9 minute read
Getting onside with sustainability High-performance buildings
GETTING ONSIDE WITH SUSTAINABILITY
By Mark Halsall
The kitchen in Integral Group’s new office space in the Telus Sky building is one example of sustainable building practices. It was built using largely re-used or recovered materials, including a butcher block countertop from a demolition project, wall finishings from used crates, and excess tiles from a previous project. Photo: Integral Group.
Terms like sustainable building and green construction are becoming more commonplace these days as the movement to construct highly energy efficient buildings as a climate change solution continues to gain momentum in Canada and around the world.
Matt Grace is a green engineering specialist who’s been helping create sustainable buildings in Calgary for 14 years. In his mind, sustainability is definitely something building contractors should lean into as an opportunity. “This is something that you have to look at as a contractor in Calgary because it’s going to happen anyway whether contractors buy into it or not,” says Grace, managing principal at Integral Group’s Calgary design studio.
“All of the data shows that the built environment is our biggest opportunity for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, so we cannot deliver a more sustainable future without our industry buying in,” he adds.
“For the construction industry, the opportunity is there to contribute to the solution and make yourself stand out as someone that knows how to deliver more sustainable buildings.”
Grace and the Integral Group specialize in zerocarbon or carbonneutral buildings, which are designed and operated in ways that achieve net zerocarbon emissions. Popular zerocarbon strategies include: • Using a passive design approach; • Designing a highperformance building envelope; • Specifying energy efficient HVAC systems, lighting, and appliances; • Installing onsite renewable energy.
Grace notes that while there are many ways to reduce a building’s environmental impact, a green building still needs to be highly functional.
“If a building is not doing what it’s supposed to do, then it cannot be sustainable because it’s not fulfilling the purpose it was designed for,” he says.
Grace believes this is where contractors can make an important contribution to sustainable building projects, especially if there’s an integrated project delivery approach that enables them to provide practical feedback or advice early on about what will work and what will be cost effective.
“The opportunity for the contractors is to help look at the building as a whole, to look at it as a system,” he says. “A classic example of how mechanical engineering can work in harmony with the building envelope is if you make your windows and your walls well insulated enough, you might be able to take out all of those perimeter heaters. By improving the insulation, you can make the
space inside really comfortable, really resilient, and you could potentially eliminate the need for a bunch of systems and save the client some money short term and long term.”
Grace maintains it’s important to recognize that with sustainable building, there can be risk as well as opportunity. “Sustainability is one of those terms that’s used very widely, but it is often misunderstood and misused,” he says. “Sustainability changes with time and it changes with location and it changes project by project.”
As an example, Grace points out that a green building that only factors in today’s climate conditions could present problems in the future. “When we get more extreme weather events or if the building just can’t cope with greater fluctuations in temperature, that’s going to create a potential situation of conflict. And so, it’s in everybody’s interest to look at addressing that risk right now,” he says.
Grace points out there are solutions to help “futureproof” green buildings, such as including the capability for future ventilation upgrades or building in resilience against punishing weather events in the future, and he believes building contractors can play an important role in this respect.
“You could actually have that conversation with the client and ask, ‘What is your risk tolerance? This will be fine now, but in 10 years’ time this might not be functioning as well if the climate change predictions are accurate,’” he says.
“It’s a real opportunity to show that as a contractor, you understand the opportunities and you understand the different ways of looking at sustainability.”
Grace believes it’s best to have a discussion like this right at the beginning of a project and if possible, to get something in writing if there’s clear agreement.
“When you’re starting construction, if the documents you’re bidding on are not clear on what the sustainable design goals are for the project, you need to ask that question because that represents a risk,” he says. “When a building isn’t doing what it’s supposed to do, then that’s when everybody starts falling out with each other, and it gets messy. So, we can avoid a lot of that by having that early conversation.”
FOR THE BUILD & BEYOND
Trotter & Morton was established in 1927 as a plumbing and heating company. Through over 90 years of dedicated leadership and hard work, we have become a diverse group of building trades experts. Our broad portfolio of Technologies, expertise and knowledge allows us to better serve our partners and clients as a single-source contractor. Be it Commercial or Industrial, Electrical, Mechanical or Fabrication you can find it all at Trotter & Morton.
