Building August September 2009 by IQ Business Media

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Volume 59 Number 4

august/september 2009

Editor

Peter Sobchak Legal Editor

Jeffrey W. Lem Contributors

Stephen Carpenter, Steven W. Peck, Rhys Phillips, Louis Poirier, Don Procter, David G. Reiner, David Shum Art Director

Ellie Robinson Circulation Manager

Beata Olechnowicz Tel: (416) 416-442-5600 ext 3543 Reader Services

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Jordy Bellotto Tel: (416) 510-6780 Fax: (416) 510-5140 Senior Publisher

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Alex Papanou President, Business Information Group (BIG)

Bruce Creighton Building magazine is published by Business Information Group, a division of BIG magazines LP 12 Concord Place, Suite 800, Toronto, ON M3C 4J2 Tel: (416) 510-6780 Fax: (416) 510-5140 Email: info@building.ca Website: www.building.ca SUBSCRIPTION RATE: Canada: 1 year, $28.95; 2 years, $51.00; 3 years, $62.95. (including G.S.T.) U.S.: 1 year, $36.95 (U.S. funds) Elsewhere: 1 year, $43.95 (U.S. funds).

Features 12. Tax Harmony in Lotus Land / Although British Columbia has now jumped aboard the harmonized sales tax bandwagon, those in the new home construction industry are still unsure of its long-term implications. By Jeffrey W. Lem and David G. Reiner

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15. Wake up and smell the IFRS / You better get ready, because a new standard in

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18. What would Suzuki do? / In aiming to be the first LEED Platinum certified school

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financial reporting intended to fill the ga(a)p in asset valuation is coming our way. By Louis Poirier & David Shum building in Canada, the new Dr. David Suzuki Public School is hoping to inspire the spirit of earth stewardship that its name embodies. By Don Procter Active Healthy Living is an innovative educational facility that unites a solid programmatic response with equally solid public architecture and urban design. By Rhys Phillips

26. Green roofing hits a growth spurt / With fresh policies and programmes coming into play in recent months, aided by new initiatives from organizations such as Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, it appears the green roof industry is taking root. By Steven W. Peck

Departments 6 Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Notes

8 Upfront

29 Infosource

30 Viewpoint

Cover: Bill Crothers School for Athletics & Active Healthy Living by ZAS Architects. Photo by Brenda Liu Photography Above images courtesy of: Brenda Liu Photography, McLean + Associates Architects, Sharp & Diamond Landscape Architecture Inc.

editor’s notes

A cloudy crystal ball An often repeated expression — sometimes referred to euphemistically as the Chinese curse — says “May you live in interesting times.” We have certainly been doing that. But has the curse loosened its grip? After months of unremitting bad news, global markets have recently been showing glimmers of improvement. By May 20th, the S&P/TSX Composite had risen 35 per cent from its March low to over 10,000 points. U.S. financial stocks, the eye of the storm, were up 93 per cent from their March lows. Although words like “recovery” are bandied around a lot lately when discussing financial markets, don’t break out the bubbly just yet, since historically the stock market tends to recover in advance of the overall economy and as any student in macroeconomics can tell you, individual sectors follow at different paces. That said, the scuttle bug seems to no longer sound like the pages of the Book of Revelations. In fact, word on the street is that we seem to be past the worst of it. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel and it isn’t the headlamp of an oncoming train. In the U.S., sales of new single-family homes jumped 11 per cent month to month in June, and although still exceptionally low historically, they have been trending gradually higher throughout this year. Combined with low numbers of unsold units on the market, the feeling of revival is in the air. In Canada, new home sales have been trending upward throughout 2009 as well, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Housing starts are expected to rebound in the second half of 2009 and will reach 141,900 for the year. Starts will increase to 150,300 for 2010, according to CMHC’s third quarter Housing Market Outlook, Canada Edition report.

Strong home sales in the summer have prompted the Canadian Real Estate Association to dramatically increase its forecast for sales figures for this year. The agency is now predicting 432,600 units will change hands this year. That’s only 0.4 per cent below the 2008 figure, and it’s significantly more than the 14.7 per cent sales decline the agency was forecasting as recently as May. Improving activity on the resale market and lower inventory levels in both the new and existing home markets are expected to prompt builders to increase residential construction. And as we all know, improvement in housing markets means growing strength in secondary markets. But it’s not happy-time yet for every sector. According to a Mid-Year National Investment Report released by CB Richard Ellis, Canadian commercial real estate transaction volumes from January through June shrunk by 51 per cent, year-overyear, from $10 billion halfway through 2008 to $4.9 billion halfway into 2009. Mid-year through 2009, the number of commercial transactions was 1,569, down from 2,542 transactions completed half way through 2008. Still, according to the heads of four of Canada’s largest real estate brokerages in a September 1 article in The Globe and Mail, the worst is likely over and the Canadian commercial real estate market should over the next 12 to 18 months slowly return to normal activity in buying and selling, leasing and even construction. This recession, the four agree, has not been as devastating for the industry as the early 1990s. We’ll feel it for a long time, no doubt, but the real question — and the one you can expect to hear at cocktail parties this autumn — is what have we learned from it? B

Peter Sobchak

Building welcomes your opinions. E-mail your comments to editor@building.ca

WATCH Toronto’s 21st century Waterfront Vision / In a two-part series, John W. Campbell, president and CEO of WATERFRONTORONTO, discusses the vision for the future of Toronto’s waterfront and the role played by both the private sector and the government.

READ Cohousing: An Old Idea - A Contemporary Approach / In an excerpt from his new book, Charles Durrett, principal at McCamant & Durrett in Nevada City, CA, discusses the psychological and logistical aspects of senior cohousing, and addresses common concerns, fears, and misunderstandings. 0-60 in 120 Days / HD Supply Utilities’ new office complex in Colborne, Ont. got up and running in four months thanks to a design/build collaboration.

ATTEND Public Sector Facilities and Infrastructure Asset Management / September 15-16 / Toronto IIDEX/NeoCon Canada / September 23-26 / Toronto Contech Building Events Trade Show / October 20 / Québec City Canadian Resort Investment Conference / October 21-22 / Calgary Canadian Brownfields 2009 / October 26-29 / Vancouver

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upfront

Diamond and Schmitt to design the new Mariinsky Theatre

ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA — Diamond and Schmitt Architects of Toronto has been selected to design the new Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, which will add 2,000 seats to the growing Mariinsky complex. The existing Mariinsky Theatre, opened in 1860, has been home to premieres and residencies by composers such as Mussorgsky, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Rimsky-Korsakov, Shostakovitch, Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky.

The New Mariinsky Theatre is funded entirely by the Russian Government, and administered by the Ministry of Culture, which hosted the design competition for architects earlier this year. Diamond and Schmitt will be working closely with the St. Petersburg architects KB ViPS. The budget for the new Theatre is $295 million with a projected completion date of 2011. The New Mariinsky will complement both the existing Mariinsky Theatre located in Teatralnaya Square directly across the canal from the site of the new theatre, as well as the new Mariinsky Theatre Concert Hall, a 1,200 seat facility two blocks west which opened in 2007.

Enermodal named one of the fastest growing firms in North America

KITCHENER, Ont. — Enermodal Engineering of Kitchener, Ont. was named to the ZweigWhite HotFirm 2009 list, with 35 per cent annual revenue growth over the past three years. The annual list of 200 North American architecture, engineering, and environmental companies calculates the fastest growing firms based on the percentage and dollar increase in revenue over the past three years. ZweigWhite is the largest engineering and architecture research and marketing organization in North America. This is Enermodal’s first time on the list, and they are one of only four Canadian companies on the HotFirm list, joining MTE (also of Kitchener), Trow Global Inc., Group 2, and Golder Associates. This September, Enermodal will move into a larger office

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space (designed by Enermodal employees) to accommodate its growing size (100 employees across North America). Named A Grander View, this office is predicted to be the most energy efficiency office in Canada using 75kWh/m2 and achieve LEED Platinum certification.

