Building October November 2009

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Volume 59 Number 5

october/november 2009

Editor

Peter Sobchak Legal Editor

Jeffrey W. Lem Contributors

Stephen Carpenter, Gord Cooke, Rhys Phillips, David G. Reiner.

Art Director

Ellie Robinson Circulation Manager

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

Liz Callaghan Advertising Sales

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

Tom Arkell Vice President, Publishing Business Information Group (BIG)

Alex Papanou President, Business Information Group (BIG)

22

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Features 12. The Binding “Non-Binding” Letter of Intent / Letters of intent have long been viewed as a convenient and generally non-binding way of setting down basic deal terms, but a recent Ontario court case warns that these seemingly innocuous tools can, under certain circumstances, be far more binding than the parties may have envisioned. By Jeffrey W. Lem and David G. Reiner 15. Bring On The Medals! / With just months to go, the multiple venues for the 20th Winter Olympiad in Vancouver and Whistler have been delivered on time and largely on budget. What’s more, these facilities may well generate exactly the kind of legacy for the host cities so often promised but seldom delivered by the Olympics. By Rhys Phillips

26. Coming Up Green / Sales and marketing opportunities presented by the various green programmes for builders and how to best take advantage of the incentives being offered. By Gord Cooke

Departments 6 Editor’s Notes

8 Upfront

29 Infosource

30 Viewpoint

Cover: Vancouver Media Centre, part of the Vancouver Convention Centre expansion, is linked with the existing convention centre at Canada Place and will house media for the 2010 Winter Olympics. © VANOC/COVAN Above images courtesy of: Stantec, Cannon Design, © VANOC/COVAN

editor’s notes

They want it. But are they getting it?

New studies are coming out regularly these days showing that homebuyers will pay more for energy efficient houses. Can anyone say they are surprised? In fact, what I can’t decide is have we reached this point faster or slower than we thought it would take? At this point, though, that debate seems almost moot, since the recently released 2009 EnerQuality Energy Efficiency/Green Building Survey puts the issue in startlingly clear perspective: nine out of 10 Ontario homebuyers value energy efficiency when making new home purchase decisions, but less than half say they were on offer from their builder. Homebuyers want green, but aren’t getting it.

“Ontario homebuyers put their money behind their words.

Purchasers paid an average of $3,707 for energy efficient features in new homes, up $500 from 2008, despite the tough economy. Part of the reason for this is that energy efficient features provide a net decrease in the cost of owning a home to the tune of hundreds of dollars per year,” said Corey McBurney, president of EnerQuality, who are responsible for delivering ENERGY STAR for New Homes, R-2000 and EnerGuide Rating System initiatives, as well as the new LEED Canada for Homes and EnerQuality’s own GreenHouse Certified Construction programs. “Cost savings was the number one reason cited for choosing energy efficiency options, with 79 per cent of buyers surveyed purchasing at least one energy efficient feature for their new homes, a big jump from the 60 per cent recorded in our 2008 survey.”

The EnerQuality Survey was based on 1,638 detailed responses from new homebuyers in the GTA and in the Regional

Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton, all of whom closed new, lowrise home purchases in 2008 and who indicated they valued energy efficiency when making a new home purchase decision.

According to the survey, homebuyers are willing to pay an average of $13,183 for an energy efficient home. 40 per cent of buyers were willing to pay an additional $10,000 for a green home in 2009, compared to only 22 per cent in last year’s survey. And an astounding 92 per cent of homebuyers are likely to choose an energy efficient home again in the future.

But the survey results show an even more disturbing metric: that 37 per cent of homebuyers didn’t purchase energy efficient features, either because the builder didn’t mention these options (27 per cent) or didn’t explain their importance (10 per cent).

With so many methods now available for builders to demonstrate they are listening to the desires of homebuyers, such as improved air quality, water conservation, reducing construction waste, use of recycled materials, and so on, numbers shown in this survey do not make one think the building industry is as connected as it should be. Now I’m not questioning whether the market is ready for green products, but why builders aren’t grabbing at that ‘green’ with both hands. As Gord Cooke, president of Building Knowledge Canada, discusses in this issue of Building, there are plenty of sales and marketing opportunities presented by the various green building incentive programs for builders. Those who succeed are going to be those who know how to best take advantage of them. B

Peter Sobchak

Building welcomes your opinions.

E-mail your comments to editor@building.ca

WATCH The Clouds Are Parting: How close is the light at the end of the tunnel? / On September 17, Sherry Cooper, executive vice president, Global Economic Strategist, BMO Financial Group and Chief Economist, BMO Capital Markets, gave an outlook of economic performance for 2010 at the Colliers International 7th annual Market Outlook Breakfast.

Looking forward: What are the implications for the real estate market and decision-makers? / Scott Addison, executive managing director, Toronto Region, Colliers International, discusses the implications of the recession for the real estate market and decision-makers.

EXPLORE The Royal Ontario Museum Schad Gallery of Biodiversity

READ Green technology echoes in the walls of academia / Victor da Rosa examines two Ontario colleges that are leading the way in adopting energy-efficient technology.

ATTEND Greenbuild International Conference and Expo / November 11-13 / Phoenix, Arizona Contech Building Events Trade Show / November 25 / Montreal Construct Canada 2009 / December 2-4 / Toronto

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upfront

Architect selected for U of T’s Daniels Faculty expansion

TORONTO — The John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto announced that a design team led by Boston-based architectural firm Office dA, led by partners Monica Ponce de Leon and Nader Tehrani, has been chosen to transform its facilities. Toronto firm Adamson Associates is the architect of record on the project and Coen +

Partners of New York/Minneapolis is the landscape architect.

The Daniels Faculty was renamed in 2008 thanks to a historic gift by alumnus John Daniels and his wife, Myrna Daniels, directed at renewing its facilities as well as providing financial support to students. With the Daniels gift, an ambitious campaign has been launched to secure other significant gifts from those with an interest in advancing the art of architecture, landscape architecture and urban design.

Earlier this year the Faculty began a search to select an architectural team to design a project that would address the accelerated growth of its programs and research endeavors, as well as situate new technologies and laboratories that would allow Daniels to remain at the forefront of design education. Office dA’s concept was selected after successfully meeting the criteria for originality, technical and aesthetic innovation and sustainability.

Key features include a new auditorium, a vertical telescoping atrium, upgraded studio and meeting spaces, a rooftop library and adjoining greened terrace with views of downtown Toronto.

Vacancy and tenant financial stability key concerns for Canadian commercial property landlords, says Colliers International

TORONTO — Tenants’ financial stability and increasing vacancy rates are the two major concerns keeping Canadian institutional commercial property investors awake at night according to a survey conducted by Colliers International. “As a result we are seeing landlords aggressively trying to retain good quality existing tenants by engaging their tenants in negotiations sooner and remaining flexible on rents in an effort to secure longer term leases,” said David Bowden, Canadian president at Colliers International.

The survey of 30 institutional investors across Canada also found: 92 per cent of respondents ranked ‘tenant financial credit rating’ among the top two most important factors when making

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a leasing decision; investors remain the most optimistic about Ottawa and Vancouver markets, but had concerns about Calgary’s oversupply; 67 per cent of survey participants said they would pay between three to seven per cent premium for green credentialed buildings; 76 per cent of investors surveyed expect values to increase by less than five per cent over the next 12 months, yet more than 56 per cent still expect to grow their overall property holdings over the same time horizon.

“If you look back over the past year some experts believed we were entering a depression, not a recession. Fear was really ruling the market,” explained Scott Addison, executive managing director at Colliers International in Toronto.

“Looking forward, the industry’s highest expectations won’t be achieved, but its worst fears won’t be realized either.” Addison also identifies a window of opportunity for tenants, as the general economy shows signs of improvement. “The real estate market typically lags behind the general economy anywhere from six to 12 months,” said Addison. “As a result, tenants are in the position to strike some good deals.”