Vancouver to Winnipeg, Seattle to San Antonio and Calgary to Kansas City we are the people that make buildings work. From the first shovel to the final build to ongoing maintenance, we’ve got the entire lifecycle of your building covered. We are there for the build and beyond. View of the Rocky Mountains from Integral Group’s new office space in the Telus Sky building. The glass box was incorporated into the design as a way to showcase any construction waste that could not otherwise be diverted from a landfill. Matt Grace of Integral says the general contractor Eton West was so effective in implementing the project’s Construction Waste Management Plan that all waste was recycled or re-used – which is why the glass box is empty. Photo: Integral Group.
OUR WESTERN CANADA REBAR FABRICATION LOCATIONS
Grace says because sustainability can be a shifting target, contractors should not assume that what they did on their last green building will be the same on the next.
“My advice is to make sure you know what your client wants, expect the goals and the targets will change from project to project, and identify sustainability as something where you can differentiate yourself, you can stand out. But you also need to take the time to make sure you mitigate the potential risks in this.”
Grace considers Calgary to be quite a green city already — “It can be an amazingly sustainable place to live” — and he believes programs such as a new lending program for funding retrofit projects being offered by the Canada Infrastructure Bank as part of Ottawa’s COVID19 recovery plans will make it even greener.
“We’ve got a lot of existing buildings, some of which are empty, ripe for renovation and repurposing,” says Grace. “I believe we’re going to see people thinking about these buildings very differently and getting very creative with what they do with them. I don’t think we’re going to be building an awful lot of new buildings in the near future, but there will be a lot of retrofits.” n
The Heights is a multi-unit residential building completed in Vancouver in 2017. It is Passive House certified, and according to Vancouver Green Building Program manager Sean Pander, The Heights is a great example of how a project designer, builder, and developer can work together and achieve success on a collaborative sustainable building project. Photo: City of Vancouver.
GOING GREEN IN VANCOUVER
Sean Pander manages the Green Building Program in Vancouver, which has the lofty goal of becoming the world’s Greenest City. The program first established by Vancouver City Council in 2011 is making lots of headway in that regard, thanks to a sustainable building strategy crafted in large part by Pander. “The first part of formulating vision or a plan is being very, very clear on the outcomes that you’re trying to achieve. What is the objective, and what are the problems you’re trying to solve?” Pander asks. He suggests that once a clear vision and goals are in place, the next step is to gather relevant data and set measurable targets for the major components of the sustainable building plan. “I think a third step is really understanding that you can’t advance high performance without significant regard to how the building will function or how it’s used,” he says. “We realized that for us to be successful long term, we couldn’t roll out these buildings that might be great for the environment, but people didn’t to want to live in or they couldn’t be productive in.” Pander says part of what makes Vancouver Green Team’s sustainable building strategy successful is that there’s been a lot of input from innovation leaders in the private sector. “We found that there was a significant minority of experienced designers and developers who really were keen to improve how buildings were built and improve their performance,” he says. “They revealed to us things that we didn’t think were possible were actually not that hard, and some things that we thought were working well, weren’t working at all.”
Jamal Issa, Operations Manager 674 Cougar Ridge Dr. SW Calgary, AB T3H 4W9 Office: 587-483-7800 Cell: 403-807-7732 jissa@ugexcavating.com www.ugexcavating.com
Specializing in:
* Water & Wastewater Pumps, Controls & Equipment
* Pool & Spa Equipment ‐ Commercial & Residential * Water Treatment Equipment
* Booster Pump Skid Packages * Packaged Lift Stations, Water & Wastewater Treatment Plants
Calgary
11346 ‐ 42nd Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, T2C 5C4 Tel: 403‐287‐0256 Fax: 403‐243‐7218 Toll Free: 1‐800‐665‐7867 Edmonton
#101, 17860 ‐ 106a Ave. Edmonton, Alberta, T5S 1V3 Tel: 780‐487‐5100 Fax: 780‐487‐8055 Toll Free: 1‐888‐487‐9188