New BOMA BESt certification categories

TORONTO — The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Canada’s environmental certification program, BOMA BESt, which stands for Building Environmental Standards, now includes three new categories: light industrial properties, enclosed shopping centres and open air retail properties such as plazas and power centres. The new BOMA BESt certification process for retail and industrial properties is consistent with the existing program, including an online assessment, followed by a third-party on-site verification. The best practices for BOMA BESt certification are standard across all asset classes. Industrial sector buildings that achieve BOMA BESt certification will be the properties that stand out and offer their tenants greater opportunities to go green within their space. Energy benchmarking and management are important parts of the BOMA BESt assessment for these properties, which may include warehousing, light manufacturing and flex space. Similarly, retail properties certified through BOMA BESt will be the properties that also demonstrate sound environmental management, strong performance and a forward thinking team of managers.

Lafarge launches product guide for LEED project certification

HERNDON, VA — Lafarge has launched a new online tool for design professionals, primarily architects and engineers, designed to help them find Lafarge products that can be specified to help meet green building requirements under the LEED rating system. This online version replaces the former print document, and meets U.S. and Canadian LEED requirements. While the Guide currently features Lafarge Cement and Gypsum products, Lafarge plans to soon add other Lafarge products and green building rating systems. After requiring the user to enter the project postal code, the Guide allows the user to enter search criteria by product or LEED credit category. Products matching search criteria, and that are available within the MRc5.1-5.2 Regional Materials credit radius of the project, are displayed for the user to review. Each product listing includes a description of the product and an explanation of how that product can help contribute to achieving points in particular LEED credit categories. Credit categories include Sustainable Site Selection, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality and Innovation in Design.

upfront

Weak economy continues to weigh on Toronto’s office market

TORONTO — The economic downturn continues to shift Toronto’s office market further in favour of tenants as vacancy rates advance upwards reaching 5.7 per cent at the end of June 2009. These vacancy rate levels are equivalent to 10.4 million square feet, not seen since late 2007, and are coupled by a 6.4 per cent decline in the Average Asking Net Rent, currently at $17.58 per square foot, down from last year’s peak level of $18.79 in the third quarter of 2008. According to the Colliers International 2009 Semi-annual Office Market Report and Forecast, the GTA office market is expected to face this challenging economic environment until early 2011 with a further increase in vacancy levels between seven and eight per cent, and a continued decline in Asking Net Rent anticipated to fall below $13 per square foot. The study also reveals that landlords are not the only ones in a pinch. Squeezed by the economic downturn and staff reductions, a growing number of tenants are pushing unneeded office space back to the market in the form of sublistings. While weaker market conditions are forecasted across GTA sub-markets over the next 18 months, downtown and the west end of the city could be impacted the most. This is due to the large scale of construction projects that are about to inject over five million square feet of new office space.

Cadillac Fairview makes two strong acquisitions

MONTREAL and NEW YORK — The Cadillac Fairview Corporation has acquired the Windsor Station complex and other real estate assets from The Canadian Pacific Railway Company located at 1160 De la Gauchetiere in downtown Montreal. Originally built between 1887 and 1889 to serve as both a station and the head office for the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, additions were made to the building and surrounding lands between 1900-1906, 1909 -1914 and 19531954 to evolve with the needs and times of a growing cosmo-

politan city. Windsor Station currently houses more than 300,000 square feet of leasable office space and serves as an important hub for commuters to access the Montreal underground and Montreal Metro subway system. Canadian Pacific intends to remain a longterm tenant of the building. Additionally, Cadillac Fairview and long-time partner, The Macerich Partnership, L.P., the operating partnership of Macerich, has initiated a joint venture in Macerich’s dominant New York City asset, Queens Center (pictured below). Under the terms of the deal, an affiliate of Cadillac Fairview acquired 49 per cent interest in the asset and Macerich received approximately $150 million in net cash. This is the eighth regional shopping centre to be joint ventured for the two entities. Queens Center is a 966,499-sq.-ft. urban retail development in the borough of Queens, is anchored by a JCPenney and Macy’s department stores and includes 165 other specialty retailers and restaurants.

Aecon reports record revenue in second quarter

TORONTO — Aecon Group Inc., Canada’s largest public construction firm, reported record second-quarter revenue increases to $613 million, driven largely by Lockerbie and South Rock acquisitions, compared with $438-million for the same time last year. However net income dipped to $9.9 million from $15.6-million, or $0.18 per diluted share in the quarter from $15.6 million ($0.31 per diluted share) in the same period last year. With EBITDA (representing income from operations before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation, amortization and non-controlling interests) up slightly to $33.2 million from $32.9 million in the second quarter of 2008 and backlog reaching $1.66 billion, outlook remains positive overall, says John M. Beck, Chairman and CEO, Aecon Group Inc. “Notwithstanding the current economic and financial environment, I continue to believe that Aecon’s strong backlog and the relative durability of our Infrastructure and Buildings markets bode well for continued strong financial performance throughout 2009 and into 2010.” Operating profit (representing income from operations before interest expense, income taxes and noncontrolling interests) decreased to $18.2 million from $26.5 million in the same quarter last year, as decreases in the Infrastructure and Industrial segments offset increases in the Buildings and Concessions segments.

Toronto City Council adopts mandatory green roof requirements

TORONTO — The City of Toronto has passed a new green roof by-law that consists of a green roof construction standard and a mandatory requirement for green roofs on all classes of new buildings. The by-law requires up to 50 per cent green roof coverage on multi-unit residenbuilding

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upfront

tial dwellings over six storeys, schools, non-profit housing, commercial and industrial buildings. Larger residential projects require greater green roof coverage, ranging anywhere from 20 to 50 per cent of the roof area. Chicago remains the number one city for the most green roofs installed in 2008, according to Green Roofs for Healthy Cities’ Annual Green Roof Industry Survey. The mandatory by-law in Toronto may change that, resulting in approximately 50 to 75 new projects annually. Toronto already requires green roofs on city-owned properties, has established a financial incentive of up to $5 per square foot for existing buildings, and is currently building a publicly accessible green roof on its city hall.

Calgary office building sold to German bank

CALGARY — Commerz Real AG, a fully-owned subsidiary of Germany-based Commerzbank AG, has acquired the newly completed 161,700-sq.-ft. office building, Stampede Station Phase I (pictured below), located in the Beltline on Macleod Trail northbound directly across from Stampede Park, for approximately $74 million. This is Commerz Real AG’s first foray into the Canadian office market, having previously focused on shopping centers across the country. The property is fully leased on a long-term basis, and was a joint development by Calgary-based Opus Building Corporation and Alberta-based WAM Development Group. The tower was completed in January 2009 and had its public grand opening in

June. Tenants include IHS Energy, Tundra Engineering, Enerflex Systems and ATB Financial.

