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VOL. 24 NO. 1 • MARCH/APRIL 2017

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTENTS COVER STORY

COZYING UP TO NEW WORKSPACE NORMS

WEATHERPROOFING FOR CLIMATE RESILIENCE

BERGERON CENTRE IS BIM ARCHETYPE

Employers look to cut costs and boost productivity

IN THIS ISSUE

GREEN AESTHETIC

HEALTH CARE GRAPPLES WITH CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS

Living wall benefits come with extra costs and labour

Mentoring program to support a network of resiliency champions

BIOLOGICAL WARFARE

ONTARIO OFFERS UNEQUAL ELECTRICITY COST CUTS

Nematodes offer organic pesticide option

Commercial customers excluded from expanded perk for industrial sector

INFRASTRUCTURE VIEWED AS AN ASCENDANT ASSET CLASS Governments are catching up after a lapse in investment

TheRoofers_GTA_March_2017_FINAL.pdf

GTA & BEYOND ■ MARCH/APRIL 2017

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COZYING UP TO

NEW WORKSPACE NORMS Employers see branding opportunities as they cut costs through office intensification BY BARBARA CARSS

ccessibility, ventilation, noise mitigation and privacy have become key design concerns as office floor plans are configured, or reconfigured, to accommodate more people than past workspace norms. Employers' ultimate objective may be to reduce real estate costs, but they typically want to do it in a style that conveys something positive about their corporate culture. Meanwhile, their landlords can find themselves balancing the need to attract and keep tenants against the operational pressures of high-density occupancies. "Intensification is not necessarily about cram and jam," Eric Yorath, a Principal with the design firm, Figure 3, told seminar attendees at The Buildings Show last fall — a qualification that nevertheless implies congestion can be the end result. As moderator of the cheekily titled discussion, Densification on Steroids:

GTA & BEYOND ■ MARCH/APRIL 2017

Addressing the Challenges of Increased Workplace Density, Yorath polled an experts' panel on how to achieve a happier outcome. Looking from the perspectives of space design, building systems, tenants' aspirations and landlords' constraints, panellists outlined the trends that are shrinking space-per-person ratios and the structural and social encumbrances that can arise in step with climbing densities. Although the quest to cut costs is surely a prime motivator for intensification, other evolving business realities help with the practicalities of the case. Offices once housed resources — paper-based documents, computer mainframes, phone and fax lines — that tied staff to a physical location. Today, there is much more technological flexibility to work remotely and formal workplaces are less likely to routinely be at full capacity. With still further space reclaimed from now largely

unnecessary storage areas, many corporate strategists are re-evaluating the purpose and the possibilities of their premises. "Most occupiers today are looking at the real estate as a way to really transform the organization," submitted Ron Armstrong, Managing Director, Project Management, with CBRE. "People are trying to create an environment for a better product," concurred Rick Comish, a Partner with Ellington Tenant & Facilities Services. The process for doing that is still far from defined, but concepts such as collaborative environments and employees' selfidentification with the company's values and image are steadily gaining currency with management gurus. It's now practically a real estate industry tenet that employers are battling to hire the best available young talent, and that this generation has different, inherently more demanding expectations.

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Beyond providing tools to carry out assigned tasks, Armstrong posits that companies need to provide choice, nurture social interaction and impress onlookers. "The employees are really driving the space design," he said. "For most of our clients, the outside view of their brand has become extremely relevant." COMPACT & ACCESSIBLE "Design of the spaces is becoming much more social," reported Suzanne Bettencourt, a Principal with Figure 3. The favoured layout is now most densely peopled at the perimeters to maximize access to outdoor views and natural light, and offers multi-functional space and leisure respite. Administrative tasks are likewise evolving, with receptionists moving away from the traditional gatekeeper role and more into traffic control. "They really are

becoming a facilitator of how you use the rest of the space within the office footprint," Armstrong maintained. He's well positioned to provide professional and personal insight. As a consultant, he has overseen the selection and fit-out of quarters ranging from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of square feet, while, as an employee, he has experienced his own company's office consolidation and makeover. CBRE has spearheaded a 25% corporate-wide reduction in the office space it occupies — necessitating an 8% increase in spending on technology and capital upgrades, but resulting in a 20% reduction in leasing overhead. At Armstrong's own home base, about 6% of the total office footprint was relinquished, but the square-foot-perperson quotient was cut by a more dramatic 40%. To counter perceptions of crowding,

