Awards
2008 summit award® recipients
the environment and
sustainability award
UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTRE ENERGY SYSTEMS
This award recognizes excellence in the application of engineering, geological and geophysical methods towards preservation of the environment and the practice of sustainable development. University of Calgary Child Development Centre Energy Systems
The University of Calgary's Child Development Centre (CDC) officially opened in October 2007. The four-storey 12,000-square-metre building houses a child-care facility and a full continuum of researchers, clinicians and frontline workers dedicated to child health and development, focusing on the first six years of life.
The CDC is the highest scoring LEED®-certified building in Canada and Alberta's first LEED® Platinum structure, the highest level of environmental performance obtainable. The CDC is twice the combined size of all other cold-climate LEED® Platinum buildings in North America.
The energy systems design contributed over a third of the points leading to the LEED® designation. Energy systems include the envelope (walls, windows and roof), lighting and HVAC. LEED® points were received for energy optimization, renewable energy, thermal comfort, light pollution control, ventilation effectiveness, elimination of hydrochlorofluorocarbons and halons, the use of CO2-based control for outdoor air, and controllability of non-perimeter systems.
The CDC serves as an exemplar of resource-efficient design in a large commercial building, with a 71 per cent estimated reduction in annual energy cost and a CO2 emissions reduction exceeding 90 per cent relative to the energy code reference design. A 55 per cent reduction in annual water use, relative to the Canada Green Building Council reference design, was also achieved.
The CDC was also designed as a living lab for vital sustainability research by researchers and students from the University of Calgary’s Schulich School of Engineering and Faculty of Environmental Design. The CDC includes an extensive array of energy systems instrumentation which creates an ideal environment for applied research and experiential learning. Detailed monitoring of buildings is rare and the results will enhance knowledge-informed design to further improve resource efficiency in building systems design for cold climates.
A significant level of collaboration is required for a project of this kind. Every design element incorporated into the facility was considered from the perspective of functionality, efficiency, sustainability, budget and aesthetics. Dr. James Love, P.Eng., served as the energy engineer for the project, providing guidance on the massing, fenestration, building envelope and environmental control systems. Mr. Marc Kadziolka, P.Eng., and Ms. Rana McLean, P.Eng., led the mechanical systems design efforts. Mr. Jeff Bannard, P.Eng., and Mr. Jeff Shewchuk, P.Eng., led the electrical systems design efforts.