RAIC welcomes new president

OTTAWA — The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) has elected Ranjit (Randy) K. Dhar, FRAIC president for 2009-10. Dhar is a longtime member of the RAIC Board, former president of the Ontario Association of Architects, an Hon. Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, and a Fellow of the Canadian Design-Build Institute. Combined with lengthy service to AIA National and experience as an employee of Public Works and Government Services Canada, his advocacy for the profession extends provincially, nationally and internationally. He holds international acclaim in the field of Justice Architecture having been responsible for organizing and chairing several international conferences on Justice Architecture, a national biennial Student Design Competition Award in Justice Architecture in Canada, supported with $95,000 raised for the AIA Third International conference.

Brookfield launches US$4 billion real estate turnaround consortium

TORONTO — Brookfield Asset Management Inc. and Brookfield Properties Corporation announced the formation of a US$4 billion Investor Consortium dedicated to investing in under-performing real estate. The Consortium will invest in equity and debt in under-valued real estate companies or real estate portfolios where value can be created for stakeholders in a variety of ways, including financial and operational restructuring, strategic direction or sponsorship, portfolio repositioning, redevelopment or other active asset management. Investments will be targeted at corporate property restructurings with a minimum US$500 million equity commitment, and pursued on a global basis, but with a focus on North America, Europe and Australasia. In addition to Brookfield, the participants in the Consortium consist of a number of institutional real estate investors who have each allocated between US$300 million and US$1 billion to the Consortium. Brookfield has allocated US$1 billion to the Consortium with opportunities in the office sector being funded by Brookfield Properties, at its option, and opportunities in other sectors being funded by Brookfield Asset Management. The Consortium participants have expertise in investing across different geographies and property types and this expertise will be pooled together to maximum advantage in individual investment opportunities.

CFB Gagetown gets LEED Silver certification

OTTAWA – In achieving LEED Silver certification, the Department of National Defence’s (DND) Gagetown Training Quarters Accommodations in Oromocto, N.B. is both the first Canadian defence force training and accommodations facility and the first residential facility in New Brunswick to receive LEED certification. Given Gagetown’s proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, the DND wanted to make an extra effort to minimize water use while also

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upfront

ensuring local water supplies were not polluted during building construction or operation. Therefore, four 300-litre cisterns were installed to collect rainwater from the building’s roof to operate dual-flush toilets reducing the overall need for potable water. High energy efficiency is achieved through an air-tight building envelope to reduce heat loss, an energy efficient condensing water boiler, and an energy recovery unit installed on two air make-up units to recycle the heat expelled from the building. Operable windows and controls in occupied areas allow residents to control their own lighting and temperature. Highly effective MERV 13 filters were installed in the two make up air units and recessed floor grilles at the main entrances to improve air quality. The design team used innovative strategies to decrease the amount of material used in the building. Nearly $800,000 of recycled material including steel, gypsum board, plastic laminates, plywood, and glass was used to construct Gagetown TQA. A quarter of the building materials, like concrete, asphalt, and crushed rock, are from regional sources, and during construction, 66 per cent of waste was diverted from the landfill to be recycled or reused elsewhere. The 135,302-sq.-ft., 247-bed residential facility is part of an overall departmental program to modernize Canadian Forces accommodations across the country.

Housing starts slump but expected to rise

OTTAWA — Housing starts declined in July from where they were in June but are expected to rise later this year, says Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts decreased to 132,100 units in July from 137,800 units in June, mostly because of the multiple-units segment that includes condos and apartment buildings. “The slight decline in July’s housing starts is mostly attributable to the volatile multiple starts segment,” said Bob Dugan, Chief Economist at CMHC’s Market Analysis Centre. “Although July registered a decline, housing starts are expected to improve throughout 2009.” Over the next several years, housing starts will

gradually become more closely aligned to demographic demand, which is currently estimated at about 175,000 units per year. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts decreased 5.5 per cent to 113,500 units in July. Urban multiple starts decreased nine per cent to 61,000 units, while urban single starts moved down 1.1 per cent to 52,500 units in July. July’s seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased 16.6 per cent in Quebec. Urban starts declined 17 per cent in the Prairies, 15 per cent in Ontario, 10 per cent in British Columbia, and 1.4 per cent in Atlantic Canada. Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 18,600 units in July.

Manitoba Hydro Place wins Tall Building Award

TORONTO — Manitoba Hydro Place, designed by Toronto architectural firm KPMB, has won the 2009 Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) Best Tall Building Award for the Americas region, one of four regions for the Award. The other winners are in three regions: Linked Hybrid Building, Beijing for Asia & Australasia, The Broadgate Tower, London for Europe, and Tornado Tower, Doha for the Middle East & Africa. One of these four projects will be recognized as the “2009 Best Tall Building Overall” at the 2009 Awards Dinner to be held on October 22nd. According to the CTBUH website: “Manitoba Hydro Place stands apart as the first of the next generation of sustainable buildings that use simple, time-tested and repeatable concepts in conjunction with science and technology to achieve a “living building” that interprets and reacts to its physical environment. An advancement over the traditional method to achieve energy savings – of isolation from the elements through highly insulated and sealed construction, Manitoba Hydro Place achieves this next generation design by creating architecture that is designed to be responsive to the client’s vision and scope while optimizing the use of passive free energy by establishing “communication” between the inner and outer world, all without compromise to human comfort.” building

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legal

BY JEFFREY W. LEM AND DAVID G. REINER

Tax Harmony In Lotus Land

Although British Columbia has now jumped aboard the harmonized sales tax bandwagon, those in the new home construction industry are still unsure of its long-term implications. Well, it was probably bound to happen. After Ontario committed to the harmonization of its eight per cent retail sales tax with the five per cent federal Goods and Services Tax earlier this year in the spring budget, other provinces are now jumping on the harmonization bandwagon. Although, for the longest time, a harmo-

Both the British Columbia rebate system and the Ontario enhanced version of the rebate are revenue neutral at $400,000 and below, but burdens all homes above $400,000 with a greater overall sales tax burden than would have been the case before harmonization

nized sales tax was a creature only of the Maritimes (excluding, curiously, P.E.I.), the movement is drifting westward, buoyed, no doubt, by federal government grants to aid harmonization transition. In a press release on July 23, 2009, British Columbia announced that it will become the sixth province to harmonize its sales taxes. Other provinces are expected to follow suit, with Manitoba expected to be next in line. By combining British Columbia’s current seven per cent provincial sales tax (commonly referred to as the “social services tax” because it is levied under the Social Service Tax Act) with the five per cent federal Goods and Services Tax, British Columbia will move forward with a unified 12 per cent HST. At 12 per cent, British Columbia will be boasting the lowest overall HST rate of all the provinces then harmonizing sales taxes, beating Ontario’s 13 per cent HST and the Maritime Provinces’ 15 per cent HST. British Columbia is set to launch its new HST concurrent with Ontario in July of 2010. While there is no objection to merging two similar taxes from two levels of government into a more efficient single tax, the problem comes for those industries that, but for sales tax harmo-

Jeffrey W. Lem, B.Comm. (U of T), LL.B. (Osgoode), LL.M. (Osgoode), practises in the areas of commercial real estate and finance with the law firm of Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, and has been called to the bar in Ontario, England and Wales. He is an executive member of the Real Property Section of the Ontario Bar Association and is editor-in-chief of the Real Property Reports, published by Carswell Thomson Professional Publishing. David G. Reiner, B.Comm. (Concordia), LL.B. (Osgoode) is an associate practising in the area of commercial real estate at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP and is called to the Bar in Ontario. This article provides general information only and is not intended to provide specific legal advice. Readers should not act or rely on information in this article without seeking specific legal advice on their particular fact situations.