the company added amenity space and committed to the WELL Standard's dictates for natural light, air quality and ergonomics. The new format offers 14 different types of workspaces, none of which are assigned to specific employees. "It's fluid," he said. Furniture design caters to these density trends. Comish noted that workstations are now typically 6' x 6', down from the previous 8' x 8' standard, while sit-stand desks are becoming more commonplace both for space-saving qualities and to address concerns about the health drawbacks of sitting for prolonged periods. (The latter have proven particularly popular with older workers who no longer have such supple joints, he added.) Compactness also supports compliance with accessibility standards related to accommodating mobility aids. Bettencourt shared examples of higher-density office layouts that have ample circulation space — stressing that good design begins with inclusiveness. "Every client comes to us and says: we're unique; we're special; we have special needs," she recounted. "What we try to do is find out not what's unique about your people, but what are the commonalities of your people?" CONSTRAINTS & REMEDIES Unfortunately, many of the common experiences in high-density occupancies are negative. "More people just means more noise," observed Tony Spina, Associate Principal with the engineering firm, Smith & Andersen. "If you have more bodies, you're going to have more carbon dioxide." Surface materials within the space can either amplify or muffle the general din so they must be selected with care. Ceiling tiles are a common starting point in efforts www.REMInetwork.com

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"FOR MOST OF OUR CLIENTS, THE OUTSIDE VIEW OF THEIR BRAND HAS BECOME EXTREMELY RELEVANT." Canadian Property Management - GTA_Half Page Island_4563x7375.pdf 1 3/20/2017 11:46:08 AM

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to dampen auditory transmission, while engineered acoustics are a next step that many companies are now embracing. "Certainly, in large open floor plates, you need something to bring the noise down," Armstrong acknowledged. There are also concerns about what might be overheard. Secure spaces for confidential conversations are critical, both for due diligence in the handling of sensitive business and for staff morale. Perhaps for this reason, spaceper-person ratios continue to be higher among some professional services, such as law firms. As is often the case, the capacity to provide adequate ventilation and handle greater plug loads is easier to find and/or augment for in newer Class A buildings. Spina advised prospective tenants to assess HVAC adequacy before they make a commitment, while Comish suggested that many owners/managers of Class B buildings may willingly withdraw from contention. "They are definitely not interested in trying to increase the densification of the floor," he said. Especially for buildings that don't have heat recovery ventilation, extra intake of outdoor air — which has to be warmed up or cooled down during several months of the year — will increase energy loads. On a more positive note, steady advancements in lighting technology have given older buildings some manoeuvring room since they were designed to more generous wattage-per-square-foot criteria. In newer buildings, Spina warned that multi-functional space can play havoc with air return systems as partitions are opened or closed. "How you start fragmenting space starts to affect HVAC," he said. Burgeoning interest in the WELL Standard and other programs to support a better quality of work environment might be seen as reaction to or a trade-off for the negatives of office intensification. "This is a way to give back to the employees," Armstrong said. "From an occupant perspective, having worked in it, I would say it's an absolute positive." However, he cautions that it works best as a proactive element of a company's facilities strategy. "You need to look at it early and you really need a landlord that will participate," he said. "All of that happens at the lease phase, as opposed to the design and construction phase." ■

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QA GREEN INTERIORS

AESTHETIC

This art needs irrigation and ongoing maintenance

Photos courtesy of Vertical Landscape Architects

Living walls are on the rise, bringing fresh looks and environmental benefits to buildings of all types. GTA&B reached out to Jason Rokosh with Vertical Landscape Architects for a look at this flourishing trend.

GTA & BEYOND ■ MARCH/APRIL 2017

WHAT IS A LIVING WALL, AND WHERE ARE THEY CROPPING UP? There are many different types, but a living wall is loosely defined as a system that allows plants to grow upwards in a vertical orientation. Most of those plants – or at least the ones we use for indoor applications – tend to be tropical because they remain green all year long. Because they're growing up in a vertical fashion living walls require special irrigation and lighting systems to thrive. Access to the living wall is a major factor that affects installation and operational costs associated with living walls in a home, office, institution, or commercial environment. We use modular systems that can be configured in just about any size – large or small – depending on the space and client budget. We're seeing a big trend towards living walls – especially in retail developments. We will typically see smaller walls in residential homes and larger ones in