Allstream Centre opens its doors

TORONTO – Built in 1929 and known to everyone with memories of Exhibition Place during the yearly Canadian National Exhibition, the Automotive Building has been re-christened Allstream Centre. A 19 month, $46-million project restored the art deco exterior while renovating the interior to a 160,000-sq.-ft. meeting and convention destination centre.

Among the highlights are the largest ballroom in Toronto, in which 3,000 guests may be comfortably seated for breakfast, lunch or dinner and 20 second floor meeting rooms accommodating between 50 and 750 delegates who can enjoy natural light through large windows providing vistas onto the city and the waterfront. An underground walkway links the Centre to underground parking and the Direct Energy Centre across the street.

Targeting to be the first LEED Silver certified conference building in Canada, the team (architects NORR Limited, contractor Vanbots Construction, LEED consultant Enermodal Engineering, heritage architect E.R.A.) incorporated several elements including a white reflective roof, improved indoor air quality through CO2 sensors and the use of low VOC paints, carpets and adhesives. Food service will include locally grown food and a perishable food donation program. Demolished materials and construction waste were diverted from landfill to recycling facilities, in accordance with LEED criteria.

Aggressive new national energy consumption target for commercial office buildings

TORONTO — The Real Property Association of Canada (REALpac) has unveiled a national energy consumption target for office buildings titled 20 by ‘15 which, if achieved, would make the commercial office building sector in Canada a leader in conser-

upfront

vation efforts. The goal of the initiative is to achieve the target of 20 equivalent kilowatt hours of total energy use per square foot of rentable area per year (20 ekWh/sq.-ft./year) in office buildings by the year 2015. The target is intended as an essential first step in demonstrating substantial, sector-wide emissions reductions and operating cost savings, while taking full advantage of incentives and getting in front of potential regulations.

The 20 by ‘15 target was developed based on an analysis of the results of energy consumption data as part of the Canada Green Building Council’s (CaGBC) LEED pilot project conducted under Green Up: Canada’s Building Performance Program in 2008. Achieving the target would lower median energy use for commercial office and government office buildings by 49 per cent and 31 per cent respectively.

According to the 20 by ‘15 Research Report, the use of more efficient technology does not necessarily achieve good (best) performance — attention to system design and standards are equally as important. Effective office building operations and the engagement of tenants are essential to high performance, and in combination they are expected to provide at least half of the projected improvement. There is no apparent correlation between the age of an office building and energy performance, and even top-performing office buildings today have significant room to improve.

Will Alsop appointed Ryerson Distinguished Visiting Practitioner in Architecture

TORONTO — British architect Will Alsop, whose impact on Toronto’s landscape includes the Alsop Toronto Sales Centre, the Sharp Centre for Design and his current project, the Westside Lofts, has been named a Distinguished Visiting Practitioner in Architecture at Ryerson University for the 20092010 academic year.

“I have been very impressed with the faculty in Ryerson’s Department of Architectural Science, and with the program all around,” Alsop said. “They are creating something wonderful, which I am excited to be a part of. I feel privileged and proud to be part of a University that is trying to make a difference in Toronto itself, which is something that is very important to me.”

On November 24 Alsop will deliver a lecture to Ryerson students and faculty on Preparing for Architectural Practice. In

the winter term he will make three to four visits to campus, kicking off the graduate theses in January, working with grad students throughout the thesis projects and sitting on the thesis review panel at the end of the semester. Alsop has also agreed to mount an exhibition of his work, hosted by Ryerson’s Department of Architectural Science, in winter 2010.

WRPS Investigative Services Building certified LEED Gold

WATERLOO, Ont. — The new Waterloo Regional Police Service Investigative Services Building in Cambridge, Ont., was able to be LEED Gold certified while also fulfilling the needs of a difficult project: meet stringent sustainable building standards and design a reliable, secure facility. The 44,132-sq.-ft. building (below) houses office space, meeting and interview rooms, and forensic laboratories that require very specific indoor conditions and airtight rooms.

“Forensics buildings present a challenge for design teams on conventional projects, let alone LEED projects. However, creating an efficient, well-functioning facility with airtight rooms is a priority for both LEED and the police, so there is great symbiosis,” explains Stephen Carpenter, president of Enermodal Engineering, the firm that served as the LEED Consultant, Energy Engineer, Mechanical/Electrical Engineer, and the Measurement and Verification Specialist. Rebanks Pepper Littlewood Architects was the architect on the project.

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Among the many indoor air quality measures, superior ventilation conditions are provided through the use of carbon dioxide sensors that are mounted in the return air plenum and meeting rooms. The building’s low velocity displacement ventilation system is another design measure that affords high ventilation effectiveness year-round.

Through multiple design and construction measures, the WRPS building is expected to achieve a 60 per cent reduction in annual energy costs, a 65 per cent reduction in indoor water use and a 68 per cent reduction in the water used for sewage conveyance. Careful construction waste management strategies diverted 84 per cent of construction waste from landfill. Approximately 30 per cent of the materials used in this building have high recycled content.

Coldwell Banker releases annual list of most expensive and affordable housing markets

BURLINGTON, Ont. — The recently released 2009 Coldwell Banker Home Price Comparison Index (HPCI) found a price gap of more than $2 million between the most expensive and most affordable North American markets for the studied 2,200 square foot home. In the annual comparison of similar homes in 345 North American markets, La Jolla, California led the list as the most expensive real estate market on the continent with an average home price of $2,125,000 US. Vancouver placed 10th on the North American list at $1,174,241 US Vicwest Buildingmost Mag expensive Thermos ad:Layout 3 10/23/09

($1,262,625 CDN) topping the 35 Canadian markets studied.

Grayling, Michigan was North America’s most affordable market, one of 20 similarly-priced communities on the most affordable list. Canada’s most affordable major market of Charlottetown, PEI was narrowly edged out of the North American top ten most affordable markets. A similarly-sized home there costs only $147,560 US ($158,667 CDN).

Internationally, Singapore, $1.9 million US dollars, was the most expensive market for the same type of home compared with Salinas, Ecuador, $69,375 US dollars, was the most affordable studied international market.

Differing from most housing reports which compare median prices, the annual Coldwell Banker HPCI, provides an apples-toapples comparison of similar 2,200 square foot, four-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath homes in Canada, the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and a sampling of 56 countries/territories outside of North America where Coldwell Banker Real Estate has a presence.

“While Canadian home prices have been on the rise again following a brief market downturn, today’s historically low interest rates have kept the dream of homeownership within reach for most of today’s homebuyers,” says John Geha, president of Coldwell Banker Canada Operations ULC. “Compared to many major markets throughout the world, Canadian real estate looks like a bargain.”

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upfront

CUI recognizes brownfield projects across Canada with 2009 Brownie Awards VANCOUVER — Sponsored by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and Canadian Urban Institute (CUI), the 9th annual CUI Brownie Awards were handed out to projects and programs that reflect leadership and innovation in brownfield redevelopment. The Brownie Awards jury was once again impressed with the high calibre of finalists’ projects, as well as their commitment to sustainable design, overall community revitalization and renewal of the public realm.

For the first time ever, a Jury’s Choice Award was awarded to La Promenade Samuel-De Champlain from Quebec, Quebec. This 2.5 km promenade is an exemplary model of sustainability and has become one of the city’s cultural hubs.

Pearl District from Portland, Oregon won a Special Recognition CUI Brownie for the comprehensive revitalization of the Pearl District through the systematic redevelopment and realignment of brownfield sites to create a walkable, attractive downtown neighbourhood. Southeast False Creek, the Olympic project which is targeting LEED Gold certification on the neighbourhood scale, brought home the CUI Brownie Award for Best Overall Project. Other winners included the Collingwood Shipyards project in Collingwood, Ontario for Best Large-Scale Project; and both Somerset Square from Saint John, New Brunswick and Grey Bruce Health Unit from Owen Sound, Ontario for Best Small-Scale Project. The award for Brownfielder of the Year went to Tammy Lomas-Jylhä, the VP of Sustainable Remediation and Brownfield Services at OCETA for her contribution to sustainable development on brownfield sites over the past decade.

