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WINTER 2015
MISSION
POSSIBLE
Ask an architect
EIA tower study
Trends in LEED-EB
San Telmo artspace
Wonderful in Winni
THE BEAUTY OF RETROFIT
HOW A CAR PARK BROUGHT LIFE
TO CALGARYS FOURTH STREET
EPLS ONE DESKStanley Milner Libraryrevises its service stance
REBUILDING AN EMPIRENYCs tallest landmarkgets a deep retrofit
OFFICE SPACECubicles are a thingof the past
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ISSUE #2
WINTER 2015
How a simple
change to an
existing parking
structure helped
rejuvenate
Calgarys FourthStreet
6A Walmart storeis repurposed as a
leading library
22 The ugliestbuilding in
Denver
loses title
30The Empire StateBuilding becomes a
deep retrofit leader
10 Seeing the
possibilities in anoutdated facade
11 Ask an architect:embodied energy
broken down
12 Why propertymanagers, owners
are embracing
LEED (EB)
18 Its whats on theinside that counts
26 The Avenue gets
a fresh start inWinnipeg
34 Koreas Hanwhaheadquarters
saves face
36 Stanley MilnersOne Desk is future-
friendly
42 EIA floats renewalfor its aging tower39 A 16th-century
museum
embraces its
natural side
+
Cover photo:
BOOKSTRUCKER
Contents photos:
BOOKSTRUCKER,
Fred Fuhrmeister,
ESRT Empire State
Building L.L.C.,
Fernando Alda
Lara Swimmer
CONTENTS
14
The 1800
building
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FSC LOGO
PLACED BY PRINTERS
MANASC ISAAC ARCHITECTS
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Vivian Manasc
ASSOCIATE EDITORKent McKay
GRAPHIC DESIGN CONSULTANT
Lisa Mentz
VENTURE PUBLISHING INC.
PUBLISHER
Ruth Kelly
DIRECTOR OF CUSTOM CONTENT
Mifi Purvis
MANAGING EDITOR
Shelley Williamson
ART DIRECTOR
Ryan Girard
PRODUCTION MANAGERBetty Feniak Smith
PRODUCTION TECHNICIANS
Brent Felzien, Brandon Hoover
DIRECTOR OF CIRCULATION
Sharlene Clarke
CIRCULATION
Karen Reilly
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Matt Beauchamp, Tiffany Shaw-Collinge, Martin Dover, Lindsay Farr, Richard Isaac,
Jen Janzen, Shafraaz Kaba, Vivian Manasc, Nadia Moharib
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ILLUSTRATORS
Bookstrucker, Fernando Alda, Brice Ferr, Heather McIntyre, Lara Swimmer
Reimagine is a biannual publication produced by Venture Publishing for
architectural firm Manasc Isaac. Manasc Isaac is a Canadian leader in integrated
sustainable building with deep expertise in the reimagining of existing buildings,
primarily those built between 1950 and 2000.
Reimagine showcases the best of reimagined spaces and promotes sustainable
building practices in the community, and strives to be the authoritative business
voice on the value of reimagined building practices.
Contents 2014 by Manasc Isaac. No part of this
publication should be reproduced in print or on websites
without written permission.
Non-deliverable mail should be directed to:
10225 100 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta T5J 0A1
ISSUE #2WINTER 2015
reimagine
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or decades, Ive been thinking about
ways to repurpose existing buildings.In the latest issue of the Economist,
admittedly the only news magazine that
I usually enjoy, was an article entitled Bringing
the House Down, about new technology for the
demolition of existing towers in compact urban
conditions. Discussing the whiz-bang innovations
and enhanced recycling in the demolition of
towers in Frankfurt, Hong Kong and Lyons, one
question is missing: why tear down perfectly good
towers when they can be repurposed at a fraction
of the capital costs, with significantly lower
environmental impact? Lets talk about why weneed to reimagine and also, why now?
We are inspired to reimagine in both grand
gestures and small interventions at the small scale,
this issue of the magazine showcases the dramatic
benefits of the modestly reimagined workplaces (in-
cluding our own) that enable companies to enhance
productivity, creativity and the number of team
members who can effectively occupy a given floor
plate. These refreshing design ideas and solutions
highlight the results of transforming existing spaces
and creating flexible creative environments. Why?
To make better use of existing space, so we dont
have to demolish and build new. And that is just
the beginning.