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commercial or institutional facilities like schools, universities, and hospitals. HOW DOES A LIVING WALL CONTRIBUTE TO HEALTH AND WELLBEING? There are two major benefits that living walls offer. One is physical and mental health, and they're connected. When you feel good, you are good, and studies have shown that daily exposure to nature – which can include living walls – brightens people's outlooks, reduces stress, increases healing rates in hospitals, and encourages people to come together in a more social setting even at work. On top of that, plants produce oxygen and take toxins out of the Interestingly, it's been shown that living air, so you're getting that benefit as well. walls can also increase productivity in a Unlike having plants in a solarium, living workplace, and retain tenants in a building walls don't take up floor space, so you can environment. These are all reasons why pretty much put them on any wall and a lot of people are moving towards bring those benefits to that area. That's green buildings. why we tend to install these walls in very prominent areas where they'll have a big WHAT IS THE COST OF INSTALLING AND impact, like the front lobby of an office MAINTAINING A LIVING WALL? building or a lunch room where people It all depends because there are so many spend hours of their day. It's almost like factors. Typically, though, we'll ballpark putting a big beautiful painting up where quote a couple hundred dollars per everyone PM-ad-2A_printersmarks.pdf can see it, but it’s living art.1 2017-03-10 square 11:07 foot for AM the supply and installation

of the system and plants. However, there are things that come up that we won't know how to quote until we've had a chance to go to the site and see what we're working with. Those are issues like: the kind of irrigation system that will be needed (automated or manual); if there's a nearby water connection, access to a mechanical area to house irrigation components; or if the client wants a special trim around the wall. Access is also another factor, because if we can install it while standing on the ground, then our price will be reflective of that. Otherwise, if we need special equipment to hoist ourselves up a few floors, that'll add to the installation cost.

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The walls are typically green and lush right away so there's not really any growing in period, but it's a living system, after all, so maintenance is required. Anyone who doesn't want to assume extra work or cost probably shouldn't get one. There are services that are recommended on monthly basis to prune, remove dead plant matter, replace plants if necessary, do preventative pest management. WHAT OTHER CONSIDERATIONS MUST BE MADE? They can be put anywhere as long as there is enough heat, light and access to water and the client is willing to have it maintained. You have to think of it as an investment in the appearance of your building and the health and wellness of your tenants. If building managers and owners are willing to do that, then those are the clients who will benefit most. ■ ______________________________________________________________ JASON ROKOSH IS WITH VERTICAL LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS (WWW.VERTLA.COM).

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BIOLOGICAL WARFARE Microscopic worms take on larger pests in fight to protect green spaces BY PAUL LAMMERS

hy use harsh chemicals on a property to combat pests when it’s possible to use biological warfare? Since certain pesticides were banned for cosmetic use in Ontario in 2009, nematodes have become increasingly popular as an affordable, safe, organic option for property managers looking to protect their green spaces from grubs, slugs, caterpillars, and other pests. Nematodes are microscopic worms that live in the soil all around the world. There are many thousands of types of nematodes, some of which are parasitic. There are good and bad nematodes. Bad nematodes, such as the potato eelworm, feed on plant matter and can destroy entire potato crops, while good nematodes feed on and kill pests. Scientists have isolated which nematodes kill different types of pests. The microscopic worms can now be used to safely protect green spaces from a wide range of destructive, unwelcome guests, including grubs, slugs, vine weevils, chafer grubs, leatherjackets, caterpillars, codling moths, and many others. Nematodes swim through the thin layer of water on soil particles in search of carbon dioxide. They then enter the host (whether it be a slug, grub or caterpillar) and release deadly bacteria that kills the host. After killing the host, they reproduce, creating new nematodes. If there are no more pests then the nematodes

GTA & BEYOND ■ MARCH/APRIL 2017

simply die, but if there are more pests then the cycle continues. This means that the number of nematodes will grow or decline in proportion to the number of pests. More pests, more nematodes. There are many reasons to consider using nematodes on properties. Nematodes are organic, environmentally friendly and safe to use around children, pets, birds, wildlife, and food crops. The pests nematodes kill are non-toxic and are safely consumed by other insects (if they don’t decompose naturally). It’s not possible to over-apply nematodes; they will reproduce or die off at a rate in proportion to the pests that are present. Nematodes can also be used alongside other pest control methods, including chemicals. Nematodes exist naturally in the soil; using them is not introducing a foreign species, only ‘topping up’ the existing population. What’s more, they are barely visible to the human eye, just 500 microns long and 20 microns wide. It’s possible to purchase nematodes at most garden centres and hardware stores, but it’s important to note that applying

