allow for the use of wood in the construction of buildings of up to six-storeys, an increase from the current four, will provide a new construction option that fully meets the health, safety, structural and fire performance requirements of the building code.

The decision is the result of participation in a lengthy, research-driven 2015 Model National Building Code of Canada process that has involved a great deal of consultation and input from expert stakeholders, including many from Ontario’s building industry, which encourages performance focused innovation.

Changes to the Code are expected to create new economic opportunity by unlocking urban development along main-streets and along key transit routes. Both are key to human scale urban intensification – so important for sustainable communities.

These changes also allow for a new construction choice that will lead to increased competition at the building materials level, the opportunity for lower costs for homebuilders and the potential for increased affordability for homebuyers. In fact, in jurisdictions where such buildings are already permitted, there is ample evidence of cost savings of 12% or more.

Changes to the Code are also aligned with the province’s 2006 Provincial Places to Grow Growth Plan. Its vision is to take advantage of existing infrastructure to support growth in a more compact and efficient way. This includes intensification in built up areas, and the reduction of dependence on the automobile by building mixed-use, transit-supportive, pedestrian-friendly developments. The Plan also calls for a range and mix of housing, taking into account affordable housing needs.

The Ontario building industry argued in favour of these and other benefits of a Code amendment in a 2013 report called, Unlocking the Potential for Mid-Rise Buildings. The report, commissioned by the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) outlines the immense potential in neighbourhoods that have underutilized land on major avenues and corridors. It shows that mid-rise buildings are often well served by existing infrastructure and transit, and can help to meet the demand of the increasing population in cities in and around the Greater Toronto Area.

Similar changes to the British Columbia Building Code in 2009 have been credited not only for increased job creation and taxes for municipalities, but the availability of affordable housing in that province. In fact, the new wood mid-rise option is so popular with B.C. builders that more than 150 projects representing more than 250 of these buildings are either built or under construction.

The safety of these buildings isn’t an issue, as some inaccurately suggest. In fact, research shows the number of post-occupancy fire incidents does not increase with wood construction. A leading group of scientists and academics from across North America, under the direction of a team at the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) in British Columbia, recently completed a comprehensive study on the potential vulnerabilities of wood mid-rise buildings versus other building types. The research showed zero causalities across all construction types; similar injury rates across all construction types; and ultimately, remarkably similar fire spread with no distinguishable differences by construction type. As well, because of the design of these buildings and the use of active and passive fire protection systems, required in all building types, most fires were confined to between the room of origin and the floor of origin.

What’s more, the proposed 2015 Model National Fire Code contains many new provisions specific to the construction phase of 5- and 6- storey wood mid-rise building projects that address potential fire hazards and provide solutions to reduce risks. Once adopted by provinces, these new requirements make these buildings amongst the safest to build of any building types.

Safe, strong, sophisticated… we look forward to seeing this construction option, already available in other Canadian and USA jurisdictions, adopted in Ontario.

Michael Giroux is President of the Canadian Wood Council

 

Architecture, Ideas, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Trends

+HOUSE: House for a client with acute environmental sensitivities

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superkul inc. architect

uperkül inc | architect designed this unique home in Mulmur, Ontario for a client with allergies and acute sensitivities to dust, pollen, electromagnetic radiation and a long list of construction materials. +HOUSE sets a new precedent in Canadian environmental design by exceeding standard requirements without sacrificing aesthetics or appearing utilitarian. The home creates a strong connection between its own insular world and its beautiful surrounding landscape while providing a truly healthy retreat from environmental threat.

The design process began with the architect and client extensively researching and testing proposed building materials to ensure the client would not experience any adverse physical reaction. The design balances LEED criteria – the project is LEED Gold-­‐targeted – with the client’s unique requirements. In certain situations, LEED standards, such as using materials with higher recycled content, were not suitable.

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+HOUSE’s stripped down minimalism, conceptual clarity, refined details and functional spaces integrate a wealth of health sensitive technologies. The structural walls were comprised of insulated cement-­‐bonded inert wood fibre blocks that inhibit the growth of fungi and molds. The interior walls were finished with a natural clay plaster, a mold-­‐resistant product that helps regulate interior humidity and temperature, and required no paint finish. Zero VOC paint was sparingly used and was generally applied offsite to avoid gas emissions. A soy-­‐based sealer was used for the concrete polished floors and counters, and PVC-­‐free blackout roller shades and untreated silk and hemp fabric were used for the window treatments.

Sliding wood and glass doors at the front of the house pull fresh air in from the south, and skylights and clerestory windows on the north wall circulate it out, cooling the house. During pollen season, the owners can seal the interior and turn on the air conditioning generated by a pond-­‐loop geothermal system, which also heats the house via a radiant floor system. Ducts were installed with hospital grade filters. Electrical conduit was run vertically rather than horizontally to minimize the creation of fatigue-­‐inducing electromagnetic fields. Construction required special protocols – no solvents, no gasoline-­‐fired tools, and no combustion heaters.

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Despite the house’s health-­‐conscious and sustainable agenda, contemporary design feels like its impetus. The open concept interior feels welcoming and airy. A mostly opaque northern wall is sheltering while the fourteen-­‐foot high triple-­‐paned glass south wall provides extensive day-­‐lighting and expansive views of the landscape and access to a long cedar deck. Cloaked by a green roof that extends the natural slope of the land, the design blurs the distinction between inside and out.

The site’s existing natural conditions were preserved and enhanced where possible. Built into a hill overlooking a pond, this linear house sits on the footprint of a previous dwelling. Nearly a dozen mature trees were transplanted to a local nursery to protect them during construction and replanted once the house was complete. Low-­‐maintenance local grasses and plantings reduce irrigation, and integrate with the local ecosystem. A permeable driveway mitigates storm water run-­‐off.

This carefully considered house exemplifies a new architectural approach that marries aesthetic and environmental concerns to create thoughtful domestic spaces that are balanced, natural and sustainable.

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