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legal

nization, would otherwise have been exempt from provincial taxation. Services, in particular (such as the haircut at the local barber featured in this column in the June/July 2009 edition of Building), will, after harmonization, have to charge full HST (including the provincial sales tax component thereof), where before they attracted no provincial sales taxes at all. What’s worse, there seems to be no particular provincial tax policy driving the taxation of so many new businesses -- the de facto imposition of provincial sales tax on these new businesses seems to be nothing more than a random consequence (albeit a profitable one for provincial coffers) of achieving collection efficiencies. New home construction is one of the rare, non-service industries that will also attract de facto provincial sales taxation after harmonization. While marginally lower in its starting rate, the British Columbia HST model shares an approach towards the new home construction industry similar to that of Ontario. Like in Ontario, newly constructed British Columbia homes previously attracted no direct provincial sales tax liability (although the provincial sales tax on construction materials resulted in a latent provincial sales tax at an estimated rate of two per cent on the cost of a new home). New homes purchased in British Columbia after July 1, 2010 will attract the 12 per cent HST, subject however to a partial rebate on the provincial portion thereof equal to five per cent of the purchase price, to a maximum of $20,000. In theory, this formulation is tax neutral for a new home under $400,000 (actually there remains a notional two per cent HST on sub-$400,000 new homes, but this two per cent HST simply replaces the equivalent amount in PST that is no longer collected on the cost of building materials). British Columbia did not make the same mistake as Ontario did in Ontario’s 2009 spring budget. As originally contemplated in the 2009 budget, Ontario would offer, in connection with the provincial component of the HST: (i) a 75 per cent reduction in homes costing up to $400,000; (ii) a graduated reduction in the rebate for homes costing between $400,000 and $500,000; and (iii) no rebate at all on homes costing over $500,000. In June of 2009, Ontario revised its policy position on mid-market and luxury housing and “enhanced” the rebate structure. As currently enhanced, Ontario will provide a 75 per cent rebate against the provincial portion of the HST on all new home construction and rental stock (no matter what the price), but in each case only to a maximum of $24,000. Both the British Columbia rebate system and the Ontario enhanced version of the rebate are revenue neutral at $400,000 and below, but burden all homes above $400,000 with a greater overall sales tax burden than would have been the case before harmonization. All this at a time when most political agendas are looking to stimulate, not hinder, construction and in provinces with large metropolises like Toronto and Vancouver, where the sale price of many if not most new homes

“Let me get this right -- they’ve threatened to gouge out both of your eyeballs from their sockets for no real reason at all, but then later say that they’ve changed their minds and have decided to gouge out only one of your eyeballs for no real reason at all – and for this you want me to sound grateful and call their policy ‘enlightened’?” easily exceeds the $400,000 threshold. In our June/July 2009 column in Building magazine, we implied that the Ontario government’s enhanced rebate for new home construction would effectively eliminate the provincial portion of the HST on all new home purchases in Ontario. Alas, and by way of a correction, while Ontario’s enhanced rebate for new home construction will significantly ameliorate the added sales tax burden on mid-market and luxury housing (at least visà-vis the position adopted in the spring budget), it nonetheless falls short of eliminating the de facto provincial sales tax burden on the portion of the housing prices in excess of the notional $400,000 threshold. Of course, most observers still agree that, from the perspective of the buying public and home and condo builders throughout the province, Ontario’s enhanced rebate policy is far more enlightened and much better tax policy than the spring budget version that it replaces. That said, one very wise industry veteran was not so charitable, describing the resulting de facto provincial sales tax burden on new housing as follows: “Let me get this right -- they’ve threatened to gouge out both of your eyeballs from their sockets for no real reason at all, but then later say that they’ve changed their minds and have decided to gouge out only one of your eyeballs for no real reason at all – and for this you want me to sound grateful and call their policy ‘enlightened’?” Whether or not the new home building industry in both provinces will end up bloodied and wearing prosthetic eyeballs as a result of sales tax harmonization remains to be seen, but British Columbia, by adopting an HST policy towards that province’s new home building industry that is substantively similar to Ontario’s enhanced rebate approach, has probably now set the norm for the harmonization of the remaining provinces. B building

august/september 2009

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By Louis Poirier & David Shum

WAKE UP

and smell the IFRS

asset. The real estate assets will be recorded at Fair Value for every reporting period. This will involve baseline valuations and revaluations on a regular basis. Prior to IFRS, countries essentially followed similar procedures known as GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles). Opponents of GAAP suggest that generally accepted practices were simply not consistent and did not offer a true picture of the reporting company’s real estate asset profile. Without delving into this particular debate, the proponents of IFRS believe that by reporting real estate assets at Fair Value, it paints a more accurate picture of the financial position of the company vis-à-vis the market value of the real estate held. Recent financial fiascos such as Madoff Investment Securities and Stanford Financial may have been avoided (or detected earlier) if independent valuation experts were mandated to review asset values on a regular basis. By utilizing valuation experts as part of their IFRS conversion, companies will provide shareholders and regulators with reporting that has greater comparability and transparency. This will allow companies to gain access to increased capital, funding and investment opportunities from within Canada and around the world.

You better get ready, because a new standard When does this take place? in financial reporting intended The decision to switch to IFRS from GAAP was made in 2008, to fill the ga(a)p in asset with a 2011 implementation date for all accounting periods. However, in order to provide accurate reporting, companies valuation is coming our way. require figures from the prior year as a baseline, which means The corporate and financial community is waking up to a new reality — fair values in an International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) environment. The imminent move from GAAP to IFRS represents wholesale changes to how companies track, account and report assets. Exhaustive works and papers have been published discussing the transition to IFRS, therefore we will not delve into minutia or fine details but rather focus on real estate assets and asset valuation. We will begin with a brief background on GAAP to IFRS conversion, as well as offering additional information relative to how to prepare. The goal is to convey urgency to those who need to address IFRS without being bogged down in the complexity and details surrounding IFRS conversion.

What, Why & Where The adoption of IFRS by the Accounting Standards Board of Canada (AcSB) has created an upheaval in the accounting world. Valuation professionals are also preparing for the changes to come. The move towards IFRS began several years ago and has grown steadily throughout Europe and other parts of the world, with Canada now following suit. Simply stated, IFRS is a shift from the reporting of real estate value on a company’s balance sheet on the basis of depreciated cost to what is referred to as Fair Value. Fair Value is essentially the equivalent of Fair Market Value or Market Value. The immediate implications of this shift are clear. Under IFRS, real estate assets that appear on a company’s balance sheet for financial reporting will no longer be recorded as a depreciating

measuring or establishing the real estate asset value per IFRS will begin in 2010. Practically speaking, the timing to implement an IFRS transition strategy is now, with IFRS opening balance sheet figures required for the first quarter of 2010.

Who is affected? IFRS in Canada will only impact publicly accountable enterprises. A publicly accountable enterprise is an entity, other than a not-forprofit organization, or a government or other entity in the public sector that: has issued, or is in the process of issuing, debt or equity instruments that (i) are, or will be, outstanding and traded in a public market (a domestic or foreign stock exchange or an over-thecounter market, including local and regional markets); or holds assets in a fiduciary capacity for a broad group of outsiders as one of (ii) its primary businesses (Accounting Standards Board, Adopting IFRS in Canada, II; March 2009). There are many implications for companies affected by IFRS and they depend largely on the legal structure of the company. The impacts on a typically structured public company versus that of a real estate investme nt trust are significant and varied. Going forward, companies will have to consider the IFRS implications of any transactions involving real estate whether it is development, refinancing, contemplating a sale or purchase, or income tax implications. Mergers and acquisitions will have to factor in IFRS asset values and corresponding implications. As IFRS is implemented, there will be more demands placed on all real estate professionals, from developers to property managers. IFRS reporting will require building

august/september 2009

current and accurate development costs, operating costs, and construction costs. The manner and frequency of reporting these figures will also change. As with past changes in accounting standards, over time the conversion to IFRS will lead companies to discover Fair Value reporting scenarios which are more beneficial to them than GAAP reporting. Early planning and investigation will allow companies to weigh the pros and cons of IFRS conversion.