them properly is crucial to their effectiveness. It’s recommended that a sprayer designed specifically for nematode application be used, among other considerations. What’s more, aerating lawns before applying nematodes helps make the treatment more effective. In order for nematodes to survive they require warm, moist soil. Hot, dry soil will shrivel them up or drive them deep into the ground while water-saturated soil will drown them. For those reasons, the lawn should be watered an appropriate amount of time in advance of and after applying nematodes to ensure they survive. This has the added benefit of driving grubs closer to the surface and helping nematodes burrow deeper below the surface to find the grubs. Ideal times to apply nematodes are early spring and late August through early October, as needed. UV light kills nematodes, so sunny days should be avoided in favour of overcast or rainy days, or wait to apply nematodes or late in the day. Also avoid applying nematodes in the very early spring or late fall when the cold weather (below 10 degrees Celsius) will kill them. ■

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WEATHERPROOF

FOR CLIMATE RESILIE Strategies for reducing rising risk of building damage BY GERARD GRANSAULL

ising temperatures are acting as a catalyst for climate variability. The earth’s climate is a large, interdependent, fluid system and human activity is increasing its energy at a historic rate. The result is highly variable weather systems that behave erratically. Insurance companies have been tracking this for years now — weatherrelated building damage claims have been increasing steadily over the last 10 years. And it’s only going to get worse as the challenge of meeting temperature reduction targets to mitigate global warming becomes increasingly difficult. So, given that damaging weather forces are increasing and inevitable, are buildings up to the challenge? Experience suggests few are thinking about it proactively. Broadly, climate change preparedness focuses on the risks to the built form from more severe storm events, hotter and drier heat events, and sea level rise. In the interest of space, and considering that Toronto is about 800 kilometres from the nearest ocean, here’s a look at all but the last risk: MORE SEVERE STORMS More severe storms mean more rain and snowfall and higher velocity rains, all of which challenge the building envelope. Keeping roof drains clean and free flowing is especially important as rain intensities increase. Consider adding flow-

GTA & BEYOND ■ MARCH/APRIL 2017

control devices to roof drains to reduce their risk of backing up and causing floods when the rate of rainfall exceeds their flow capacity. Adding overflow drains to the perimeter of the roof offers further protection in case roof drains can’t handle the flow. It’s also essential to regularly maintain wall surfaces, especially drains in window tracks and sealants. To that end, condo corporations should make sure money is set aside in their reserve funds to cover the cost of wall inspections and repairs. Even if the same amount of water falls to the ground in a rainstorm in 2017 as in 2007, chances are it will fall in a significantly shorter timeframe. Storm drains at a building may not be able to handle the higher intensity flow. That applies to both sump pumps on the lower levels and city storm drainage systems under the road. When storm drains can’t handle the higher intensity flow, it leads to backups and flooding, which can be severely damaging and dangerous. In less severe storms, for which the drain infrastructure is adequately sized, it’s critical to make sure site catch basins are clear and sump pits and pumps are clean and functional. Consider keeping a gasoline-powered pump on hand in case the power goes out. In the most severe rainfalls, the existing, perhaps older, storm water system may be overmatched. Having a backwater valve on the building sewer mains can keep the

city drains from backing up water — or worse, sewage — into the building. Another way to prevent flooding is to reduce hard paved surfaces on site as much as is practical. Vegetated grounds and permeable paving soak up storm water, reducing how much goes into the storm sewers. Sloping sidewalks onto grassy areas and into tree pits has similar benefits. It’s also a good idea to have a backup plan for parking during times of flood risk. Getting cars out of the garage avoids the costly cleanup of leaked gas and oil. Last but not least, if a building’s backup power generator is in the basement, move it. Some floods are unavoidable, and if the backup power generator is on the lowest level and under water, it won’t work. As storms increase in severity, so do wind forces, making it critical to ensure all roof surfaces are reviewed monthly for removal of extraneous materials (bones dropped by birds, tools left behind by contractors, or the rickety chair the superintendent uses when sneaking a smoke). Also identify and fasten loose sheet metal siding and flashings. On felt and gravel roofs, small and light gravel surface pebbles are prone to becoming airborne missiles under severe wind. Consider replacing them with concrete patio stones, at least at the roof perimeter. And on balconies and terraces, mandate that all furniture and barbecues be tethered together or secured to something solid. Just be careful not to compromise wall cladding or slab waterproofing.

