Air + Light Brochure

Air + Light PASSIVE NATURAL VENTILATION & DAYLIGHTING DESIGN

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Insert TOC Here Contents Introducing Integral Group

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Expert Advice and Insight

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Design Analytics

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Daylighting and Thermal Comfort

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CFD Analysis

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Experience 14

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Our Air + Light Team

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The Integral Way

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Introducing Integral Group

The world’s leading deep green engineering and consulting firm

An international network of engineers + consultants collaborating under a single “deep green” umbrella.

We enable every client to protect the health of our planet, by taking a regenerative approach to the design, performance and function of buildings, communities, districts and cities.

We provide a full range of building and district systems engineering, analysis and sustainability consulting services, delivered by staff widely regarded as innovative leaders in their fields.

Our work spans the globe, delivered from offices in Australia, Canada, Europe and the United States.

Kevin Hydes

Our projects are located in over 30 countries - more than 100 are net zero energy buildings.

Integral Group was launched in 2008 by Kevin Hydes, founder and director of Canada Green Building Council, and former Chair of the USGBC and World GBC. Kevin served as Chief Executive Officer for the first 12 years of Integral Group and in 2020 he became the firm’s first Chairman.

Integral Group are proud to be founding signatories of the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment.

Air + Light

Expert Advice and Insight Natural ventilation and daylight provide functional, habitable, and comfortable interior spaces. Our team empowers clients to harness these transformative elements.

Air + Light is a team of consultants with cuttingedge, practical experience in delivering projects that maximize human comfort, health and experience through passive means; natural daylight and natural ventilation.

“This project and this approach is truly renewing our faith in architecture.”

-Dan Wood, North Boulder Library

Air + Light

Decarbonization Wellness Quick wins to maximize benefits

Time well-spent indoors

Life-cycle carbon analysis (LCA) is the next frontier of sustainable design, enabling clients to make informed decisions based on a complete understanding of all components.

Air + light improve comfort, health and well-being, and provide a valuable connection to the outdoors. Studies have demonstrated decreased fatigue and stress, shortened hospital recovery times and increases in worker productivity of 9%. School test scores significantly improve, while absenteeism, respiratory health effects and allergies are reduced.

Daylighting, natural ventilation and mixed mode are the first steps of life-cycle and zero-carbon design strategy, meaning traditional M+E systems with heavy manufacturing and material costs can either be designed out, or live longer due to reduced dependance and usage.

Resilience

© Google

Minimizing risk through a building’s lifetime Air + light provide flexibility, energy savings and system redundancy through alternate, passive means of illuminating, ventilating and cooling spaces. Mixed mode and daylit buildings are inherently nimble and provide built-in passive survivability in the face of climate-change, forest fire smoke, blackouts and energy shortages.

Health

Compliance

Post-pandemic design

Considerable benefits at minimal cost

Natural ventilation provides generous airflows, minimizing airborne contaminants, reducing headaches and colds and providing safer workplaces and homes during events such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Air + Light provide significant improvements to meeting compliance targets: • Passive House • BC Step Code • LEED Energy & Daylighting • Zero Energy Certification • Zero Carbon Certification • Living Building Challenge Our service includes detailed modeling as a design evolves to develop initial architectural strategies that harness usable daylight and track performance with the goal of achieving LEEDv4 and WELL daylight credits. We also offer preparation of submission-ready compliance documentation.

Design Analytics Analysis and data to inform design

DAYLIGHT PENETRATION ANALYSIS

Architecture that harvests Air + Light and that responds to variations in incident solar radiation and air flows. We work with the design team to create climate-adapted, responsive and resilient architecture. Working at the concept and development phases to optimize massing, orientation and envelope configuration by providing analytic input on window-to-wall ratios, overhangs, solar shading, surface articulations and materiality.

• urban scale analysis • climate analysis • massing and siting of buildings to effectively harness available air and light • highly specific design of passive solar shading systems + strategies • detailed analysis and design of the visual environment • advanced building skins

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SOLAR ACCESS ANALYSIS

DESIGN OF SHADING SYSTEMS

VISUAL COMFORT/GLARE ANALYSIS

Daylighting and Thermal Comfort We elevate the perception of what’s possible in the built environment through a datadriven approach to design and engineering that gives our clients the confidence to take bold action.

INTEGRATED CFD AND DAYLIGHT MODELING AND

Air and light are necessary to create functional, habitable, and comfortable interiors. In varying quantities, across different climates, they are free at source, through penetrations, openings and apertures, often shared, so we think of the exploitation of air and light as constituting an integrated design + engineering practice.

Early stage design begins with analysis of climate and context; this generates responsive siting, building orientation and massing.

At the level of the building skin we draw in air and light, carefully calibrated and balanced to produce spaces that are thermally and visually comfortable for occupants.

The exploitation, admission and control of air + light constitutes a fundamental architectural question.

ANNUAL ILLUMINANCE CHART

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DISPLACEMENT VENTILATION CFD MODEL

D VISUALIZATION

GLARE ANALYSIS MODEL

THERMAL COMFORT ANALYSIS

CFD Analysis Versatility as an optimization tool and a rapid tool.