On the urban design front, our cover story talks
about the value of investing in a community, espe-
cially after major challenges. The 1800 - 4th Street
project in Calgary, located near one of the hardest hit
spots of the Calgary floods of 2013, was completed
in the fall of 2013, and represents Strategic Groups
commitment to the community. We worked with
an old parkade to create a new face, and a renewed
sense of community. Refreshing the face of a park-
ade seems a modest intervention until you see the
effect it has on the neighbourhood. We met with
the community league and they were delighted to
see that the scale and texture of the facade could
be enriched, attracting better tenants and animating
the street. From booming Calgary to the Big Apple,
we will talk about the Empire State Building and its
reimagined future, with a clear focus on the impor-
tance of extending the life of iconic buildings while
reversing decades of wasteful energy practices.
We have found great reimagine examples all
over the world and we bring these together in this
magazine, to highlight what is really feasible. We are
inspired by whats possible in our own neighbour-
hood and what can be realistically achieved overthe next decade or two. Every day, as I walk down
the streets of Edmonton and Calgary, Ottawa and
Montreal, I see possibilities buildings that need to
be reimagined to enrich the urban experience as
well as the environmental performance. Speaking a
few months ago at BOMA Edmontons first Energy
Conference, I was delighted to see the interest of the
property management community, in going beyond
the effective operations and maintenance of existing
buildings and exploring the added value of re-
imagining buildings, for enhanced energy efficiency
as well as enhanced asset value.Recently, we looked at the opportunities to
reimagine two significant government buildings in
Edmonton as well as a residential condo building
these will be showcased in our Spring 2015 issue.
Stay tuned!
Peter Diamandis, author of the bestsellerAbun-
dance: The Future Is Better Than You Think,was in
Edmonton for E-Town 2014. His comments about
the abundance of solar energy reminded us that we
are very close to some breakthroughs in building
design and sustainable net-zero operations. We are
looking at ways to create more momentum around
the repurposing of existing buildings. This magazine
is a part of that an invitation to join us in a conver-
sation about what you think can be done with the
existing buildings in your community.
Please drop us a line at the below email address
to share your examples or ideas. re
Vivian Manasc
Editor-In-Chief
THE PURPOSE OFREPURPOSING
reimagination
F
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reframetrends, innovations and ideas
BIG BOX-
TURNED
BOOKISH
Did you hear the one about the
abandoned Walmart store that was
repurposed as a library? Its no joke.
After a store in McAllen, Texas closed,
a team of architects transformed the
space into a funky and functional
library. Minneapolis architectural
firm Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle
was responsible for the design-build,
which also won the 2012 International
Interior Design Associations 2012
Library Interior Design Competition.
Boultinghouse Simpson Gates
designed the exterior.
The retrofitted space boasts a
lounge and six computer labs just for
teens, as well as 16 public meeting
spaces, 14 public study rooms, 64
computer labs, 10 childrens computer
labs and a pair of genealogy computer
labs. Other new perks in the McAllen
Public Library include an auditorium,
art gallery, used bookstore, coffee
shop and self-checkouts. Whats more,
within the first month of opening,
new users reportedly increased by a
whopping 23 per cent.
Spanning 124,000 square-feet,
the revamped bookworms paradise
is now the largest single-floor library
in the U.S. As they say, everythings
bigger in Texas.
PHOTO LARA SWIMMER
Within the first month of opening,
new library membership jumped
23 per cent.
An abandoned store inTexas becomes the largest
single-floor library
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PHOTO LI NEAR CITY DEVELOPMENT LLC
L.A. TOWER HITS THE REFRESH BUTTONOnce the headquarters for the Met-
ropolitan Water District (MWD), LosAngeles Elysian was initially designed
by renowned architect William Pereira
in 1961 and completed in 1973. Though
the building at 1115 Sunset Boulevard
has long been lauded as an aesthetic
and engineering marvel, the tower had
been sitting vacant for nearly 20 years,
and it was in need of a reboot.
When Linear City Development, a
partnership of Leonard Hill and Yuval
Bar-Zemer that focuses on high-density
mixed-used projects, purchased that
aging marvel, the Elysians reimagining
as a 96-unit residential tower began.Flanked by Chinatown and Echo Park,
and overlooking Sunset Boulevard, the
tower is well placed and characterized
by clean lines and wrap-around bal-
conies. The project architect for the
$30-million adaptive reuse was David
Lawrence Gray, who consulted with the
MWD General Counsel to recover the
original plans for the building to help
with the retrofit.