RISK MANAGEMENT

Lasertech_GTA_March_2017_FINAL.pdf

ING

NCE

RISING PEAK TEMPERATURES Peak summer temperatures are on the rise, stressing buildings’ and the utility grid’s capacity to supply power. In some cases, power outages can present significant health and safety risks, particularly during extended outages. If a building is tall enough to require booster pumps for the drinking water, residents on upper floors will not have water if the electricity is out. Make sure residents have access to lower level (probably common area amenity space) plumbing fixtures at a minimum; providing backup power to the booster pumps is advisable. Determine whether a generator has excess capacity to power additional loads, such as sump pumps or booster pumps. A building’s backup generator typically supplies emergency loads such as lights, fire pumps and one elevator. It’s also critical to make sure a generator is functional and tested at least as regularly as is mandated. This must include ensuring the fuel storage system is up to current standards; otherwise, the supplier will not be allowed to refill the tank. Even with a well-functioning, codecompliant diesel generator, the longer the power stays off the more likely it is that fuel oil will be unavailable. It may make sense to provide a second, natural gas-powered generator for both additional capacity and fuel redundancy. Co-generation could be a viable strategy for some condos. It uses a fuel-

powered generator to produce electricity C for general consumption, and possibly preM heating domestic water, while supplying Y backup power to emergency loads. On Heat Alert days, temperatures can CM be dangerous for some, including infants MY and the elderly. For that reason, it’s CY important to ensure suite windows and doors are operable and screened, to allow CMY for natural ventilation if air-conditioning K systems are down. It’s also possible to reduce the heat island effect by replacing dark roof surfaces with vegetated areas (green roofing) or light/reflective surfaces. For old buildings with solid brick masonry or other poorly insulated walls, look into recladding options with a view to improving water resistance and reducing heat gain. For newer condos with glazed walls, solar films or smart blinds may be beneficial. There are many additional considerations for climate resilience in condos, such as emergency planning and solar power. Other great resources include New York City’s Building Resiliency Task Force report from June 2013. Owners and managers of condo buildings are encouraged to start serious thinking about this topic, as weather extremes due to global warming are only going to intensify. ■ ________________________________________ GERARD GRANSAULL, P.ENG. IS DIRECTOR, PROPERT Y CONDITION ASSESSMENT, GREATER TORONTO AREA, WSP CANADA INC. www.REMInetwork.com

2017

RISK MANAGEMENT

HEALTH CARE GRAPPLES WITH CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS Mentoring program to support a network of in-facility resiliency champions BY KENT WADDINGTON

he 21st century continues to post record-setting temperatures. NASA scientists report the first six months of 2016 were the warmest since the advent of modern temperature monitoring in 1880, as each month from January to June established a new upper limit. Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) similarly shows 2016 was the third consecutive year a new record high annual temperature was established, and the 40th consecutive year that the annual temperature surpassed the 20th century average. "To date, all 16 years of the 21st century rank among the seventeenth warmest on record," NOAA scientists report. With these ongoing changes in climate come a myriad of very real impacts. Climbing atmospheric and ocean temperatures bring increasingly frequent and severe storms, epidemics, heat waves and other natural disasters. Health scientists and health care providers are concerned — notably, The Lancet, the United Kingdom’s premier health journal, calls climate change “the biggest global health threat of the 21st century.” For health care facilities, the impacts to infrastructure and increases in the use of health care services due to increased health risks are key considerations. More extreme weather events can damage infrastructure and physical plant operations, compromise access to supplies, food and water, and endanger the safety of patients, visitors

GTA & BEYOND ■ MARCH/APRIL 2017

and staff. Health risks include: increased morbidity and mortality as a result of greater frequency and severity of natural disasters; exacerbation of poor air quality; and increased transmission of vectorborne diseases.

Scotia causing water damage to eight floors and forcing the evacuation of 200 patients (September 2003) • West Nile virus continues to run rampant in North America, costing hospitals millions of dollars (2002-present).

