Heating, Cooling & Ventilation

• The building is designed to use less than a third of the energy in operation as compared to a similar building constructed to Code.
• The heating and cooling system is decoupled from the ventilation system, preventing wasted energy due to over-ventilation and diminished environmental quality due to under-ventilation.
• Heating and cooling are delivered primarily through a hybrid hydronic heat pump system. Hybrid heat pumps are able to take the advantages of a distributed heat pump system in cooling mode as well as the advantages of fan coils in heating mode, yielding higher seasonal efficiency as compared to either system on its own.
• An independent CO2 sensor controlled ventilation system (served by a make-up air unit with heat recovery) delivers outdoor air as required to maintain healthy levels, independent of the need for heating or cooling. When CO2 levels are elevated, CO2 sensors cause variable air volume boxes to open, and allow more outdoor air to be delivered.
• Process loads have also been carefully designed for performance. One such innovative feature includes a system that filters and re-circulates exhaust air in the shop spaces.
• The bio-filter wall is a focus of the atrium and plays an active role in the air system, filtering undesirable VOCs & CO2. A return bypass is provided to allow regeneration or servicing of the bio-wall, as well as the management of humidification.

Building Envelope

Roof – R-48 to R-53:

• A green roof covers 57% of the roof surface.
• Vegetative areas, planted with sedum in self-irrigating felts, are organized into courtyards, each with a dominant species. The southern-most courtyard contains all the species together as a climax forest and site-specific eco-system.
• The roof assembly uses approximately 8'' of polyisocyanurate insulation at various depths.
• Non-vegetated surfaces (rooftop and at grade) are covered with highly reflective materials to further decrease the heat-island effect. These include light-coloured concrete and concrete pavers with an SRI of greater than 29.

Wall – R-27 to R-41 (assembly):

• Wall type 1: insulated metal panels with 4 inches of R-7.7/inch insulation (long term R-value)
• Wall type 2: brick walls with 4 inches of sprayed form insulation.
• Both have minimal thermal bridging.

Foundation floors with radiant heating and exposed floors have 2 inches of extruded polystyrene insulation under the slab.

The windows and skylights are triple glazed and were selected with maximum visible light transmittance and thermal performance (Centre of glass U-value = 0.13).