In a press release, Linear City states
that the Elysian preserved much of the
buildings iconic architecture while add-
ing the latest technological innovationsincluding 240-volt EV charging stations.
The Elysian, whose rents are expect-
ed to range from $1,500 to $6,500, also
features upgrades including a solar ther-
mal system for the buildings hot water,
LED lights and double-pane high-E glass
throughout.
The buildings pair of 1,700-square-
foot penthouses, built above the original
roof of the building, are punctuated by
20-foot floor-to-ceiling windows allow-
ing spectacular views of Los Angeles.
One of just three architects to grace the cover of Timemagazine (along with
Frank Lloyd Wright and I.M. Pei); Pereirais acknowledged as a mid-century
Modernist pioneer. His works include the TransAmerica Building in San
Francisco and LAXs central theme building. Pereira also won an Academy
Award for his work on special effects in the 1941 film Reap the Wind.
DID YOUKNOW:
>
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reframe
PHOTO (VOLTAIC)FINISH IN BANFF
ONE OF MANASC ISAACS EARLY SUSTAINABLE DESIGN PROJECTS
IN THE CANADIAN ROCKIES JUST GOT SLIGHTLY GREENER.
Banffs Town Hall was designed by Manasc Isaac and Sturgess
Architecture in 1996, pre-LEED certification, but was crafted to C 2000
standards the first of its kind in Alberta. Last year, the building got a
sustainable boost with the advent of 72 solar panels to its roof, making it the
most extensive photovoltaic panel installation in the whole Bow Valley.Chad Townsend, the towns environmental coordinator, predicts
the system developed by Calgarys SkyFire Energy will save roughly 11
tonnes in CO2emissions annually, as compared to electricity generated
by fossil fuels. The panel setup is expected to generate about 17,109
killowatts per year, the equivalent to what three households use in
that time. A monitor in the Town Hall lobby will show real-time energy
readings of emissions saved, electricity generated and equivalent uses.
PHOTOS COURTESY THE TOWN OF BANFF / WIKICOMMONS - JOE MABEL
LOOKS LIKE A MILLIONIT WEATHERED TWO EARTHQUAKES AND A GREAT FIRE
AND NOW IT HAS ALSO SURVIVED A RETROFIT.
San Franciscos historic Flood Building which was built in
1904 at the corner of Powell and Market Streets for a cost of
$1.5 million by James L. Flood was once the largest building
in the northern California city.
Carbon Lighthouse was behind the revamp, which is
expected to save at least $1 million in energy costs over the
next 12 to 15 years. The building improvements included
installing a computerized central management system;
incorporating an improved HVAC system; and replacing and
updating the buildings lighting.
In addition to saving our tenants money on their utility
bills, this project makes a significant dent in our buildings
carbon footprint, says building owner, Jim Flood grandson
of James L. Flood in a press release. Carbon Lighthouses
work aligned with our mission to preserve the integrity of this
historic space while modernizing our operations as much as
possible. Even better, the project was smooth and stealthy, and
posed no disruption to the day to day business of our tenants.
The 12-storey Flood Building spans 300,000 square-feet
and counts flagship stores for The Gap, Urban Outfitters and
Anthropologie among its 350 commercial and retail tenants.
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PHOTOS COURTESY WWW.IRIS-INDUSTRIES.COM / CENTAINE TYLER
COUNTERCULTURE
BLUE JEANS
DOLLARS AND SENSEOF GOING GREEN
A husband-and-wife team in Lincoln,
Nebraska hopes to find a second life
for that favourite pair of comfortable
jeans everyone has kicking around
their closet: countertops.
Appropriately dubbing their up-
and-coming product Denimite, Jen
Carlson and Josh Shear of Iris Indus-
tries launched a Kickstarter campaign
last fall and reached their $10,000 goal
in a matter of days, thanks to nearly
100 backers from Nebraska to thePhilippines.
Along with the recycled jeans,
Denimite is made of partially bio-
based thermoset resin, which con-
tains no volatile organic compounds
(VOCs), compounds shown to have
adverse effects on human health. Carl-
son and Shear report that the material
is lightweight, water impervious, and
due to the way the denim fibres are
distributed, boasts mechanical strength
in every direction. Because denim is a
key ingredient, the materials are cheap
and plentiful; plus the finished product
has a cool, blue-jeans look. There are
myriad potential uses for the material,although Carlson and Shear say its
best suited for things like countertops,
panels, furniture, automobile parts, and
consumer goods.