CHALLENGES APPARENT As health care facilities worldwide are recognizing the need to adapt to a changing climate and the need to become more resilient, a growing number of Canadian facilities have already faced adversity due to climate change-related events: • Ten days of extreme humidity in Regina, Saskatchewan, forced the hospital to close its surgery suites for eight days due to increased risk of OR contamination (Summer 2007) • Northern Lights Regional Health Centre in Fort McMurray, Alberta, evacuated hundreds of patients as uncontrolled wildfires threatened the hospital (Spring 2016) • Record downpour from the remnants of Hurricane Matthew resulted in power outages and forced Cape Breton Regional Hospital in Nova Scotia to rely on emergency power (October 2016) • Lyme disease increases in Canada due to our warming climate (May 2016) • Multiple floods in the last several years have hospitals in Manitoba preparing contingency plans for anticipated future events (2011, 2014) • Hurricane Juan rips roof from the Victoria General Hospital in Nova

Although impacts of climate change can vary from region to region across Canada, all health care facilities are urged to assess climate change risks and their preparedness to face them. In many cases, hospitals that have environmental sustainability programs are already on the road to being more resilient. Hospitals that are energy-efficient, for example, will be able to remain open longer when disaster strikes and the power grid goes down. APPLYING THE TOOLKIT Based upon sector need, the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care, and collaborator University Health Network (UHN), are offering Canada’s first climate change resiliency mentoring program to hospitals in Ontario and across Canada using the Coalition’s Climate Change Resiliency Toolkit. “Under the new Mentoring Program, collaborative learning groups will be established to train representatives from hospitals to use the Toolkit at their sites and help these organizations become more aware of their preparedness level to withstand climate change incidents," says Linda Varangu, Coalition Executive Director. "Opportunities will also be explored to

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embed resiliency practices into existing health care priorities such as emergency planning and sustainability programs." The initiative will also serve to reduce the negative impacts hospitals have on the environment, while supporting infrastructure resiliency and abilities to cope with increases in health risks. Through facilitated discussions and expert advice, program participants will be much better prepared to undertake facility assessment and resiliency actions, so that the health care sector can be a critical player in responding to extreme weather events, rather than one of the victims. The Coalition is eminently qualified to lead such an initiative having just won Gold status for Climate Change Leadership in the 2020 Challenge Climate Champion Awards as part of Health Care Without Harm's Global Green and Healthy Hospitals initiative. Partner UHN is similarly internationally recognized as multiple award winners for Climate Resiliency (Gold 2015, Gold 2016) and Climate Leadership (Silver 2015, Gold 2016) and Energy Efficiency (Silver 2015). Together with UHN, the Coalition team is developing climate change resiliency best practices for health care facilities, which will integrate with and expand the Coalition’s Climate Change Resiliency Toolkit. Thanks to funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, an agency of the Government of Ontario, participation in the Mentoring Program is free but space is limited. (The Coalition estimates the program benefits to be valued at approximately $15,000.) Participants will have exclusive access to peer mentoring, and take part in educational webinars, networking conference calls and will develop their skills as climate change resiliency champions in their organization. Participants will also have an opportunity to contribute to the national health care climate change resiliency conversation and be recognized for climate change leadership within their communities. ■

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ENERGY MANAGEMENT

ONTARIO OFFERS UNEQUAL ELECTRICITY COST CUTS Commercial customers excluded from expanded perk for industrial sector

BY BARBARA CARSS

he Ontario government was unsure how many small manufacturers would be newly eligible for the Industrial Conservation Initiative (ICI) when it lowered the minimum threshold for their participation. “Unfortunately, we don’t have these numbers,” Natasha Demetriades, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Energy, acknowledged five days after the government's March 2 announcement. However, it is clear how many commercial customers will be included in the program expansion. None. Ontario’s promised electricity cost cuts come with other unknowns for commercial customers. Premier Kathleen Wynne’s message was directed almost entirely at residential ratepayers as she outlined a plan to refinance some elements factoring into the Global Adjustment — which, in recent years, has accounted for as much as 80% of the commodity cost of electricity — but the expanded perk for the industrial sector will shift a greater share of the Global Adjustment burden onto commercial customers with monthly electricity loads less than 1 megawatt (MW).