2009 Category-specific awards were awarded to the following projects: Category 1 - Legislation, Policy and Program Development BC Brownfield Renewal Strategy, Victoria, British Columbia Category 2 - Sustainable Remediation Technologies and Technological Innovation Sustainable Remediation of a Former Petroleum Products Depot, Victoriaville, Quebec

Category 5 - Excellence in Project Development: Neighborhood Scale E&N Roundhouse, Victoria, British Columbia

Cateory 3 - Financing, Risk Management and Partnerships Redevelopment at Hamilton General Hospital, Hamilton, Ontario

Category 6 - Communications, Marketing and Public Engagement Identification of Niagara’s Top Brownfield Redevelopment Opportunities, Niagara Economic Development Corporation and Region of Niagara, Ontario

Category 4 - Excellence in Project Development: Building Scale Manitoba Hydro Place, Winnipeg, Manitoba

Category 7 - Individual Achievement Tammy Lomas-Jylhä

transferees. “It’s what we call the ‘aspirational home’ and is usually purchased by move up buyers experiencing lifestyle changes,” explains Geha. “Despite record-breaking prices in many of Canada’s major markets, these homes are selling, as buyers take advantage of today’s historically low interest rates. These move-up buyers have been a critical component in our resurgent real estate market, and will continue to play a major role in Canada’s recovering economy.”

Highlights and Top Market Lists • Vancouver leads the hot-again west coast at over $1.17 million US ($1.26 million CDN) dollars for the studied home, nearly double that of nearby Burnaby, B.C. at $611,243 US ($657,250 CDN). Toronto comes in at $766,643 US ($824,347 CDN) • Boomtown Fort McMurray at $593,340 US ($638,000 CDN) surpasses both Calgary at $488,831 US ($525,525 CDN) and Edmonton at $401,993 ($432,250 CDN) as Alberta’s most expensive market.

• East meets West, as Winnipeg with $363,042 US ($390,368 CDN), Saskatoon at $355,237 ($381,975 CDN); Whitehorse, YT $341,775 US ($367,500 CDN) and St. John’s $324,338 US ($348,750 CDN) all post ‘aspirational home’ prices in the mid to upper $300,000s • Charlottetown remains the country’s most affordable market, priced at $147,560 US ($158,667 CDN). Brantford, Ont. at $222,968 US ($239,750 CDN), Moncton, NB at $256,843 ($276,175 CDN), and Halifax at $257,891 US ($277,302 CDN) were some of the other more affordable Canadian markets in the study. Including Charlottetown, there are 85 North American markets in which the sample home price averages under $200,000 US. • The most expensive market outside North America is Singapore, where an HPCI subject home averages $1.9 million US dollars, more than $630,000 higher than Vancouver. Singapore was followed by Milan and Florence, respectively, each with prices surpassing $1.6 million US for the subject home. building

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legal

BY JEFFREY W. LEM AND DAVID G. REINER

The Binding “Non-Binding” Letter Of Intent

Letters of intent have long been viewed as a convenient and generally non-binding way of setting down basic deal terms, but a recent Ontario court case warns that these seemingly innocuous tools can, under certain circumstances, be far more binding than the parties may have envisioned.

There is an old television advertisement campaign where an auto mechanic, holding an obviously destroyed (and presumably quite expensive) automobile part, tells the audience “you can pay me now, or you can pay me later” in an effort to sell premium quality motor oil. It does not take a lot of ingenuity to come up with a list of other services and products that can be sold with that same punch line, not the least of which would be legal services. Many business persons consider the input of a lawyer to be a painful and costly process, best left until the last possible moment — in many acquisition scenarios, only after the business deal has, in fact, been reached. However, this parsimonious approach to legal services may very well be a false economy. The recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision in Wallace v. Allen shakes the core of what had previously been understood to be the law relating to letters of intent, and highlights for both the business and legal community the magnitude of obligations that can be inadvertently created in a casually drafted letter of intent thought to be “non-binding”.

Although Wallace v. Allen is not a real estate case per se, the underlying premise of the decision resonates in almost every aspect of commerce, including real estate development and construction. In Wallace v. Allen, the owner of a company entered into a supposedly non-binding letter of intent with a prospective purchaser, which specifically stated that: It is also agreed by the parties that there will be much legal work to be done upon acceptance by both sides and that the wording of this agreement may alter somewhat…

This letter of intent must be reduced into a binding agreement of purchase and sale by the parties within the next 40 days.

Aside from the foregoing provisions regarding the need for formal legal documentation, the letter of intent contained all of the major heads of agreement that would otherwise have been necessary for a proper contract. Furthermore, to the extent that there were any details omitted from the subsequently-prepared unsigned draft agreement of purchase and sale, the courts found that those details had been agreed upon shortly thereafter in a meeting between the parties.

However, when it came time to actually sign the agreement of purchase and sale and close the transaction, the vendor developed cold feet and ultimately decided that he was better off keeping the company, relying on the fact that a letter of intent had never been formally converted into a “binding agreement of purchase and sale” by the lawyers. While it was true that a formal agreement of purchase and sale had never been executed, the Court of Appeal found plenty of indicia that a deal had, in fact, been struck in the letter of intent. So, for instance, ever since the signing of the letter of intent, the putative vendor acted as if the company had already been sold. He had already had meetings with friends and family announcing his retirement and the “sale of the company,” and introduced the proud new owner to the company’s employees.

Furthermore, the vendor had allowed the purchaser to actually start working full-time on the shop floor and to start hiring the purchaser’s own management team. At trial, the Superior Court

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

agreed with the vendor’s arguments and refused to enforce the “deal” since there was technically no “deal” until the formal legal work got finalized.

The Court of Appeal, however, thought otherwise. The Court of Appeal found that, notwithstanding that the letter of intent specifically said that there would be no binding agreement until a formal contract was drawn up, the parties’ respective conduct made it clear that a deal had in fact been struck. Accordingly, the Court of Appeal awarded damages against the recalcitrant vendor as if the deal had been reflected in the terms and conditions set forth in the letter of intent.

There seems to be an almost intuitive tendency to try to hammer out all of the basic details of a business transaction before incurring the cost of having a lawyer “legalize” the arrangement, and the ubiquitous letter of intent seems to be the document of choice in which to set the framework for most business deals.

Wallace v. Allen warns parties that reliance on the non-binding nature of a letter of intent is not at all a sure thing unless drawn up carefully and with professional help.

Of course, even if the “runaway bride” vendor in Wallace v. Allen had had the foresight to retain competent counsel to help in the drafting of the letter of intent, it is not entirely certain whether such counsel would have drafted a letter of intent that would have satisfied the Ontario Court of Appeal’s seemingly newfound penchant towards enforcing letters of intent. That is because letters of intent, even those drafted by lawyers rather than brokers or business people themselves, are all too often nothing more than watered-down shells derived from the formal purchase contracts that they are intended to augur. Some people describe letters of intent, quite aptly, as “term sheets written in near prose,” but even then, their prose is laced with terminology taken from formal purchase agreements. In addition to giving legal weight to the conduct of parties connected only by a letter of intent, the Ontario Court of Appeal also parsed the letter of intent isolating phraseology that implied a “deal.” So, for instance, the Court of Appeal found relatively innocuous words like “agree,” “acceptance” and “agreement” to be indicative of crystallized deal formation even at that early stage. Likewise, one would think that a court following Wallace v. Allen would find probative words such as “contract,” “offer,” “deal,” and many other terms indigenous to the formal purchase contract.