A study by the CoStar Group of 1,300 buildingsfound that LEED-certified buildings can ask
rent premiums of $11.24-per-square-foot over
conventional building counterpartsand have
a3.8 per centhigher occupancy rate. LEED-
certified buildings also sell for an extra $171 per
square foot on average.
Deep retrofits areestimated to add
$3 to $30 per
square footto an
office spaces value.
If half of all new commercialbuildings were built to use 50
per cent less energy, it would
save more than six million
metric tons of CO2and be the
equivalent of taking a million
cars off the road.
Buildings consume70 per centof the electricity
load in the U.S.
Sources: U.S. Green Building Council and Carbon War Room Research Report
Calgarians may recognize the name Cam Dobranski from his tenure as chef
and proprietor at Winebar Kensington and Brasserie. These days you may
see him on social media tweeting about his latest concoction: Container Bar,
which tweets updates and opening hours for the remaining days of autumn.
Dobranski told the Calgary Herald back in July his plans to craft a patio
hangout next to his businesses was fuelled by a desire to clean up an unused
alley and provide some relief for an outdoor space crunch in the trendy
northwest neighbourhood. He helped build the tables from repurposed wood
claimed from old pallets, while church pews and school chairs make up the
spaces seating. A walk-up bar is made from, as the name would suggest, a
modified three-metre-square shipping container. Follow Container Bar, which
opened in July, on Twitter at @Container_Bar. re
SHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK
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leading edge
s a reimaginer,
one learns to
see possibility
everywhere.
Walking through a city likeCalgary, with a downtown
core full of aging building
stock, several stand out as
striking examples of structures
in need of reimagining. Some
of them offer such unique and
transformative possibilities
that I cant help but bring
the idea of them home and
doodle what a renovation
might look like, just to flex
my muscles.One that strikes me every
time I see it is the Encana
Centre, a 20-storey 1970s
building located in Calgarys
city core. Sitting on a two-
storey podium, the diamond
shaped building stands out,
sharp-bowed and thrusting
eastward like some sort of
ship of commerce.
Although the tower plan
shape is interesting, the facade
itself is challenging. Each floor
and each facade face repeats
itself, and the building makes
no differentiation between
the six directions it faces.
Although this delivers an
elegant appearance aligned
with the values of modernist
architecture, it undoubtedly
causes some discomfort for the
building occupants. You see,
those who have workspaces
facing north will probably
be comfortable, benefitting
from steady daylight and no
solar heat gain. But if a person
works somewhere on thesouth or the west sides, both
glare and heat gain is likely a
challenge for them.
I snapped a photograph
of the building and brought
it back to my Edmonton
studio, where I conceptualized
a hypothetical solution to
Encana Centres facade
dilemma. A client did not
commission this, but I was
interested in creating a designsolution for the tower, as an
example of what an average
office tower could do.
To create both an aesthet-
ically and environmentally
better tower, I propose that
each face be treated differ-
ently, depending upon which
direction (north, east, south
or west) it faces. I admit I
am a fan of avant-garde design
solutions (those that push
the boundaries of what is
accepted as the norm or status
quo), and undertook a draw-
ing that articulates a visually
striking and dynamic answer
to the Encana Centres
facade treatment.
This design proposes the
addition of brightly-coloured
shading devices, which serve
multiple purposes. First,
they improve the comfort of
occupants, adding shading
where necessary (on the south
and west sides), as well as
stimulating colour to revitalize
the building and urban
streetscape as a whole. Crafted
from frittered glass, this facadetreatment is an elegant design
solution that achieves multiple
successes with one installation.
In the photo above to the
left, you are looking at the
west facing elevation. The
south facade is to the right.
This south-facing glazing has
been given projecting, which
acts as a horizontal blocker
against the sun. Not just for
appearance, the sun-shading
devices maintain occupant
comfort, modulating heat and
light when the south sun is
high in the sky. This treatment
would not be effective on
the west side of the building
where the sun is low in the
sky. I propose installing vertical
shading elements for this side
of the building facade.
Certainly, one could also
add plain sunshades to the
building that would align
with the neutral tones of the
existing facade, but recent
technology allows us to
add colour to the shaders,
breathing new life into the
Encana Centre and making itsparkle on the street. Doesnt
this building look like a 21st-
century wonder with the
addition of rainbow hues?