Often viewed as a tool to validate solutions, CFD modeling gives scope for design refinements that optimize performance. An example is the North Boulder Library where CFD was used to test the Solar Chimneys which double as Trombe Walls. We optimized the original concept by realizing and resolving choke points, increasing the size of the absorber plate and adjusting it for optimal flow, and reconfiguring the window to improve the air flow between levels.

The time and resource costs of CFD have often limited its implementation, but Integral also uses CFD as a rapid comparison tool.

Appropriately simplified simulations are used to shed light on specific design questions, leading to valuable insights and design confidence.

Top: Contaminant Dispersion Studies characterize wind patterns and buoyancy effects around buildings, giving either peace of mind or critical health and safety feedback to inform design.Site wind flow analyses inform pedestrian comfort and building natural ventilation strategies.

Middle: CFD is used to model airflow distribution, velocity, temperature, and hence comfort in occupied spaces.

Bottom: Powerful whole-building CFD analyses of air quality and airflow regimes offer the opportunity to optimize and refine mechanical and passive ventilation systems.

Air + Light

Experience

Clayton Com

mmunity Centre

West Bay Passive House

SoLo

North Boulder Library

West Bay Passive House A state-of-the-art home and fusion of beauty and efficiency

An innovative fusion of beauty and efficiency, this single family Passive House home in West Vancouver, BC sets a new precedent for Passive House projects across the globe.

The revolutionary home by renowned residential Architects Battersby Howat combines contemporary west coast architecture with an innovative mechanical system and a 12 kw solar photo voltaic array to achieve a Passive, Net Zero energy home. The house incorporates Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) construction, foor-to-ceiling glass for uncompromised ocean views, passive

heating and cooling, deep overhangs to protect against solar radiation, and Isokorb thermally isolated slabs on the balconies.

These design elements are combined with a mechanical system utilizing next generation ERV’s with air source heat pumps and hydronic heating and cooling in the supply air. This project demonstrates all the best attributes of Passive House and will be used as a test bed moving forward to monitor energy and air quality.

Location: West Vancouver, BC Canada Client: James Dean Architect: BattersbyHowat Architecture Construction Value: $3M Completion: 2019 Area: 4,100 SQF

Top: West Bay Passive House, Exterior © ISHOT Bottom Left: West Bay Passive House, Natural Daylighting & Ventilation © ISHOT Bottom Right: West Bay Passive House, PV Roof © ISHOT

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Key Features: Natural Ventilation Air Source Heat Pumps High Efficiency Heat Recovery Ventilation Sustainability: Passive House Plus Certified EnergyStar Certified Net Zero Energy Services Provided: Natural Ventilation Thermal Modeling Mechanical

Clayton Community Centre

North America’s first Passive House community centre and Canada’s largest Passive House facility to date

Clayton Community Centre is North America’s first Passive House community centre, and Canada’s largest Passive House facility to date. The new 76,000 sq ft community hub integrates visual and performing arts, a 13,000 sq ft neighborhood library, indoor basketball, volleyball and badminton courts, full gymnasium, fitness center, and outdoor recreation spaces.

The two-story center serves as an ecofriendly facility that offers programs for all ages, all cultures, and all fitness levels.

The facility also includes a day-care and multipurpose rooms.

Key features include passive house design, natural ventilation, radiant panels, air source heat pumps, high efficiency heat recovery ventilation, and innovative glulam beams (glued laminated timber).

During the design phase it became apparent that the building had a very low heating thermal energy demand but a very high cooling energy demand.

Many iterative steps were undertaken to reduce cooling demand, including reducing insulation, optimising orientation and window-wall ratio, and enhancing brise soleil over windows. To reduce the demand below the required Passivhaus criteria of 15kwh/m2/yr, a comprehensive natural ventilation scheme was used, including the design of a central atrium with clerestory roof windows that bring light into the centre of the building while also providing glazed window openings that allow the atrium to perform as a chimney, venting hot air to the outside.

The design delivers a comfortable low energy building for the owner and the community.

Location: Surrey, BC Canada Client: City of Surrey Architect: HCMA Architecture + Design Construction Value: $50M Completion: 2021 Area: 76,000 SQF Top Right: Clayton Community Centre, Atrium © Catherine Chan Top Left: Clayton Community Centre, Glulam Beams & Skylight © Catherine Chan Bottom Right: Clayton Community Centre, Sensor Windows © Catherine Chan Bottom Left: Clayton Community Centre, Indoor Fitness Room © Catherine Chan

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Key Features: Radiant Panels Air Source Heat Pumps High Efficient Heat Recovery Ventilation Innovative Glulam Structure (Glued Laminated Timber) Sustainability: Passive House Certification target Services Provided: Mechanical Daylight Modeling Natural Ventilation

North Boulder Library Net zero energy through air + light

The design of the library is a celebration of Boulder as a city in nature and of the unique community it serves. The library is designed to meet the city’s goal for a net zero energy facility. Integral Group collaborated with the architect to design the building around passive design strategies and to make these a part of the iconic language of the architecture.