Wallace v. Allen may indeed herald a paradigm shift in the way letters of intent will be drafted. Not only are businessmen well advised to seek legal advice even at the letter of intent stage, on any large or otherwise complicated “bet the farm” type of transaction, such legal advice should probably come from experienced commercial counsel familiar with the rule changes brought about

by Wallace v. Allen. Then again, “you can pay me now, or you can pay me later.” B

Letters of intent, even those drafted by lawyers rather than brokers or business people themselves, are all too often nothing more than watered-down shells derived from the formal purchase contracts that they are intended to augur. However the Court of Appeal found relatively innocuous words like “agree,” “acceptance” and “agreement” to be indicative of crystallized deal formation even at that early stage.

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Code: OHSE18

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With just months to go, the multiple venues for the 20th Winter Olympiad in Vancouver and the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) have been delivered on time and largely on budget, the larger of the two Olympic villages notwithstanding. S t e p h e n Brunt’s article, “Alarm bells squawk. And they’re getting louder” in The Globe and Mail last August did raise rather vague concerns about potential revenue shortfalls caused by the global economic crisis.

But even he had to admit, “It’s all there, the big stuff at least, bought and paid for and finished and tested and ready to go, the ski jump, the oval, the bobsleigh/skeleton and luge track, the rinks, the slopes.” Indeed, several of the new sport venues probably needed a paint touch-up a ft e r s eve r a l ye a r s o f p r e O ly m p i c u s e . M o r e i m p o rtantly, these facilities may well generate exactly the kind of “legacy” for the host cities so often promised but seldom delivered by the Olympics.

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It is the rare Olympics, summer or winter, which fails to generate its fair share of heated debate and high drama around political and athletic controversies. Expectations of suitably iconic venues for the summer Olympics have also frequently created their own intractable problems. Montreal’s crippling post-Olympic debt after 1976 for its problem plagued stadium, Athens’ last minute and incomplete construction (2004) and Beijing’s questionable labour practices (2008) all created signature architecture but at a price. Atlanta turned a profit (1996) but earned scorn for banal facility architecture. Even successful cities like Barcelona (1992) and Sydney (2000) have been faced with what to do with grand but oversized facilities built for a massive two week sporting event.

Similarly, there is talk PTW Architects’ engaging Beijing Aquatic Centre, a.k.a. “the Water Cube,” may end up as a shopping mall.

The Winter Olympics is a much smaller event that despite increasing hype, appeals to less than half the world’s nations.

Signature architecture has been less an imperative although Lillehammer (1994) produced the delightful Viking Ship arena or “Vikingskipet” by the German firm Schuermann Architects.

Foreshadowing a primary objective of the Vancouver Games, the Norwegian’s struck an environmental note with Fjellhall in the town of Gjøvik, a hockey rink hollowed out of a solid rock mountain. Earlier in Grenoble (1968), however, some complained about the demise of the game’s intimacy with venues too spread out in order to accommodate the new colour television coverage and the money it generated. Denver backed out in 1976 after a taxpayer’s revolt requiring Innsbruck to repeat its host role of 1972. The U.S. was still able to snag the Games for Lake Placid (1980) but poor transportation infrastructure in the remote Adirondack town led to strong criticism.

Turin (2004), like Athens, only delivered some of its venues at the last possible minute.

Vancouver has faced its share of controversies starting with the initial “Bread and Circus” protests of those opposed to the perceived opportunity costs of even hosting the Games. Inevitable environmental concerns, criticism of the RMOW’s exorbitant cost of living and the financial problems surrounding the privately (now publicly) developed Vancouver Olympic Village have followed. But Vancouver, along with the City of Richmond and Whistler, have parlayed the federal and B.C. government’s relatively modest public contribution of $560 million into another example of Vancouver’s now much-admired knack for generating sensible, even elegant city building. Working in partnership with the Olympic organizing committee (VANOC), the cities have sought to use the event as the catalyst to create facilities that are neatly integrated into their long term urban infrastructure.

If there is a line that sums up the results, it would be a modified version of the old wedding adage “something new, something old, something borrowed, everything green.” First, many of the high profile indoor events, including the opening and closing ceremonies, will use existing sports facilities renovated for the Games. Second, the partners have newly built a raft of both relatively modest winter sport “infrastructure” venues as well as larger signature buildings of varying architectural merit. In a number of

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Right: BC Place. Far right: Canada Hockey Place. Below right: Pacific Coliseum

© VANOC/COVAN

notable such venues, VANOC has contributed the funding for a specific Olympic facility that will form part of a much larger community sports complex funded by the Vancouver Parks Board.

Third, the two Olympic Media Centres in Vancouver and Whistler will “borrow” two facilities, one new and one renovated in 2004.

Finally, the change in colour from “something blue” reflects a strong commitment to environmentally responsible venues throughout. This objective, it would seem, has been taken seriously as VANOC, along with fifteen venue architects, picked up the Excellence for Green Building award from the Globe Foundation and the World Green Building Council last July.

The Legacy Program By borrowing existing facilities, integrating venues into larger sports and community infrastructure projects and developing housing as commercial (Vancouver) and much needed social units (Whistler), VANOC has attempted to minimize post Games headaches. For those venues unique to the Games, a legacy fund – known as the Games Operating Trust (GOT) — for ongoing operations has been resourced by the federal and provincial governments to the tune of $133.6 million. The Whistler 2010 Sport Legacies is a non-profit organization created to own and operate the three 2010 Winter Games facilities located in Whistler. These include the Whistler Sliding Centre, Whistler Olympic/Paralympic Park (Nordic events) and the Whistler High Performance Athletes’ Centre.

The organization’s objective is to “create a sustainable Olympic playground that inspires sport excellence and drives community, economic and social benefits,” including First Nations involvement (founding and board members include the Lil’wat and Squamish First Nations). Not least, the goal is to add Whistler

© VANOC/COVAN

to the top fifteen world centres for non-alpine winter sports. The City of Richmond will continue to manage, own and operate the Richmond Olympic Oval also with the aid of the legacy funding.

Starting With What You’ve Got BC Place Vancouver’s downtown 60,000-seat stadium (1983, PBK Architects) will serve as the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies as well as for the nightly medals ceremonies. On January 9, 2009, the B.C. government announced a $365-million upgrade to the facility, which included $65 million in interior renovations to seating, washrooms and concession stands and the existing roof liner that commenced last year under general contractor Dominion Fairmile. VANOC’s initial modest contribution of $3.8 million has subsequently climbed to a projected $12.1 million, which appears to be related to requirements for the $40 million opening and closing shows.

Interestingly, the complex’s major transformation is slated only to get underway after the Games. Indeed, the full conversion of the rather hulking Brutalist stadium, affectionately dubbed the “marshmallow in bondage” given the shape of its air-inflated, cablesupported, Teflon-coated fibreglass roof, was delayed to accommodate the Games. The caterpillar-into-butterfly metamorphosis into a less imposing and more colourful venue includes a partially retractable roof costing a reported $200 million based on one in Frankfurt, Germany. It also includes negotiations to use land deals to provide a much needed new Vancouver Art Gallery among other urban amenities in the north False Creek area. However following the re-election of the Liberal government in May 2009, doubts about whether or not the provincial funding is still assured in the current economic climate have grown since August.

© VANOC/COVAN

Canada Hockey Place (hockey) and the Pacific Coliseum (figure skating, short track) A decision in 2006 permitting hockey to be played on the smaller North American ice surface meant no major modifications were required to Vancouver’s premier hockey venue. Home of the Vancouver Canucks, the 1995-built downtown arena linked to the Sky Train required only minor work such as additional locker rooms.