How to prepare, what to consider Valuation for IFRS goes beyond the numbers on a balance sheet. Market participants want assurance that values are supported by market evidence and analyzed by independent valuation experts. All public companies and publicly accountable enterprises should therefore be adjusting their procedures to change from reporting values on a cost basis to a Fair Value basis. The critical component is that IFRS requires appraisals of Fair Values of assets at each reporting period. Prudent CFOs and IFRS transition personnel will obtain independent valuations of Fair Values. This provides for greater transparency and comparability which are fundamental to IFRS. Using independent appraisal experts alleviates concerns about conflicts of interest and value manipulation, which leads to greater investor and stakeholder confidence. A company’s valuation needs vary depending on: asset class; single asset / portfolio assets; reporting frequency (quarterly, annually); land / building allocations; leasehold interests; transactions costs; depreciation methods. By including valuation experts into their IFRS transition plan to tackle the myriad of technical issues, companies are providing the transparency and expertise that investors and corporate stakeholders are seeking. As companies develop their IFRS strategies, early engagement of valuation experts is critical to reaching compliance goals. The complexity of the portfolio will determine the lead time required to perform the valuations. In the end, companies affected by the switch to IFRS have choices. Cost-based accounting can still be utilized; however, the impact on the balance sheet if Fair Value were followed must nevertheless be noted in the financial statements. Similarly, companies can use internal valuations if they wish. However, those companies planning to produce internal valuations of their real estate assets using their own personnel should consider the following: IAS 40 (International accounting standard 40), paragraph 32 states “...An entity is encouraged, but not required, to determine the fair value of investment property on the basis of a valuation by an independent valuer who holds a recognised and relevant professional qualification and has recent experience in the location and category of the investment property being valued”. A study commissioned by REALPac (Real Property Association of Canada) in conjunction with McGill University reviewed 33 companies from 16 countries listed on the FTSF EPRA/NAREIT Global Real Estate Exchange. In their 2007 financial reports, of these companies, 91 per cent chose Fair Value reporting versus cost, and 94 per cent used external appraisers to complete the valuation report. Earlier adopters of IFRS have shown that independent valuations are the key to openness and transparency and are opting for external independent appraisals over internal valuations and

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The timing to implement an IFRS transition strategy is now, with IFRS opening balance sheet figures required for the first quarter of 2010. traditional cost based reporting. After all, IFRS were adopted to provide investors and the public with a higher level of confidence in the reporting of values for real estate assets. Internal valuations could be perceived as counterproductive to openness and transparency whereas cost based reporting can be perceived as an unwillingness to accept a shift in market driven expectations. External valuations help mitigate the risks and liabilities of reliance on internal valuations.

Start Now As real estate appraisers, our recommendation for external independent valuations is self-serving but nonetheless vital to IFRS conversion. At a minimum, begin with internal valuations. The recommendation is akin to the requirement for external auditors for financial reporting, it starts with internal accounting but at some point values need to be verified externally. Accounting and valuation professionals are preparing for the shift to IFRS and providing guidance relative to standards and requirements in order to provide the best possible information to shareholders and the investment community. Companies undergoing IFRS conversion must therefore ask themselves difficult and challenging questions in the wake of the current economic climate. Is transparency important, who are their investors, and what are these investors considering when weighing their investment options? Increasingly investment in Canadian real estate is following the direction of investment in the manufacturing and oil and gas sectors, in that, the majority of Canadian-operated manufacturing and oil and gas businesses are foreign owned or controlled. After the U.S., most foreign investors in Canada are from the U.K., which adopted IFRS in 2005. So who is your investment market and what will they be looking for when your financial reports are scrutinized? With increasing globalization and the tumultuous economic climate, investors and regulators will place increasing significance on accurate financial reporting. Although current IFRS rules apply to publicly accountable enterprises, companies not directly impacted by IFRS may want to consider the conversion now. Foreign investment and/or foreign financing may require apples to apples comparison. Your company may be overlooked by the international financial community or may miss an important opportunity simply because a viable comparison and due diligence cannot be undertaken in a timely manner. B Louis Poirier, BAA, AACI, EA, is Managing Director of Colliers International Realty Advisors / CIRA, Montreal. David Shum, AACI, P.App is Managing Director – Colliers International Realty Advisors / CIRA, Calgary.

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By Don Procter

What would Suzuki do?

In aiming to be the first LEED Platinum certified school building in Canada, the new Dr. David Suzuki Public School is hoping to inspire the spirit of earth stewardship that its name embodies.

When Dr. David Suzuki Public School opens its doors to Windsor students in 2010, it will be the greenest school in Canada. It will also be a vehicle for study, not only for its students but for visiting eco-designers and engineers. “It’s a demonstration site for energy conservation and environmental design,” explains Gregory McLean of Windsor-based McLean + Associates Architects, project architect for the school. The Greater Essex County District School Board is striving for a LEED Platinum certification, a first-ever for a Canadian school. To achieve that lofty award, the engineering and design team have their work cut out for them. Calling it “an absolutely complex building,” McLean discusses a plethora of green technologies, starting with a geothermal heating and cooling system and a domestic Right, below and below right: The new Dr. David Suzuki Public School is designed around the theme of “earth keepers” with a primary goal to be a case study for environmentally friendly technologies, such as these large solar panels that functions as both a gateway icon and a tool to absorb the sun’s rays and transform it into electrical energy.

Images courtesy of McLean + Associates Architects

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hot water supply system heated by a network of solar array panels. In winter, a solar exterior wall made of a perforated metal panel system will heat air to ventilate the building, while in summer heat will be drawn out of the top of the wall, rather than into the building. “What is very rare about it, or any institutional building, is that the building won’t have a natural gas connection,” says McLean. Some of the technology is expressed as an aesthetic in the architectural design of the 58,000-sq.-ft., 25-classroom school. A case in point is the array of solar photovoltaic panels which cover the roof and drop down to form a canopy over the main entry. The panels are designed to generate 10 per cent, or 36 kW, of the building’s electrical needs.

On the south facing side of the building large windows provide abundant sunlight while cantilevered second floors offer some protection from excessive sun entering the main floor space. The building’s custom-made aluminum window frames feature a thermal break and tinted double-insulated low-E glazing filled with argon gas. While glazing was selected with optimum energy efficiency in mind, the design team balanced that objective with another -- maximizing natural light throughout the interior. The classrooms have two main natural light sources: windows to the outside and windows looking onto the classes from the interior corridor that provide light from clerestory windows strategically placed on the second floor featuring openings to the first floor. Light shelves spread outdoor light further into the rooms. Also, an automated skylight system that rotates with the sun increases natural light indoors. Light tubes penetrating through the gymnasium roof eliminate the need for artificial lights. “It all sounds simple to design but it was tricky to get the natural lighting levels we wanted in all the rooms,” explains McLean. For mechanical/electrical consultant Smylie & Crow Associates, the project was unusually complex. Project engineer Jamie Whitty says the firm poured over research to develop designs for each element of the complex mechanical and electrical agenda. An example is the rainwater harvesting system used

to provide a non-potable distribution network for flushing toilets and urinals. A back-up domestic water supply system was also designed for the school. The consultant also came up with a sophisticated lighting control system that includes daylight sensors for dimming lighting. Where appropriate, LED light fixtures were used in the lighting design and a metering system monitors power consumption calculations for each room. Smylie & Crow designed the roof solar panel network used to heat the school’s water. The solar panels heat a fluid circulated in pipes that run through the building to heat the water storage tank, says Whitty. The engineer is also responsible for the school’s ground source heat pump design which supplies a modern twopipe heating and cooling hydronic system. The design is built around a central plant, rather than the traditional approach of heat pumps strategically located throughout the building. Water flows through tubing in floor slabs to heat and cool rooms. For ventilation (not to be confused with air conditioning), the firm has specified dedicated outside air handlers. To “condition” (heat or cool) with air would be more expensive than to heat or cool with a fluid, explains Whitty. “In the end we significantly reduced the amount of air circulating through the building.” The consultant is also reviewing the possibility of incorporating an