The building is designed to be 100% passively cooled, and no active cooling or refrigerants are used in the project.

Passive cooling is provided through several integrated strategies including precise solar control, natural ventilation,

and thermal mass with night purge. The natural ventilation scheme is enhanced by three solar chimneys and what we are calling a central evaporarium. The evaporarium is an interior vegetated courtyard that is open to the sky above and serves as a central natural ventilation inlet for the building. The courtyard includes a misting system that passively cools the air before entering the library. The three solar chimneys serve as the natural ventilation outlets and use the sun to heat the upper zones of the chimneys and promote enhanced natural airflow out of the library.

Location: Boulder, CO, USA Client: City of Boulder Architect: WORKac Construction Value: $7M Completion: 2022 Area: 12,000 SQF Key Features: Natural & heat recovery ventilation Thermal mass Solar control High performance envelope Dedicated outside air system Earth tubes Sustainability: Net Zero Energy Target Top: North Boulder Library Exterior Rendering © WORKac Bottom: Ventilation Scheme © Integral Group

Air + Light

Services Provided: Mechanical Electrical Energy Modeling Bioclimactic Design

SoLo - Soo Valley Modular Home

An off-grid home with exceptional comfort, resilience, and integration within local ecological systems.

The Lower Soo Valley falls within the extremely remote, traditional territories of the Lil’wat and Squamish Nations.

As an off-grid project in an extreme climate, pursuing Passive House energy efficiency helped to achieve the goal of self-sufficiency. The SoLo project is a prototype for a much larger community, and provides exceptional comfort, resilience and integration within local existing ecological systems.

With special attention given to the regional climate, the project integrates high levels of airtightness and insulation for winter, with controlled natural ventilation for summer. An optimal performance building envelope includes glazing for natural daylight, heat gain reduction and external views. Overhangs for south-facing glazing block direct sun, and deep reveals are placed on the east/west-facing glazing. The house was

constructed off-site in modular sections to minimize site disturbance and reduce waste.

Geo-exchange heat pumps connect to a low thermal mass radiant floor, with the ability to function with external temperatures below -20ºC. Domestic hot water is generated using high efficiency CO2 heat pump. A High efficiency Ventilator (ERV) with individual duct runs distributed to each room. A pre-heating and pre-cooling geo-exchange loop takes advantage of moderate ambient ground temperatures of 10ºC within the ground to directly pre-heat/cool the incoming air supply in the winter/summer, without the use of a heat pump.

For lighting, an indirect illumination approach was adopted with the rural surroundings and low energy target goals in mind.

Location: Soo Valley, BC Canada Client: Delta Land Development Architect: Perkins & Will Completion: 2020 Area: 4,090 SQF

Top Left: SoLo, Exterior © Andrew Latreille Top Right: SoLo, Interior © Andrew Latreille Bottom Left: SoLo, Interior © Andrew Latreille Bottom Left: SoLo, Exterior © Andrew Latreille

Air + Light

Key Features: 30 kW solar photovoltaics system 60kW wind turbine system LED lighting and lighting controls Battery storage system Hydrogen fuel cells for back-up power Sustainability: Passive House Certification Services Provided: Mechanical Electrical Fire Protection Lighting Design

Our Air + Light Team Our experts can empower you to harness the transformative elements of natural ventilation and daylight Our team of consultants provides robust engineering and cutting-edge modeling to overcome challenges such as noise, wind, security, and climate while delivering simple and elegant daylighting and mixed mode ventilation solutions.

Collaborating across all disciplines, we optimize the form, envelope and fabric of buildings to deliver climate-adaptive solutions that have greater flexibility and reduced reliance on traditional mechanical and electrical systems.

Thomas Bamber Passive Design Technical Lead, Vancouver Thomas brings eleven years’ practical experience of designing and delivering naturally ventilated and daylit projects in the UK and Canada.

His philosophy is driven by the use of passive design principles to achieve climate resilience and energy savings.

He practices a holistic approach and is trained in the application of mechanical, electrical and public health services and site-wide energy analysis.

Air + Light

Sean Casey

John Nelson

Lighting Associate, Vancouver

Senior Building Performance Analyst, Oakland

Sean has collaborated and consulted on the design of luminous environments for architecture since 2012.

He specializes in the optimization of building form, fabric and envelope to harness natural daylighting, reducing reliance on building systems. The result is more comfortable, healthy and efficient buildings. Sean’s approach is rooted in strong conceptual thinking supported by powerful technical and analytic methods.

John is passionate about passive strategies in projects of all scales. He believes that when synergies between architecture and systems can be harnessed, low energy projects can be delivered frugally. He has conducted extensive research on thermal mass and passive cooling, and has contributed to the academic body of knowledge on these topics.

The Integral Way Mission: To be the top quality Deep Green engineering and consulting firm with global reach.

Trust The basis of every successful relationship, team and collaboration

Nurture We never stop learning or growing

Inspire We share our passion and expertise widely

Imagine We bring creativity and curiosity to solve complex problems

Perform Our work is target-driven, outcome-led, and evidence based

Accelerate Time is short - we need to urgently scale up

Sustain We grow and thrive so that we can have more impact

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