Perhaps the best news is
that this reimagine exercise
would be relatively low-
cost. After all, my suggested
updates dont require any
changes to the buildings
exterior envelope or
windows. Its difficult to
accurately assess cost without
an invitation from the client
to examine the building,
but I would speculate that my
suggested transformation of
the Encana Centre could be
achieved for about
$5 million a bargain price
to revitalize the urban
landscape, improve the
comfort of tenants and add
value to an asset. re
By Richard Isaac
MODERNISTMUSINGS
A
The Encana Centre is among ageneration of structures in Calgaryscore begging for a refresh
PHOTOS COURTESY MANASC ISAAC
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ask an architect
What is embodied energy?
Embodied energy is simply the total amount of energy put into
the manufacture of materials that are used in the construction
of buildings. For example, its the energy required to turn a tree
into a two-by-four piece of lumber. Embodied energy is import-
ant because different materials have different amounts of energy
required for their processing and manufacture.
When embodied energy in materials is studied more closely,
one can also see the relationship of natural resource depletion,
greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and environmental
degradation. Embodied energy is also important with existing
buildings because we need to account for the vast amount of
energy that has already been put in place with the materials used
in the construction of that structure.
Materials should be evaluated for their embodied energy
as this helps make more sustainable choices. For example, the
embodied energy of wood (2.5 megajoules per kilogram)
is almost an order of a magnitude less than that of steel (32
megajoules per kilogram). This is due to the extremely high
amount of energy it takes to run a steel foundry and process raw
iron ore into steel.
Wood, on the other hand, is relatively simple to harvest and
mill down into usable products. Therefore, choosing a woodstructure for smaller buildings would be a less energy-intensive
choice and also has the added benefit of being a carbon-sink,
as wood which is left intact sequesters carbon within its fibres.
Thats not to say that wood is always the best choice steel
and concrete are appropriate for larger buildings, due to their
increased structural capacity and robustness. One must also weigh
the longevity of materials and their durability in selecting the
right material.
Existing buildings are important for their embodied energy
in that theres already an investment of energy and material thats
usually still good for adaptive reuse. The amount of wood, steel
and concrete that can be found in existing buildings is in themillions of tonnes of material, and within this material, there is
enough embodied energy that can save hundreds of megajoules
of energy if this existing material is reused.
The reuse of existing building materials spares the need
to manufacture new materials, particularly those with large
embodied energy like concrete and steel, helping to conserve raw
materials, resources and energy. re
Reimaginemagazine sat down withShafraaz Kaba,
partner and architect at Manasc Isaac.END OF LIFEMANAGEMENT
USE ANDMAINTENANCE
RAW MATERIALEXTRACTION
EMBODIED
CARBON
TRANSPORTATIO
MANUFACTURING
THE ENERGYOF MATERIALS
PHOTO BRICE FERR / GRAPHIC DATA FROM INTERFACE GLOBAL VIA BUILDINGGREEN.COM
5%
22%
2%
10%61%
73%
EmbodiedEnergy of
Nylon Carpet
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or a leasing agent
or building owner,
there is a case to bemade for sustain-
able buildings, and nobody
knows that better than the
folks responsible for the first
LEED-EB Gold building in
Edmonton.
Sun Life Place may
have been built in 1978, but
a series of improvements
throughout its life span have
made it a model of sustain-
ability and green operations.Most recently, it was recog-
nized as LEED-EB Gold,
but this acknowledgement
from the Canada Green
Building Council was a long
time coming.
When we decided to go
for the actual certification,
most of the work had been
done or was part of our nor-
mal operations as a matter of
course. The incremental cost
was probably about $230,000,
which is about 80 cents a
square-foot, says Rod Gaten-
by, managing director of Real
Estate Investments at Sun Life
Investment Management.
Graham Halsall, who
consulted on the LEED
certification for Sun Life
Place on behalf of greening
leader Halsall Associates, says
making existing buildings
sustainable is gaining steam
with building owners and
tenants. For a leasing agent,their perspective is that
tenants often want to move
into a LEED building. If
its an older property, the
opportunity to lease space is a
little better when you say, We
are LEED as well. Attracting
tenants who care about green
buildings or sustainability is
the key leasing driver. From
the landlords perspective,
they typically respect tenantswho have respect for building
systems, even something as
simple as turning lights and
computers off at the end of
the day.