Architect: McLean + Associates Architects Landscape: Bezaire & Associates Mechanical & Electrical: Smylie & Crow Associates Civil: Lucente Engineering Inc. Structural: Haddad, Morgan & Associates Ltd. Green Roof: W.A. Wilk Associates Landscape Architect Surveyor: Verhaegen, Stubberfield, Hartley, Brewer, Bezaire, Inc. Commissioning: Enermodal Engineering Limited Geotechnical: C.T. Soils & Materials Engineering Inc. Solar Photovoltaic Grid, Tied System, Wind Turbine: Carmanah Technologies Corporation Living Wall: Nedlaw Living Walls Solarwall: Conserval

building

august/september 2009

Below: In keeping with the theme, parts of the school were designed to reflect major biomes of Canada, such as temperate forest, prairie, mountain and seashore. The school lobby evokes the Arctic region, with two full scale replica Beluga whales and a Narwhal in the second storey space.

earth-to-air geothermal system to heat the building’s ventilation air in winter and cool it in summer. To improve indoor air quality, Smylie & Crow is incorporating an interior wall covered with vegetation that filters CO2 and VOC emissions. The living wall is coupled to a fan coil unit to provide fresh air to the school’s resource centre. The site will also feature a 2,400 watt wind turbine on the property. Although it will only produce a small amount of the school’s electrical needs it will act as a teaching tool for a science class and showcase the technology. Students will also have an opportunity to help generate the building’s electricity on their own through a room with bicycles hooked up to individual electrical generators, and they can track many of the school’s green technologies’ efficiencies through the use of computer screens posted throughout the building which provide up-to-date data. Bob Goodwin, principal of Smylie & Crow, says working on Dr. David Suzuki Public School been an exciting project. “It’s introduced us to new materials and systems that we hope to apply in the future. We’ve worked very hard to develop what we believe is a cutting edge design; we like to think it’s a real feather in our caps.” Areas in the school will be designed to simulate different geographic regions or biomes of Canada. “We’re trying to integrate the naturalized area inside and out. The building, if you will, is both the entire site and building,” explains McLean. For example a portion of the roof will be green and include a hands-on naturalized section as a teaching tool for students, and the remainder of the roof will be covered in white reflective aggregate to reduce heat gain. Sited on 11.9 acres, the property will feature indigenous landscaping requiring little, if any, maintenance. Prairie-type grasses will grow wild around play areas and the natural slopes of the site will allow rain runoff to collect into swale ditches away from the building. A gravel or stone base under the swales allows for quick drainage, preventing water from pooling at the surface. The landscaping objective also calls for less hard surfacing

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(asphalt and concrete) than traditional schools to help reduce the “heat island effect,” says McLean. Furthermore, roads and the parking lot will be surfaced in white concrete rather than asphalt to reflect heat, and contain recycled materials such as fly-ash. Four of the 39 allotted parking spots will be for carpool vehicles. Dr. David Suzuki Public School was the architect’s first LEED project, and an education in itself. “The learning curve and the technologies were all new to us. It was a great process to go through.” But McLean doesn’t expect many schools will attempt to meet the lofty eco-standards anytime soon, in part because they come at a steep price, possibly as much as 40 per cent more than the price to design and build a conventional school. Nevertheless, the building industry’s green education has to start somewhere, and where else would the concept of green stewardship be as important to demonstrate as in a school bearing the name of Dr. David Suzuki? B

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No Equal.

Where future athletes are shaped By Rhys Phillips

The Bill Crothers School for Athletics & Active Healthy Living is an innovative educational facility that unites a solid programmatic response with equally solid public architecture and urban design.

Photos by Brenda Liu Photography

A paradox in this often paradoxical country is the demise of physical education curriculums in our schools just as the number of dedicated schools for elite athletes is exploding. An unrelated paradox is the frequent insertion of public institutions into “historicist” suburban housing developments, often rendered in strong, confident Modernism. The recently completed Bill Crothers School for Athletics & Active Healthy Living in Markham, on the northern fringe of Toronto, exemplifies both paradoxes. Designed by Toronto-based ZAS Architects for the York Region School Board, the crisply Modernist high school deftly incorporates a complex mix of athletic and academic programming needs into a compact volume designed to meet a minimum LEED Silver standard.

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Although tucked into a sweeping crook of the Rouge River and surrounded by significant green space (leftover from an original par three golf course), the school is intended as a significant architectural artefact for the emerging mid-density and mixed-use urban core of this sprawling bedroom community. According to ZAS senior associate Paul Stevens, several layers of complexity had to be addressed. First, the site is on a partial flood plane and second, the program had to nurture both athletic excellence and a quality academic curriculum. While “athlete factories” exist in other countries and grafting onto existing facilities is prevalent in Canada, “there are really no precedents for facilities designed exclusively to meet such a comprehensive and integrated program,” says Stevens. As its

Previous page: The school façade is visually articulated by changes in scale, material, and colour. Right: The Town of Markham is the setting for this new school, located near historic Unionville and with an emerging mixed use precinct known as Markham Centre. Capitalizing on an extensive transportation network of roads and rail, the 30-acre site is highly accessible from Highway 407 and Kennedy Road as well as from Unionville GO Station. Below: The expansive bay windows of the athletic training rooms view into the Athletic Courtyard.

long-winded name implies, the school’s program seeks to be a Centre of Excellence for athletes but also a “crossover” education mandate centered on coaching, training, sports administration, psychology and communication as well as kinesiology and life-long attachment to an active lifestyle. To start, a steering committee was formed that included representation from sports organizations, athletic education specialists and several “star quality” expert athletes. The latter included Bill Crothers, Canadian silver medalist in the 1962 Olympics and past president of the York Board, as well as Bruce Kidd, a Canadian Olympian and Dean of Sports at the University of

Toronto. In addition to considering the parameters of a broad sports education program, the committee’s input helped define how the physical organization and presentation of the school might generate a “a sense of sports that would follow you through the day,” says Stevens. Before addressing these requirements, however, the issue of the Rouge Valley flood plain had to be addressed. The response was to propose a compact facility, uniquely composed of four levels including gyms and weight rooms stacked above ground level, on the limited land available for construction. “The L-shape of the building juts out, prow-like, toward a

Architect: ZAS Architects Inc. Associate Architect: Rossetti Architects Landscape: Schellen and Company Structural: Halsall Associates Ltd. Mechanical & Electrical: Rybka Smith and Ginsler Ltd. Sustainability: Enermodal Engineering Ltd. Civil & Storm Water Management: Schaeffers Consulting Engineers Traffic: Entra Consultants