GTA & BEYOND ■ MARCH/APRIL 2017

Industrial customers with an average peak energy demand of at least 500 kilowatts (kW) will now be eligible for the program, while the minimum requirement for commercial customers remains at 1 MW. Conservation and demand management (CDM) specialists are surprised after the provincial government’s September 2016 move to open up the program more evenly. “This will just add a layer of confusion,” suggests Scott Rouse, an engineer and Managing Partner of the consulting firm, Energy@Work. “After everything the commercial sector has done to help the province in contributions to the goals of the Long Term Energy Plan, and energy and water benchmarking and reporting, why not include commercial?” The ICI program is a scheme for allocating the Global Adjustment prorated to participants’ consumption during the five hours of a designated 12-month period, from May 1 to April 30, with the highest system-wide demand for electricity. The Ontario government does not forego any revenue through the program, but, rather, simply realigns how it is collected. Customers who can anticipate and curb

demand during these five peak hours will have a favourable mathematical factor for calculating their electricity bills, locked in for one year. Customers who don’t qualify for the program pay the Global Adjustment as a straightforward add-on per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of usage. “Lowering the threshold for program participation will allow more energy-aware customers to reduce use and cost,” says Andrew Pride, a consultant specializing in energy management and strategic conservation planning. “The balance of the Global Adjustment costs will have to be absorbed by those who don’t qualify or participate in the ICI program so, again, this reinforces the need for energy consumers to conserve as much as is practical.” NEW REGULATION IN DEVELOPMENT A one-line “quick fact” in the Ontario government’s March 2 overview of its electricity relief plans states: “Ontario is expanding the Industrial Conservation Initiative (ICI) program by reducing the threshold from 1 MW to 500 kW and targeting more small manufacturing and industrial consumers.” A follow-up

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to reduce peak demand. It’s unlikely to be accomplished through five hours of strategic shutdowns. GLOBAL ADJUSTMENT CONTENTS REMAIN VAGUE The panoply of costs buried in the Global Adjustment make it difficult to parse out where Ontario’s promised electricity cost cuts will come from. In pledging a 25% hydro bill reduction to residential customers, Premier Wynne pointed to a $50-billion investment in generation, transmission and distribution assets between 2005 and 2015 and reported that these costs would be amortized over a longer period rather than wholly flowing through to current ratepayers. “Over time, it will cost more and it will take longer to pay off, but it is fairer because it doesn’t ask this generation of hydro customers alone to pay the freight for everyone before and after,” she said. Other Global Adjustment components will be moved to different funding envelopes. “A number of important programs such as the Ontario Electricity Support Program and the Rural or Remote Rate Protection program would now be funded from provincial revenues instead of by electricity consumers. This will provide savings to industrial (and commercial) customers, who currently fund a portion of these programs,” the Ministry of Energy statement reiterates. Still, many non-residential customers expect the Global Adjustment will continue to represent a significant chunk of their electricity costs. Antithetically to the Ontario government’s conservation goals, building owners/managers might be prompted to run energy-intensive systems longer than necessary to boost their monthly energy loads over the required threshold for ICI participation. Entry into the program does not guarantee a Global Adjustment reduction, however. Customers with energy-efficient operations, and the expertise to accurately predict the five peak hours and respond accordingly, will be the main beneficiaries. “It is going to open up for a lot more participation, but participants should be careful,” Rouse advises. “I strongly urge commercial customers to start looking at this issue well before June 15.” ■ ________________________________________ THE PRECEDING ARTICLE IS REPRINTED FROM THE REMI NETWORK AT WWW.REMINETWORK.COM.

DESIGN INNOVATION

BERGERON CENTRE A MODEL FOR FULLY INTEGRATED BIM York University's award-winning project paves the way for campus-wide standard BY MICHELLE ERVIN

The image merges the design team’s consolidated architectural, structural, MEP and landscape BIM model with a photo of the constructed building by doublespace photography.

t might not have been possible to realize the vision for the Bergeron Centre at York University without building information modelling, or BIM, Paul Stevens said in retrospect. The senior principal at ZAS Architects + Interiors cited the intricate geometry of the 170,000-square-foot facility as having been the biggest risk factor in the project. “It’s an ovoid building with eight different arcs, so you end up with some fairly complicated structural forming,” he explained. “Added to that is the notion of a ‘cloud’ façade, which is made up of a series of repetitive triangles rotated at different angles.” The use of fully integrated building information modelling facilitated precise prefabrication and fast-tracked construction of the project, which earned a Canada BIM Council award late last year.