The older Pacific Coliseum (1964) located in Hastings Park commenced an upgrading plan in 1994 that has now been integrated into the Games. With $20.4 million from VANOC, nearly 16,000 seats have been replaced and the ice surface has been expanded to international size. Other work, all completed by 2007, included ice plant improvements and upgrades to washroom facilities, concession space, building heating/ventilation/air conditioning and dehumidification systems. Post Games, the Coliseum will simply revert to its ongoing role as a venue for sports, concerts and trade shows. building

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Above: Whistler Creekside. Above right: Cypress Mountain. Below right: Whistler Olympic/Paralympic Park

© VANOC/COVAN

Whistler Creekside (alpine) and Cypress Mountain (free style and snowboarding) Alpine skiing events are split between Whistler and Cypress Mountain, the most westerly ski centre of the three located on the North Vancouver side. Whistler Creekside will be the site of the downhill ski events (except for the parallel slalom). VANOC has invested $27.6 million on contouring and reshaping the men’s and women’s downhill courses along with additions to the existing snowmaking system. All work was completed by the fall of 2007. At Cypress Mountain, where work was completed a year earlier, $16.7 million has been spent on a new in-ground half pipe, snowmaking systems, lighting, and a new freestyle site for aerials and moguls.

New Sports Infrastructure Whistler Olympic/Paralympic Park (cross country skiing and ski jumps) VANOC has for the first time at the Winter Olympics combined all cross country skiing venues with the two required ski jumps at a single site located in a previously logged-off area of the Callaghan Valley, 22 kilometres south of Whistler Village. The core area of the Whistler Olympic/Paralympic Park has been compacted into a modest two-square-kilometre area that includes three temporary stadiums, each holding 12,000 spectators. VANOC has spent $119 million on the competition facilities including technical sport buildings at each of the stadiums, sewer, water, and power services, access roads, internal roads, parking lots, and a day lodge

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© VANOC/COVAN

by Vancouver-based Paul Merrick Architects.

The work, completed in November 2008 under the leadership of Vancouver-based Sandwell Engineering, was based on a master plan created by Whistler-based ECOSIGN. CJP Architects assumed responsibility for designing the ski jumps in collaboration with Salt Lake City-based Edwards Daniel. Notwithstanding the example set by Zaha Hadid’s Bergisel Ski Jump in Austria (2003/4), the jumps seek to be functional rather than ironically sculptural. Merrick’s 10,500-sq.-ft. day lodge, however, is a fine structure with abundant floor-to-ceiling glazing and wood that reflects a duel theme throughout many of the new venues, the importance of natural light and a focus on the modern archi-

image courtesy of Stantec

Above right & right: Whistler Sliding Centre

© VANOC/COVAN

image courtesy of Stantec

ite fir beams. Inline with VANOC’s ever present sustainability objective, the required refrigeration plant is an ammonia-based system that, states VANOC, is “one of the most energy-efficient refrigerants, producing no chlorofluorocarbons (which contribute to ozone-layer depletion and global climate change).”

The Architecture of Sport tectural properties of the province’s lumber resource. Other key players included Thornley BKG Consultants, Ward Consulting and Keen Engineering as sustainability advisors, transportation consultant and mechanical consultants respectively.

Whistler Sliding Centre The siding centre, only one of 15 such tracks in the world, has a 4,757-foot (1,450-metre) length over a world’s-highest vertical drop of 500 feet (152 metres). Tucked into the flank of Blackcomb Mountain along Fitzsimmons Creek, the track is enticingly close to the centre of Whistler Village. Designed

by Udo Gurgel of IBG Designs from Germany with Stantec Architecture as the venue architects, the $104.9 million complex was completed in the winter of 2007. In addition to the 350-tonne concrete track producing speeds over 145 kph and generating up to 5.02 Gs, Stantec has contributed a modest but strong support building overlooking the finish that combines sleeker metal materials with the almost derringer exposed compos-

Last August, Nejat Sarp, vice-president of Services and Villages for VANOC told CTV in an interview, “We have to have a sense of place so that people know that not only am I attending an Olympics or Paralympics, that not only am I in Canada, not only am I in B.C., but I’m also in Whistler or in Vancouver.”

This commitment to incorporating genuis loci rather than simply “iconic” monuments into the Game’s architecture is a refreshing approach. However Adele Weber, in her online article “Uncool: Vancouver’s Olympic Architecture” for The Tyee (and subsequently much referenced across the Web) is less sanguine, calling the signature Richmond Oval “a dog,” albeit grand inside, while dismissing the Vancouver athletes’ village on False Creek as having “its charms, and its requisite sophistication,” but in the end “just another swish condo project.”

So who is right: are the Games’ new venues solidly rooted in place or failed design by committee, and a committee of real estate brokers no less? Certainly the Richmond Oval and Vancouver’s Olympic Village have received most of the press but the architectural legacy of the Games also lies in a number of significant supporting facilities and very accomplished smaller projects. building

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image courtesy of Cannon Design

Above & right: The Richmond Olympic Oval

The Richmond Olympic Oval (long track speed skating) Perhaps a touch ironic, the Olympics’ signature new building is in neither Vancouver nor Whistler but the separate suburban “edge” city of Richmond. Located just south of Vancouver on the Fraser River delta, the city intends the 11-acre Olympic Oval to act as the riverside centerpiece for its effort to build a true urban core.

Future development includes the adaptive reuse of 22 surrounding acres of city owned land. The $178 million facility, of which $63 million was contributed by VANOC, houses the Games’ 400-metre speed skating track and opened in December 2008.

At 33,750 square metres (363,282 square feet), however, the complex far exceeds Olympic requirements. In order to avoid the fate of many earlier such ovals that have ended up as limited-use venues or as trade show barns, the Richmond facility is slated to be transformed after the Games into what the Oval’s management dubs, “an international centre of excellence for sports and wellness” capable of hosting both summer and winter sports simultaneously. Retrofitted, the facility will include two international-sized ice rinks, eight gymnasiums, a 200-metre (656-foot) running track, a 2,135-sq.-m. (23,000-sq.-ft.) fitness centre, and rowing and cycling studios as well as volleyball, basketball, indoor soccer, and gymnastics venues. Supporting both local and high performance sport will be an athletic development centre, a sports science and research testing facility and a sport rehabilitation and medicine area. The expectation is that several Canadian national sports teams will make the Oval their international training centre.

Weber’s dyspeptic opinion not withstanding, the Oval is both a fittingly grand centrepiece for the Games as well as an emerging city and a powerful tour de force of structural innovation.

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image courtesy of Cannon Design

A potentially overpowering monolithic structure is transformed into a bold, undulating and expressive form whose interior is filled with natural light and offers sweeping views to the river, city towers and mountains through a monumental north wall of uninterrupted glass. Designed by the U.S.-based international architectural firm Cannon Design, with lead project architect Bob Johnston, the Oval also reflects the influence of its roofing engineering firm, Fast + Epp. Cannon Design architect Larry Podhora is quoted in the Canadian Wood Council’s Woodworks monograph on the Oval as ascribing the articulation of the undulating roof to the image of the native heron, Richmond’s civic symbol. “The roof has a gentle curve which peels off on the north side of the facility emulating the wing of the heron, with

Left: Trout Lake Rink.

Below left: Vancouver Olympic Centre/Vancouver Paralympic Centre

image courtesy of City of Vancouver Parks Department

© VANOC/COVAN

its individual feather tips extending beyond the base arched wood structure.”

Equally compelling is the structural bravado of the free spanning composite glulam beams stitched together by V-shaped cross beams composed of one million board feet of B.C. fir dimensional lumber extracted from pine beetle-destroyed forests. In the fine tradition of Modernism, much of the beauty of the building is derived directly from its exposed structure. Already a winner of the RAIC Award of Excellence for Architectural Innovation, the structural and architectural strengths of the design have resulted in the Oval being short listed as one of 272 for this year’s 2009 World Architecture Festival Award for best building.

The Lesser Known Projects Trout Lake Rink (figure skating training) Completed in the spring of 2009 under the direction of the City of Vancouver Parks Department, the fully accessible Trout Lake Rink is located in the city’s Kensington-Cedar Cottage neighbourhood. Built with $2.5 million from VANOC, $13.5 million from the city and $250,000 from the Grandview Community Association, the new rink was designed by Vancouver-based Walter Francl Architecture

Inc. and will revert to a community rink after the Games.

