Ultimately the building design included passive strategies such as green and reflective roofs and external shading features.
Extensive daylighting reduces the need for electric lights. The building’s vast roof was used for extensive renewable energy installations; 209 solar thermal collectors harvest heat energy year round, and thermal energy is collected in solar tanks and used for radiant heating and domestic water heating.
PASSIVE HOUSE Alongside Integral Group’s proven expertise in bringing LEED and BREEAM certified buildings into fruition, the firm is simultaneously deepening its command of the emerging Passive House standard. Passive House is a standard for which designing in place is key. Originating in Germany. where it’s called Passivhaus. this standard begins with passive survivability, which ensures that a structure can maintain basic conditions even if power and other critical services are lost. Within the worldview of Passive House, a building is a living organism that can change and adapt to its surroundings, just as any other organism can.
The benefits of Passive House go beyond energy savings, he adds. “It’s great for human well-being. These buildings are not only energy-efficient, they’re supremely comfortable. They avoid any mold growth by controlling moisture and condensation, and so they also avoid health concerns like asthma, which is strongly linked to mold growth in buildings. They also minimize noise. Well-sealed, well-insulated buildings are also very quiet inside.” One project being built to a Passive House standard is The Heights, a multi-family residential project in Vancouver. When completed it will be Canada’s largest Passive House development. The developer, Eighth Avenue, touts the residence as a “dumb building,” in contrast to the perceived “smart” high-tech version of green that many people in Vancouver may be more familiar with. “No technology or complicated mechanical systems,” Eighth Avenue proclaims, “just a simple envelope, high-quality windows and high-quality air control through heat recovery ventilation. Walk in and set your heat… that’s it! The money is spent on its simple well-built design, not technology.”
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Excess thermal or process energy is discharged to the geoexchange field, which will be extended to serve other campus buildings. In addition to winning LEED Platinum certification, the project was also one of the top ten projects chosen by AIA’s Committee on the Environment in 2015.
Integral Group’s Vancouver office has eagerly taken up the challenge of Passive House and become its leading champions within the firm. Stuart Hood, the office’s managing principal, has become an expert in passive design. “It’s almost reverse engineering,” he explains. “We’re making buildings’ mechanical and electrical systems simpler and less complicated and dealing more with the building envelope. By engineering the building envelope the right way we can completely minimize the mechanical and electrical systems we need to put into the building.”