The project also paved the way for the process to be adopted as a campus-wide standard at the post-secondary institution. Patrick Saavedra, director of planning and renovations, campus services and business operations at York University, was behind the push to adopt building information modelling. He imported the process to his native Toronto from Washington, D.C., where he had worked at an architecture, engineering and construction firm that a decade ago was already using BIM in half of its projects. Saavedra said he saw building information modelling as a way to forge a previously missing link between design and planning and operations and maintenance. The Bergeron Centre was not the first York University project to integrate BIM; it was the natural progression of earlier work. “Prior to that, we had done maybe 15

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Rhino. From there, the design evolved in greater detail through the application of Revit and a comprehensive information platform that captures data to support operations and maintenance programs. “That’s where they saw the value in terms of the specific modeling information because Revit has the ability to not only document it technically, but it also gives you the ability to tag or describe the pieces of equipment or the systems that are within the building,” said Stevens. That gave operations and maintenance staff ready access to data needed for repairs, replacements and service, which might otherwise be captured in drawings or stored off-site, he explained. The big question was: What information ought to be included in the BIM model? One of the lessons to come out of this project for Saavedra was to involve operations and maintenance staff sooner. The initial instinct, he said, was to include everything, but that would have made the model more cumbersome to manage, especially when staff didn’t need all of those details. “Our operations and maintenance folks were more interested in the information for preventative maintenance — like how often should you maintain the HVAC system?” Saavedra offered by way of example. “We had to mediate between those needs from the physical to the ‘i’ (information) in BIM for their purposes.” As for the physical, the modelling allowed for extensive prefabrication to occur off-site, including of the ductwork, HVAC and plumbing, as well as the steel that formed the triangle pattern on the façade of the Bergeron Centre. What’s more, the modelling helped the construction manager to coordinate the arrival and assembly of these materials on site. The resulting efficiencies trimmed two months off the already fast-tracked 24-month timeline.

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INFRASTRUCTURE

INFRASTRUCTURE VIEWED AS AN ASCENDANT ASSET CLASS Governments are catching up after a lapse in investment

nfrastructure is a winning proposition for economic developers and institutional investors alike, maintains the head of an international association of real estate, construction and urban planning professionals. Amanda Clack, 201617 president of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and an infrastructure specialist with EY in the United Kingdom, was in Toronto this winter to gather Canadian insight on project development, delivery and risk management. “I think it’s a really exciting time to be in infrastructure,” Clack maintained. “It’s a great thing to be focusing on because governments are realizing they need to invest in infrastructure in order to maintain a city’s or country’s edge.” Her Toronto stopover was part of a fact-finding mission in major North American cities leading up to the RICS Summit of the Americas in Chicago later this spring, which will include a workshop on global best practice and future trends in infrastructure. After a site visit to the in-progress Eglinton Crosstown LRT (currently slated for 2021 completion) and a brainstorming session with players who devise policy, facilitate, build and maintain projects, she flew out to investigate the infrastructure scene in New York. The focus on hard infrastructure — transportation, energy, water/wastewater

— aligns with many Canadian concerns, including the municipal infrastructure deficit, climate resilience, the reliability of the electricity grid and traffic congestion that is undermining economic productivity. It’s also in sync with some opportunities, such as promised government funding, intensifying urban populations that can support transit and community energy, steady technological advancement and the maturing of Canada’s public-private partnership (P3) expertise. “It is not just a Canadian issue; it is an issue all over the world,” Clack said. “Historically, we invested in our infrastructure and then we sort of took our foot off the gas, but for every dollar you invest in this, there is always wider economic development.” She refers to the public-private “handshake” needed to foster a proficient infrastructure agenda — reasoning that governments must establish the strategic policy, provide the base funding and ensure the consistency that bolsters key business players’ confidence. Just as real estate has emerged from the catch-all alternative asset class to stand alone as an investment category, infrastructure has the fundamentals to draw a growing share of investment allocation. “Infrastructure is an attractive asset class because it’s long-term, it’s secure and it’s reliable,” Clack affirmed. “The biggest

thing (to promote investment stature) is to be able to control your pipeline of projects so then people can begin to plan around that. They can see there is a 30-year pipeline of projects coming downstream.” Along with that, she stresses the importance of RICS’ international leadership in the development of consistent industry-wide standards for property measurement, construction measurement and business ethics. Last year, the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark’s (GRESB) first foray into infrastructure found that it still lacks much of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) evidence that investors can more readily find to inform their real estate decisions. Clack foresees continuing demand for, and adoption of, standards. “What gets measured, gets value,” she said. “We want to have consistency in measurement so you can actually compare sustainability.” At home in the U.K, Clack sits on the newly formed RICS Infrastructure Steering Group, a 10-member contingent of professionals who hold senior posts in industry and government. “It will provide leadership for a significant forum of professionals who seek to maintain and enhance value outcomes for lower levels of expenditure,” the group’s mission statement pledges. ■

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