Francl, designer of three admired Sky Train stations as well as the colourful new CBC condo towers, has created an undulating form derived from south Vancouver’s landscape. Change rooms with living roofs of grass are buried into the ground. A powerful, 230-ft. long, wide-flange steel truss arcs not across but lengthwise above the ice surface, and glulam wood beams rise from concrete and steel columns along the building’s exterior. Those beams springing from the backside rest atop the truss while those from the entry façade are attached to its underside. The result is a slyly curving clerestory window along the roof’s spine. From the exterior, it almost appears as if the energy efficient white membrane roof is an eye in the act of blinking.

In addition to recycling 75 per cent of the material from the rink it replaced, the new building’s interior finishes incorporate Douglas fir salvaged from windfall after the devastating 2006 storm that hit Stanley Park. The natural warmth of the wood has been skilfully blended with grey and multicoloured metal paneling as well as architectural concrete to produce a modest but architecturally strong community resource.

Vancouver Olympic Centre/ Vancouver Paralympic Centre (curling) Also built under the direction of the Parks Department, the new curling facility is but one component of a much more ambitious community and sports complex. While VANOC’s investment has been $40.25 million for the curling/wheelchair curling venue (completed in 2008), the city has contributed an additional $47.60 million. After the 2010 Games, six to eight curling sheets will remain but the multi-purpose centre, designed to LEED Gold standards, will also include an ice hockey rink, gymnasium and library as well as an already-built aquatic centre.

Vancouver-based Hughes Condon Marler Architects (designers of the fine Whistler Library as well as the recently completed and very urbane West Vancouver Community Centre) also continues the theme of bending and folding shapes within the landscape. In this case it is the rolling terrain of the much loved Queen Elizabeth Park and its panoramic views of the local mountains. building

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Above: Killarney Rink. Right: UBC Thunderbird Arena

image courtesy of City of Vancouver Parks Department

© VANOC/COVAN

Killarney Rink (short track training)

Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Village

The new Killarney Rink, designed by Vancouver-based Acton Ostry Architects will provide training space for short track skaters during the Games. Vancouver Park Board contributed $12.2 million while VANOC and the Killarney Community Centre Society anted-up $2.5 million and $175,000 respectively.

Following the Games the current Olympic-sized rink will be retrofitted to the smaller NHL standard and a new lobby will straddle the space between the new rink and the existing Killarney Community Centre and leisure pool.

The architects’ modest but refined modernist form and detailing fit well with Hughes Condon Marler Architects’ 2006 swimming pool with both buildings sporting wedge-shaped roofs. The earlier $11 million dollar facility is Vancouver’s only salt water pool and boasts an entirely glazed north wall of clear and coloured glass that provides a spectacular view of the mountains. Cobalt ultramarine blue glass clerestory panels in the ice rink’s north and west facades continue the colour glass motif although they were salvaged from 42 vintage glass panels in the original, now demolished 1963 rink.

Much of the discussion directed at the Vancouver athletes’ village has swirled around the financial troubles brought on by the economic meltdown and the collapse of the real estate market in 2008. When the New York hedge fund management firm Fortress Investment Group stopped funding to the village’s developer, Millennium Development Corp, the city’s new mayor Gregor Robertson ominously warned city tax players that they might well be on the hook for $875 million to finish the project. Headlines predicting dire consequences soon followed. After the city bought out Fortress a month later for $319.5 million and secured bank loans of $550 million at rates well below those charged by Fortress, The Globe and Mail reported a more optimistic Robertson stating, “This project, when completed, should leave us with significant value, assuming the real-estate market rebounds.”

While it will be some time before it is known which side of $1 billion the new water-based community will cost (and whether there is a loss or profits), the 16 residential buildings that include market, social and senior housing wrapped around a visually striking community centre, represents more than just another posh condo project. No doubt the previous mayor’s cutting back of the social housing component to 252 units was a cynical reneging on the Olympic promise, but the new community of over 1.4 million square feet should only contribute to Vancouver’s unique urban design leadership. Market-based rental units, however, continue to be included to accommodate those with not insignificant income but also unable to buy the high-priced units.

Eschewing city planner Larry Beasley’s legacy of soaring point towers interspersed with townhouses along False Creek’s north shore, the village community fortunately embraces a more European approach involving lower-scaled residential blocks, narrower Dutch woonerf streets (where sidewalks and road surfaces are integrated), public courtyards, extensive mixed-use and even a centralized heating plant. Following 2004 studies prepared by Vancouver-based VIA Architecture for the whole southeast False Creak area, further planning was carried out under the direction of Norman Hotson of Vancouver-based

UBC Thunderbird Arena (hockey) Other venues include the largely rebuilt UBC Thunderbird Arena (originally constructed in 1963) on the University of British Columbia campus. With two hockey sheets, the arena was completed in summer 2008 with $38.5 million from VANOC. While less compelling in its architecture than the other facilities, the ubiquitous composite wood beams have been used to provide an animated entrance façade. The LEED Silver structure includes the Eco-Chill System which recycles waste heat from ice refrigeration to heat the building

Housing the Athletes and the Media While VANOC has contributed $30 million to Vancouver and $37.5 million to Whistler for the two athletes’ villages, the primary responsibility for financing and building the facilities has remained with the respective civic governments.

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Hotson Bakker Boniface Haden Architects in collaboration with VIA Architecture and PWL Partnership.

In 2006, after Millennium bested Concorde Pacific and Wall Financial Group for the right to develop the 17-acre Olympic Village, the development firm assembled Paul Merrick Architects and gBL Architects along with Victoria-based Thornley BKG Consultants (sustainability design) to give form to the buildings. Intelligently, Nick Milkovich with Arthur Erickson, Robert Ciccozzi Architecture, Walter Francl Architects and Acton Ostry Architects were added to the mix to ensure diversity in designing the 1.4 million square feet of residences on 11 block-sized parcels.

In turn, the city retained the landscape architecture firm of PWL Partnership (who also did the living roof on the city’s new conference centre) to provide a finely detailed, highly animated waterfront park as well as pocket parks that retain industrial heritage elements from the site such as the Canron gantry crane.

The core initiating concept for the village was the division of the site into city block-sized parcels, each with four residential buildings. The site is cleaved by the historic Salt Building, a unique barnlike structure built in the 1930s to process salt from San Francisco and now adapted to be a brew pub and coffee roaster (Acton Ostry Architects), and a park linked to public waterfront. On the advice of the late Arthur Erickson, massing of the condo blocks was to

reflect the bowl shape of the site by stepping them down toward the water, an attribute somewhat lost in later up-zoning. The architecture is frequently more varied and innovative than found across the lagoon and includes such elements as “spring green” fritted glass panels (gBL), rotated structures (Milkovich with Arthur Erickson), and undulating walls (Paul Merrick Architecture). All buildings are designed to meet LEED Gold standards with one seniors’ housing building reaching “net zero” on its carbon footprint by using waste heat from the food store and solar energy.

The centrepiece of the public realm is Walter Francl’s (with Milkovich and Erickson) 30,000-sq.-ft. South East False Creek Community Centre intended to achieve a LEED Platinum rating.

Located along the site’s eastern waterfront, it boasts a cheekily canted “living roof” (that hints perhaps at a ski jump) sitting atop a very transparent base that curves out at each end to embrace a seafront plaza. “What transpired was a building form that presents a strong unified presence yet is as transparent as possible to the street,” Francl told the authors of the Challenge Series. “You can see through the lobby, into the gymnasium, into the various elements of the restaurant.”

Not incidentally, the strong urban quality of the Village has set the bar high for Toronto’s massive east Harbourfront villages now under development. It will be an interesting rivalry to watch unfold. image courtesy of Stantec

Right & below: Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Village

image courtesy of Stantec

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photo by David McColm

Far left: Whistler Olympic and Paralympic Village.