Because LEED-EB fo-
cuses more on a buildings
operations than design, Hal-
sall explains, its actually easy
to be green, just by putting
some saving measures in
place. In the case of Sun Life
Place, chillers were upgraded
and automated, 95 per cent
of lights were replaced with
low-Mercury types and water
use was tempered by low-
flow fixtures and sub-meters.
The payoff was palpable. We
just looked at the year fol-
lowing completion and our
utility costs were down about
25 cents a foot compared to
2013, says Gatenby, noting
F
Seeking LEED status for existing buildings is gainingsteam with building owners and tenants
GOOD AS GOLD
whats trending
8/10/2019 reimagine Winter 2015
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water consumption declined by 30 per cent since implementing
the changes.
Energy was a large saving point. This building has an En-ergy Star rating of 83, which means its in the 83rd percentile of
comparable buildings on a national basis. We are using about 35
per cent less energy in that building than the national median,
says Gatenby. We went ahead and purchased about 50 per cent
of our energy from renewable sources, which obviously reduces
our greenhouse gas emissions. We put in energy efficient retro-
fitted chillers pr ior to going for certification, and we also updat-
ed the boilers, so we are looking at about 30,000 kilowatt hours
per year in savings.
Also part of the plan was incorporating a recycling
program diverting 100 per cent of durable goods and 50
per cent of consumables from the landfill and encouraging
tenants to take the LRT from the nearby Churchill station,
says Gatenby. We did surveys to try and increase use of
public transit, and over 50 per cent of our occupants are using
alternative transportation.
Philip Gillin, senior managing director and portfolio man-
ager, Canadian Property Investments at Sun Life Investment
Management, says it all comes back to the company culture
and market demands. We made the decision a number of years
ago to do whatever we could to own and manage buildings
that had an excellent environmental profile. We challenged our
property managers to get involved in that with us and also our
tenants. We see sustainable real estate as being a key element of
our environmental program within the company and thats a
key element of our sustainability strategy.re
We made the decision a number of years ago to dowhatever we could to own and manage buildingsthat had an excellent environmental profile.
SOURCE: THE CANADA
GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL
-Philip Gillin, of Sun LIfe Investment Management
LEEDING THE PACK LEED, or leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a
third-party certification program and an internationally accepted
benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-
performance green buildings.
LEED rating systems encourage and accelerate the global adoption
of sustainable green building practices through the creation and
implementation of universally understood and accepted tools and
performance criteria.
LEED Canada EB: O&M certification differs from other LEED
classifications in that it focuses on the operations and maintenance
phase of the building instead of the construction phase. Under thisrating system buildings must file for recertification at least once
every five years to maintain their LEED Canada EB: O&M status.
LEED certified buildings meet the highest environmental
performance standards in Canada.
There are currently 3,600 registered LEED projects and 2,000
registered homes in the country, accounting for 500 million square-
feet, including registered and certified buildings since 2004.
In addition to lower operating costs, green buildings can offer
healthier environments, produce less waste, use less water, and
help reach commitments to reduce carbon footprints.
LEED-certified buildings can be found in most sectors, including
single-family homes, schools, retail, hotels, hospitals, public safety,
government and commercial and industrial buildings.
LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by
recognizing performance in five areas:
- Sustainable site development
- Water efficiency
- Energy efficiency
- Materials selection
- Indoor environmental quality
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A makeover of Calgarys 1800 breathesnew vitality into an entire Mission block
By Jen Janzen
Photos by BOOKSTRUCKER
STRATEGICTRANSFORMATION
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As the city of Calgary emerged from the
devastation of the 2013 flooding, as debris was
cleaned up, electricity restored, and as life once
again bustled in the downtown core, it was fitting
that the first post-flood development permit the
city issued would also facilitate another transformation. Theproject: redeveloping the 1800 building, a mixed-use structure
named for its address (1800 - Fourth St. S.W.). The building is
located in the Mission area, south of the downtown core, which
was among the places in the city hardest-hit by flood damage.
Thanks to its higher elevation, the 1800 building hadnt been
harmed in the flood.
The ground level of the building features several retail rental
units, and office spaces fill the floors above, crowned by several
floors housing 100 apartment units. Strategic Group, a Calgary-
based real estate development and property management firm,
purchased 1800 then known as Hillsboro Tower in 2010.
Randy Ferguson, Strategics chief operating officer, concedes theoriginal tower wasnt much to look at. You would see this tall
parking structure, then youd see a rather dilapidated facade to
the south, he says.