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august/september 2009

Above: Students attending this school are supported by extensive athletic facilities and training areas that are centralized, visible, and integrated with the academic areas on all four levels of the school. Right: The Student Forum is the epicentre of the school, a place where athletics, academics and social activities casually converge.

lower amphitheatre area beside the river where the school’s two artificial turf fields as set,” says Stevens. This, not incidental to the school’s celebration of sport, permits striking views over the fields from both the academic and athletic wings. A separate pavilion, reading almost like a Modernist Doric temple to sport, services the field. The plan of the school rotates out from two double height spaces on the first and third floors, forming hubs for the two axes representing the athletic and academic functions. On the first floor, immediately upon entry, the “student forum” is a voluminous piazza that showcases the school’s major gym and provides the hinge linking the athletic and scholastic wings. “The forum,” states the Board’s brief, “is the epicentre of the school, a place for athletes, academics and social activities to casually converge.” Animated by the changing colours of team uniforms and bold sports graphics, this simply-detailed space ensures both the school’s showcase gym and adjacent auditorium are not fringe elements to the facility. This organization also permits the athletic facilities to function as a separate regional sports centre outside of school time. On the second level, the athletic corridor operates, in part, as a viewing gallery overlooking both the gym and the forum. A secondary perimeter corridor -- found on all floors in the academic wing -- is fully glazed and overlooks the exterior sports amphitheatre. Throughout the school, transparency between spaces and views that overlook and interconnect are vigorously exploited. On the third floor, the double-height athletic corridor services the stacked third gym and an aerobics studio. Incorporating Galvalum-

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clad light scoops that curl down from clerestory windows, light is flooded deep into the structure. The solely academic fourth level features the school’s most defining visual element, a double height library “cube” precariously cantilevered over a corner. Fully-glazed with Solardan panels (two layers of glass with insulating fibre) to reduce solar gain, this community “beacon” is visible even from the Highway 407 and, says the Board, serves as “an outward expression to the community, an invitation to lifelong learning.” Stretching along the inside of the opposing wing, the school’s second strongest visual element, a series of three elongated, angled bays signals various athletic studios. Light is a defining element in the school with the bays fronted by generous glazing while even the gyms boast windows. A contemporary palette of brick, Galvalum, pre-finished metal panels and considerable glass is softened by natural cedar on the school’s deep soffits. The school’s LEED certification objective is premised first on the facility’s location on a pre-used site in order to serve as a key public focal point for an emerging denser urban community with high transit use. Crothers is also hooked up to Markham’s new district energy plant as well as employing an energy efficient white roof, abundant daylight and high efficiency mechanical systems to produce an energy use level 30 per cent below the national standard. This commitment to environmental design, like the many other architectural commitments, echoes a school that is devoted to commitments, primarily a student body of 1,600 sports-minded athletes who, “if not destined for Olympic podiums or top seeds in competitions, are nevertheless passionate about athletics.” B

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By Steven W. Peck

GREEN ROOFING HITS A GROWTH SPURT

With fresh policies and programmes coming into play in recent months, aided by new initiatives from organizations such as Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, it appears the green roof industry is taking root.

This spring has been very good to the North American green roof industry. Major advancements have taken place that promise to help overcome some of the barriers associated with the rapid growth of the industry. Since 1999, many researchers, designers, builders, and policy makers have been working to address industry barriers first identified in the 1998 Greenbacks from Green Roofs: Forging a New Industry in Canada study funded by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). This study identified several major barriers facing the industry, including: higher upfront capital costs for green roofs relative to traditional roofing systems; lack of qualified professionals to design, install and maintain green roofs; inadequate public policy support in recognition of the public infrastructure related benefits of green roofs; and a lack of performance data in North America and standards. However the study also provided the impetus for the establishment of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities – North America Inc. (GRHC), a new membership-based industry association. The costs associated with green roofs can be reduced through several measures, such as increasing market competition, developing more efficient products, services and holistic design practices, and public policy incentives. The first two methods are largely the result of ongoing investment by firms in the industry and a growing market for green roofs in North America, which has averaged

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Images courtesy of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and Sharp & Diamond Landscape Architecture Inc.

an annual growth rate of approximately 30 per cent since 2004. We are already seeing a greater familiarity among designers and contractors in more mature markets such as Toronto, Portland, OR and Chicago, which drive efficiencies up and prices down.

Early thinking, early payback Green roofs, unlike many other types of green building technologies, have the potential to deliver the broadest range of benefits to the building owner, particularly when they are considered at the very beginning of a project. Accessible green roofs in particular have the ability to deliver upfront value to developers of multi-unit residential buildings. When viewable, they also represent a very public statement about the ‘greenness’ of a project. The Broadway Tech Center in Vancouver, winner of this year’s Award of Excellence by the GRHC, encapsulates numerous green roof functions including an athletic sports field, café patios, entrance plazas, various water features, shade trees and green corridors that seamlessly link the on-grade and rooftop features. The promotion of integrative design is also supported through the free GreenSave Calculator, a web-enabled Life-Cycle CostBenefit Calculator that allows users to compare three roofing systems. Develop by the Athena Institute for GRHC, the Calculator provides an unbiased platform intended to help devel-

Previous page and left: The Broadway Tech Centre office park, built on a former brownfield site on a hillside in Vancouver, features an array of green roof deck amenities, helping buildings No. 1, 5 and 7 achieve LEED Gold status.

opers and designers better quantify the benefits that green roofs can bring relative to other options. The Energy Calculator Project, lead by Dr. Brad Bass at Environment Canada and Dr. David Sailor of Portland State University and funded in part by the USGBC, involves developing a method to calculate the summer energy savings from several prototypical green roofs in different climates around North America and for different building types. This information will be integrated into the GreenSave Calculator and will provide a scientific basis for estimated dollar savings as well as greenhouse gas emission offsets. In the spring, Dr. Ray Tomalty completed a CMHC funded research project that also established mathematical equations and values based on real projects related to quantifying noise reduction, improve market valuation, marketing and promotion. These equations and various reference values will be integrated into the GreenSave Calculator in the months to come, providing the opportunity to develop a more holistic picture of the value of green roofs. Despite these new tools, for some projects like industrial storage facilities that are not air conditioned, it will be difficult to make a short or medium term economic case for green roof investment without policy incentives.

Getting more “green” There also remains much to do in terms of research and development related to the ability of green roofs and green walls to provide tangible costs savings, particularly in the area of integration with heating, ventilation, air conditioning and solar photovoltaic technologies. GRHC has recently contracted with the British Columbia Institute of Technology’s Center for Ecological Architecture to research water balance and green walls, and the University of Maryland to research their thermodynamic properties. While scientifically-based performance data continues to underpin efforts to advance the state of practice, on June 5, 2009 in Atlanta more than 130 building professionals wrote the first Green Roof Professional (GRP). In 2003, the industry recognized the need for a professional accreditation program and the need to develop best practices associated with the design, installation and maintenance of green roofs. Given that many green roof failures are related to poor design and execution, hundreds of volunteers have worked to develop educational courses that cover all of the main issues associated with green roofing -- from pre-design through to contracting and post-occupancy evaluation. There is a continuing