Above & left: Whistler Athletes’ High Performance Centre

photo by David McColm

© VANOC/COVAN

Whistler Olympic and Paralympic Village For years Whistler has faced the problem of housing its labour force given the extreme accommodation costs in the international resort community. In response, it selected the not-infrequent Olympic tactic of creating athlete accommodation destined to be social housing. To achieve this objective, the Whistler 2020 Development Corporation was created as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the RMOW to build the Whistler Athletes’ Village. The Whistler Housing Authority, also a city owned not-for-profit corporation, has the mandate to provide affordable housing for the 750 households on its waiting list including managing the post-game allocation of the units. Some market housing is also included along with the Whistler Athletes’ High Performance Centre that will continue to function as such after the Games.

The Village, less than 20 minutes from all the competition venues, rests in the picturesque Cheakamus Valley. Adjacent to the site of an old landfill, the new community is a pilot project with the Canada Green Building Council to test its new LEED Neighbourhood Development standard. As such, it will utilize the district’s waste energy system for heating and incorporate a wetlands complex for managing water, among other sustainability attributes.

Designed for 2,750 athletes and team officials during the Olympic Winter Games (1,000 during the Paralympic Winter Games), it will become 154 employee-restricted townhouses, 67 employee-restricted apartment condominiums, 20 market townhouses, 55 WHA rental apartments and 55 rental units for Hostelling Canada. In addition, $16 million of temporary modular housing used for the Games will be relocated to six Squamish and Lil’wat First Nations communities as part of a B.C.

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Housing legacy program. While VANOC contributed just over $30 million, the RMOW put in the lion’s share of $131 million.

Unlike so many standard developer-created communities, the Village’s six “neighbourhoods” have been designed by five different architecture firms: Burrowes Huggins Architects; AKA Architecture and Design; Integra Architecture; Howard Bingham Hill Architects and Murdoch and Company. The result has been called attractive and varied “mountain modernism.” In particular, two of the townhouse developments, The Terrace and The Rise, hark back to the dynamic 1960s before pallid historiscm prevailed in housing.

Anchoring the new community will be the Whistler Athletes’ High Performance Centre built with $30.4 million from VANOC. Designed by Hotson Bakker Boniface Haden for LEED Gold, the facility will serve as an elite training centre both during and after the Games and uses energy from a nearby sewage treatment plant, local materials, natural ventilation as well as radiant heating and cooling. Offsite pre-fabrication methods were employed extensively to reduce environmental impact and ensure stringent green standards.

The elegantly folded form of the 19,500-sq.-ft. facility includes both a 4,000-sq.-ft. strength and conditioning gym and 5,400-sq.-ft. gymnastics gym. An interior multi-storey atrium serves as the organizing core for the gyms as well as a gathering space. As the Centre, funded by the Legacy Program, will serve both as a community and regional training facility for elite provincial athletes, a four-storey temporary residential lodge (by Vancouver’s Burrowes Huggins Architects) accommodating 330 beds and 20 townhouses, form part of this permanent athlete development complex.

image courtesy of Stantec

image courtesy of Stantec

Above left, far left & above: Vancouver Convention Centre- Media Centre. Left: Whistler Telus Media Centre

© VANOC/COVAN

Why Build When You Can Borrow Vancouver Convention Centre — Media Centre Eberhard Zeidler’s 1985 Canada Place already gave Vancouver an internationally recognized signature building for conventions and exhibitions. Now, immediately to its west on the Coal Harbour waterfront, the Vancouver Conventions Centre has been exponentially expanded with the spring completion of a 340,849-sq.-ft. expansion.

Constructed by the province independent from VANOC, the Centre’s cost almost doubled to $883 million with the federal government contributing $225.5 million. The architects for the expansion were Seattle-based LMN Architects in association with two Canadian firms, Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership and Downs/Archambault & Partners. During the Games, this new West Wing will house the Main Media Centre including both the Main Press Centre and the International Broadcast Centre. According to VANOC, “this venue allows … a common location with shared services for press and broadcasters — the preferred Olympic Games model.”

Stretching along the shore line, 40 per cent of the facility juts out over the water to partly shelter an artificial reef constructed below. Its series of six acres of interconnected, tipped and folded “living” roof planes — complete with bee hives — cap a lively contrasting play of forms in steel, concrete and glass that not incidentally rise toward the harbour to provide stunning panoramic

© VANOC/COVAN

views of the water and mountains. Inside, monumental walls of stacked hemlock boards and ceiling screens of glulam ensure the warming glow of unpainted B.C. lumber is front and centre.

Whistler Telus Media Centre To the north, the Whistler Broadcast and Press Centre will take up temporary residence in the Whistler Conference Centre located in the core of Whistler Village. The centre, an adapted industrial building completely rebuilt in 2004 by West Vancouver-based Lutz Associates Architects, will also provide 49,500 square feet to both print and digital broadcasters. Again, the architects have used B.C. timber in a post and beam configuration to create a monumental entrance that references Coastal First Nations’ architecture.

One thing is certain, given the nature of the Olympics there will be no unanimity on the success of the game’s ambitious plans. Debates over the “real” costs, architectural quality and the true environmental impact will rage until at least the tremendously more expensive remodelling of East London for 2012 overwhelms interest in the more modest 2010 Winter Games. In sum, however, there is subtle coherence to the architecture produced that seeks to showcase — sometimes spectacularly — the continuing relevance of B.C.’s forest products in modern construction, while maximizing natural light, exploiting the often wonderful views and finding expressive form in the landscape. B building

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Sales and marketing opportunities presented by the various green programs for builders and how to best take advantage of the incentives being offered.

Everything is green, from products, services, companies, government policies and, of course, the many programs. As many as 80 are offered to the homebuilding industry across North America as opportunities to simultaneously improve the health, safety, comfort, durability and energy efficiency of new and existing homes. The question is, do these programs, such as ENERGY STAR for New Homes, LEED for Homes, BuiltGreen, GreenHouse and others, provide significant marketing and sales opportunities for builders and renovators?

Certainly recent consumer surveys indicate there is strong consumer interest.

For example, the 16th Annual RBC Homeownership Study found that over 90 per cent of Canadians feel that energy efficiency was at least as important as the look and appearance when considering the purchase of a home. Over 75 per cent believe that environmentally friendly features are important factors to be considered when buying a home. McGraw-Hill Construction surveys in the U.S. found that 70 per cent of homebuyers are more inclined to buy a green home than a conventional home during a recessed housing market and that making a home greener is the number one reason for home improvement.

This finding regarding renovations is in keeping with the success in Canada of the ecoEnergy Retrofit – Homes Program offered by Natural Resources Canada. This program, in place since 2007, has resulted in over 340,000 homeowners having an energy assessment done before taking on renovation projects. Add to these findings the aggressive advancements of provincial building codes across Canada with respect to energy efficiency and the encouragement of

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environmentally friendly building practices by cities such as Vancouver, Kitchener and London and green has reached a tipping point in the residential construction sector. However, beyond the technical challenges of building green homes and despite apparent consumer interest, there are marketing and sales challenges to take full advantage of the opportunities.

First, it is important to note that unlike the renovation sector, in the new housing sector there are very few financial incentives available to builders or homeowners for building green or energy efficient houses. For homeowners accessing a high ratio mortgage, insured by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), there is a 10 per cent mortgage insurance premium rebate available for houses that are tested and labelled under the EnerGuide for New Housing program that achieve a score of at least 77. A typical rebate is in the order of $350 to $700. In New Brunswick, homebuyers can receive up to $3,000 when building a house that achieves an EnerGuide rating of at least 80, such as an R-2000 home. In other provinces there are provincial sales tax rebates offered for energy efficient new houses, all based on the EnerGuide rating system.

Additionally, some utilities offer builders small rebates, in the order of $100 to $200 per house when they build ENERGY STAR or R-2000 qualified homes, but the total of incentives for new homes is in all cases significantly less than for retrofit projects. On the renovation side the national ecoEnergy Retrofit program offers a wide range of incentives on HVAC, window and insulation upgrades, and these national incentives are often matched by provincial programs, meaning that consum-

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ers undertaking energy efficient renovations can in some cases receive up to $10,000 in grants.

Of interest and perhaps even concern to builders and developers are encouragements and, in some cases requirements, that municipalities are pushing for new construction projects to achieve some level of LEED certification. This is becoming more common in the industrial and commercial sector but early initiatives are present in the residential sector as well.

HZaa^c\ i]Z g^\]i bZhhV\Z Incentives and regulation aside, an important challenge in the marketing and sales of green or energy efficient housing is the positioning of the specific green message within the overall marketing plan. There is already an element of “green fatigue” in the market -- too many green messages -- with little help as to what green really does for an individual consumer. Consumers’ expectations are that everything, including housing, should be

more environmentally responsible even if they don’t really know what green means. For example, when asked, homebuyers recognize solar panels as a green feature first, even though solar is the most expensive and historically the least cost effective of all green features, and are offered by less than one per cent of builders in Canada.

There are, in fact, at least seven basic attributes of the green rated homes in programs such as LEED for Homes and GreenHouse. These homes reduce energy and water consumption, make houses safer, healthier and more durable and use land and building materials in a more sustainable way. Of these attributes, the most compelling green marketing messages are energy savings and healthier lifestyles. They are far more positive, and builders who use energy and health messages in their marketing generate the most consumer interest in green. There have been problems in using sustainability messages such as recycling, reuse and reduction, as many consumers assume “green” products require compromises in performance or looks.

Timing It may seem contrary to the statement above, but when it comes to the sales process, the energy savings message is best saved to the end. That is, use energy savings up front in marketing materials, but when face to face with customers save the energy saving conversation until the end. All professional sales people will recognize that people buy on emotion and energy savings will never override the emotion of a luxurious kitchen, a cozy master bedroom or a spacious family room. However, energy savings gives people a logical reason to make that emotional decision. This is a comforting and satisfying experience for buyers -- emotion first, logic second. There are, of course, emotional benefits to green homes. In fact, with proper and thorough training, new home sales professionals can help homebuyers find dozens of emotional value propositions out of green features such as the fresh, clean air for young lungs guaranteed by the heat recovery ventilator or the peaceful, restful sleep offered by the thick blanket of carefully installed wall insulation. The energy savings of these same features offer a compelling and comforting reason to buy.

At the best of times, buying a home can be an exciting but stressful adventure for most people. Fortunately, there are two very important economic factors that offer a win-win-win investment opportunity for people considering the purchase of a green home.

First, interest rates are at historical lows and have been quite stable and second; energy prices are at all time highs and undoubtedly on the rise. And it turns out that investing in a green home offers better and safer ROIs than virtually any other financial investment available. In fact, the energy efficiency features of green homes offer

28 building

october/november 2009

a better rate of return than the carrying costs associated with the incremental cost of the included high performance features.

We can use an example from an ENERGY STAR qualified home, which tends to have heating and cooling bills that are 20 to 25 per cent less than homes constructed to standard building code levels. On a typical 2,000-sq.-ft. house the incremental value of ENERGY STAR may be between $6,000 and $8,000. An ENERGY STAR qualified home of this size will have gas and electrical bills that are at least $700 per year lower than conventional new homes (the performance of all ENERGY STAR qualified homes are verified by independent energy rating professionals). That’s a $700 annual year after year return on an investment of $7,000, an amazing after tax ROI of 10 per cent.

This return gets even more amazing when you compare energy costs of older homes with those of green homes. In fact, since current mortgage rates are less than six per cent, homebuyers can borrow the money at six per cent (put it on the mortgage) and immediately earn 10 per cent. Buyers win because their home is more affordable now and in the future as energy prices rise. They win because they have increased the value of your home at no additional monthly cost and they win because the same features of green homes that ensured lower heating and cooling bills also make homes quieter, cozier in the winter, cooler in the summer and healthier for loved ones.

Green building programs can also be of great value to builders.

First, they help consolidate, quantify and validate the vast array of information available on environmentally friendly products, saving builders’ time. Second, they provide credibility and proof of savings for consumers. Performance of ENERGY STAR, R-2000 and LEED for Homes are well documented by government agencies and housing authorities. Researching, documenting, testing and verifying the application of green features is a big part of green housing programs such as the LEED process and this again provides consumers with great logical reasons to buy green.

Builders and specifically professional new home sales people should be encouraged to learn as much as possible about the benefits, both emotional and logical, that green homes present and then use green programs such as ENERGY STAR for New Homes, LEED for Homes, GreenHouse or others that offer verified performance to enhance both marketing and sales messages.

Clearly new home buyers will be expecting ever deeper shades of green homes from builders as energy prices continue to rise and environmental issues continue to garner media attention. B Gord Cooke, president of Building Knowledge Canada, is a professional engineer with over 20 years experience in the low and high-rise residential building industry.

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viewpoint

BY STEPHEN CARPENTER

What to expect from the Canadian version of LEED 2009 Enermodal is coordinating the release of LEED 2009, and the due date is just around the corner. Debuting in Canada five years ago, LEED quickly became the premier green building rating system, and in those five years, 1,300 LEED projects have been registered with the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) and over 100 certified. Although the benefits of the LEED system are appreciated by building designers, owners, and occupants, there is room for improvement. LEED 2009 will feature several changes based on input from Enermodal and other industry leaders who use LEED on a daily basis. Buildings currently registered with the CaGBC can certify under LEED 1.0, LEED 2009 or apply for certain credits under each system. Those registering next year must use the LEED 2009.

There are many elements of LEED that will remain the same, such as: • six credit categories • credits names and scope • structure of credits Although the new reference guide will look very similar to LEED 1.0, it will also include CIRs, application guides for multi-unit residential buildings, campuses and multiple buildings, leased tenant space, and the LEED-CS (Core and Shell) rating system.

The substantial changes include the following: • a regular development cycle (every three years the rating system will be redeveloped) • the number and weighting of points (to better reflect the environmental importance of certain credits) • new regional priority points (extra points available in certain existing categories that address issues of regional environmental importance) • certification submittal process • some credit requirements Sustainable Sites changes: • no buildings on prime farmland (Class 1, 2, and 3) • new option for community connectivity • bike racks must be covered

Energy Efficiency changes: • prescriptive compliance options for EAp2 and EAc1 • energy model for EAp2 and EAc1 must include process energy • EAp2 is based on energy cost savings • renewable energy thresholds changed to 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, or 13 per cent SCORING

LEVELS

Core credits:

100 points

Certified:

40 points

Innovation & Design:

6 points

Silver:

50 points

Regional credits:

4 points

Gold:

60 points

Total

110 points

Platinum:

80 points

Material Selection changes: • bottom tier threshold (55 per cent) for building reuse • recycled content thresholds increased to 10 and 20 per cent • regional material thresholds increased to 20 and 30 per cent • rapidly renewable threshold dropped to 2.5 per cent • all wood product vendors must be FSC Chain of Custody certified Indoor Environmental Quality changes: • all low-emitting flooring covered • controllability split into • lighting (task lighting) • thermal comfort (windows and individual controls) • thermal comfort: verification requires occupant surveys Innovation changes: • maximum of three points for Exemplary Performance • four “Regional Priority” points • three points for meeting credit important to region (eg. achieving waste diversion credit in regions with limited recycling options) B

Stephen Carpenter is president of Enermodal Engineering and

Water Efficiency changes: • pre-requisite is a 20 per cent reduction in water use • water meters required • thresholds for water use reduction increase to 35 and 40 per cent for each credit • baseline faucet flow rate reduced from 9.5 to 1.9L/min

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october/november 2009

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.