education requirement built into the accreditation so that as the science and practice evolves new courses can be designed to help strengthen the practice of GRPs. The new GRPs are trained to: • Identify and pull together a project team, • Function as team leader for the green roof, • Understand different options for design and implementation, • Maximize benefits of green roofs during the design process, • Understand the major challenges of green roofs and best practices associated with their design, installation and maintenance. While the new designation is certainly not a panacea, some developers are already using the GRP as a pre-qualification to work on their green roof projects, in order to manage the risks that are so common in new industries. The new designation, which has its Canadian exam launch on October 19, 2009 in Toronto, just prior to the CitiesAlive conference, is a cornerstone in the long-term development of the green roof industry. Unlike most green building technologies, green roofs are able to link the building to the surrounding site and the community, and provide a wide range of quantifiable and valuable public benefits, including stormwater management, air quality improvements and reductions in the urban heat island. On May 26, 2009 the Toronto city Council opened a new chapter in public policy in North America by passing a Green Roof by-law by a vote of 36 to 2, which requires green roof coverage varying from 10 to 60 per cent of the roof area on most new buildings, depending on their size and type. The by-law also includes a construction standard that sets minimum requirements for all green roof development in the city. The industry is also developing ANSI Design Standards related to fire and wind uplift concerns and working on performance standards for growing media. The transition to more sustainable building practices will never succeed if it does not allow for the ongoing profitability of the development industry. There is an important role for public policy here -- to support and not block or stifle innovation. While not all developers are pleased with the new green roof by-law, it creates a level playing field, and after all carrots often work much better than sticks. It also provides an opportunity for developers and designers to push the envelope in terms of green roof design for maximum return on investment. This spring, we’ve made some major strides forward to make green roofs more affordable through professional development, research, design tools and public policy. The integration of plants and buildings -- living architecture -- through the use of green roofs and walls, continues to provide exciting new opportunities for added value in both the public and private realms. B Steven W. Peck, GRP, Honorary ASLA, is the founder and president of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. www.greenroofs.org building

august/september 2009

IIDEX/NEOCON CANADA:

A Celebration of Sustainable Design For twenty-five years IIDEX/NeoCon Canada has been an industry leader and a year full of anniversaries is no exception. This year’s programming and events celebrate IIDEX/NeoCon’s 25th anniversary and the 75th anniversary of ARIDO, owners of IIDEX/NeoCon Canada. Plus their newest show partner, the Green Building Festival, celebrates their fifth anniversary by co-locating with IIDEX this September 23- 26th at the Direct Energy Centre in Toronto. This years’ line up includes the Green Building Festival, World Green Building Council’s Leaders Summit, core learning and CEU accredited seminars specifically for architects plus a keynote with a twist. For 2009 IIDEX/NeoCon Canada and show partner the Green Building Festival look at the big picture by presenting how urban visionary Enrique Peñalosa transformed Bogata, Colombia through the creation of programs focused on sustainable mobility, resulting in social equity for all citizens. The World Green Building Council Toronto Leaders’ Summit will be the first time the WorldGBC brings together Canadian and

international industry leaders and policy experts to discuss the enormous potential green buildings can provide as nations work to reduce their carbon emissions and discuss the potential for green building development strategies as an integral part of a new low carbon economy. So get a jump on the latest seminars, workshops, keynotes and tours programmed specifically for architects, developers and real estate executives interested in the design, construction and management of the built environment by using the on-line conference planner and seminar search engine. All IIDEX, Green Building Festival and Light Canada seminars, keynotes and tours are accredited for CEU points for interior designers, architects, and facility managers. Add in a visit to the exposition to keep the learning going with over 300 exhibitors featuring hundreds of new products and services at Canada’s largest design exposition and conference. For more information please visit www.iidexneocon.com.

CITIESALIVE! WORLD GREEN ROOF INFRASTRUCTURE CONGRESS Toronto, Ontario, Canada

October 19 - 21, 2009

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august/september 2009

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viewpoint

BY STEPHEN CARPENTER

Building Performance Verification “You get what you measure” is just as true in green buildings as it is in other aspects of life. In fact, with the increased emphasis on having green buildings that actually deliver on predicted savings, Measurement and Verification (M&V) is increasingly importance. In fact, the soon-to-be-released 2009 LEED Canada NC rating system the M&V credit (EAc5) is being weighted three times more than it is now. A very rough idea of actual building performance may be obtained by comparing utility bills to the energy costs predicted in the energy model used during building design. However, the only practical way a building owner can know if their project is living up to its potential is a comprehensive building performance program. The measurement part of the program begins during construction when a building energy specialist installs meters on all building operating systems. These meters relay information on building energy and water use to a data storage system, usually at the location of the consultant. The M&V consultant compiles and examines the data from the first year of building operation on a quarterly basis. The data includes the amount of energy and water consumed for each end-uses and for the total building, with the M&V consultant reviewing this information for trends which are summarized on a monthly basis. The monitored data is also compared to initial building energy models to detect problems and unnecessary energy uses as soon as possible. Solutions are then provided to the owner or other authorized party to improve building performance and reduce operating costs. The M&V meters remain in the building so the building operator can monitor performance and operation throughout the life of the building. There are several advantages of undertaking a building performance program: predicted energy and water performance can be achieved more readily if there is quantified performance information; the meters will remain for the life of the building and can be used by building staff to ensure long-term energy accountability; corrective actions can be undertaken to correct excess energy or water usage or improve building operating conditions. The benefits of M&V are real and quantifiable. For example, at the new Kingston Police Headquarters in Kingston, Ont., the building performance consultant installed sub-meters on energy systems which, along with BAS data, identified opportunities for increased operational efficiency and thus an additional $25,000 in energy savings per year. Another example is the performance monitoring system at the Sisters of St. Joseph Residence in London, Ont., where a thorough analysis of BAS data and heating system operation revealed that boilers were not operating at maximum

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efficiency. By identifying the problem, the performance consultant was able to work with the owner to achieved decreased energy use. The graph below shows the energy performance of a five-storey speculative office building over its first year of occupancy as measured by the M&V consultant. The M&V consultant installed sub-meters on the air handling units and the lighting panel. This information, along with BAS data and feedback from the commissioning agent, allowed the M&V consultant to monitor how long and often lights and air handling were running. For the first year, only two of the floors were occupied, yet M&V discovered that air handling units for all five floors were running (instead of being scheduled to run in “unoccupied mode”). Additionally, the occupancy sensors on the unoccupied floors were set to turn all lights on the floor on if anybody (such as a maintenance worker) entered a room and the lights did not automatically shut off when that person left. These problems account for the discrepancy between the predicted (potential) energy savings from the design energy model on the first graph point. The lighting was corrected by the second point on the graph and by the third point the air handling unit schedule was corrected as well. In the end, conservative energy modeling meant that daylighting and occupancy sensors actually provided more savings than predicted in the energy model. In my experience, an M&V program can provide a building with up to 45 per cent energy savings per year. Given rising utility costs, these kinds of savings are hard to ignore. B Stephen Carpenter is president of Enermodal Engineering and was Canada’s first LEED Accredited Professional as well as serving as the current chair of the Technical Advisory Group for the Canada Green Building Council. Enermodal has been Canada’s largest firm exclusively dedicated to creating energy and resource efficient buildings since 1980, certifying more LEED buildings than any other firm.

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Deck•Frame The first framing system designed to use a membrane roof on a metal building

VP’s Deck•Frame solution allows architects to effectively combine the economy and speed of systems construction with the aesthetics and functionality of fully adhered membrane, ballasted and mechanically attached membrane roof systems. Deck•Frame, as part of a metal systems approach, offers architects and owners several advantages: •Adapts to wall alternatives such as block, tilt-wall, wood or masonry.

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•Can be used with either bar joist, purlins or WideBay™. •Can be incorporated with other architectural features including metal facades and canopies. For information about Deck•Frame or other VP products, talk with your local authorized VP Builder or contact us at 800-238-3246.

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