Though the buildings interior was also in need of an update,
Ferguson says the exterior was the most urgently warranted
fix. The dated brown-and-beige facade edging the retail spaces
made the property resemble a run-down strip mall more
than a proud member of the up-and-coming Mission distr ict.
Passersby who dont have a reason to enter the building wont
see the inside, but the entire community sees the exterior. It was
dilapidated and uninviting, Ferguson says.
But the leadership team at Strategic Group wasnt put off
by the buildings lacklustre veneer. With the stated objective of
creating value others cant by seeing what others dont, Stra-
tegic found the 1800 project a perfect fit. Our company plan
around the acquisition of properties is to redevelop, repurpose
and re-use to bring properties up to todays standards in terms
of how they appear and how they fit into the neighbourhood,
to modernize and make our environments more pleasant so our
tenants and customers have a better exper ience in our buildings,
Ferguson says. >
While the 1800
building escaped
flood damage, its
exterior was in
need of a serious
reimagining, with
its run-down facade
that resembled an
aging strip mall.
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ith Manasc Isaac
Architects help, Strategic
Group developed a
new vision for 1800,
transforming the
colourless eyesore into a winsome monument
for the Mission neighbourhood. The parking
garage is clad in metal mesh, which lends
texture and dimension and creates a sense of
continuity with the rest of the retail space.
Enter designer Claire Johnson of Manasc
Isaac, who says the vision for the property
was to bring an element of cohesion to the
buildings various constituents. The concept of
the design is to pull the building together and
emphasize the corner, drawing people in and
creating a landmark, Johnson explains.Ferguson says that the exterior work didnt
only benefit the buildings appearance; it
also boosted 1800s overall efficiency. When
buildings get of a certain age, they begin to have
air leaks that your mechanical systems must
compensate for. By replacing things like the
facade and the retail storefronts, we made the
building much more efficient, Ferguson says.
Refreshing older buildings is a more
sustainable approach than tearing down and
building new ones. We have a large existing
building stock and it is not sustainableenvironmentally nor economically to keep
building new and discarding the old, Johnson
says. You can achieve large energy savings and
dramatically decrease running costs by focusing
on both the building skin and system together,
plus there is the immense satisfaction of the
before-and-after comparison, from an aesthetic
point of view as well as quality of the indoor
environment.
Along with its reworked exterior, the
building now also boasts a renovated interior,
with new HVAC systems and occupancy sensors
that save electricity by turning on only when
needed. The residential units were re-done
as well; as tenants moved out of the building,
vacant units were ripped apart right down to
the original concrete structure and rebuilt. By
the time we were finished it was a brand new
apartment, Ferguson says.
The offices got the same treatment. Upon
being vacated, they were torn down to the
concrete and redone. Except, Ferguson notes,
for those whose tenants who decided to stay in
place and work through the renovations. Well
renovate those offices when theyre empty, but
wed just as soon the tenants stay 100 more years,
Ferguson says with a laugh.
For the buildings retail clients on the other
hand, it was business as usual through the
construction process.
This prompted the question: how do you
completely transform a structure while making
sure retail customers and building tenants still have
access to it? Very carefully, says Ferguson, noting, It
created another element of complexity.
Aware of the need to minimize disruption to
1800s tenants, the Manasc Isaac team developed
a detailed schedule listing all facets of the project:
from when materials were to be delivered to when
W
TOP PHOTO COURTESY MANASC ISAAC
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Ferguson knows its already positively contributed to the
neighbourhood. Weve had a great many compliments from
all of the constituents involved, Ferguson says, emphasizing
that the refreshing, urban feel of the new exterior has a more
enduring design than the original 1970s version. We wanted
to create a design that is more or less timeless so you can look
at it today and enjoy it today, and keep enjoying it 10 years
from now. This is what Manasc Isaac accomplished for us.
They did an outstanding job of creating something we can beproud of.
For Johnson, the success of the project can be summarized
by the way its now classified by other Calgarians: Its no
longer the car park on 18th Avenue and Fourth Street, but
the cool building with the green stripe. re
there could be work going on, all balanced
against the staggered hours of the various
businesses operating from the building. The
interim result was that businesses that could still
operate and the renovation schedule continued
without delays. Front-end planning is the
greatest risk mitigator, Ferguson says.
One of the aspects of the 1800 reimagining
that stands out for Johnson was the relativeabsence of construction waste. The facade
was built in collaboration with Calgary-based
Ferguson Glass and the framing and glazing
design could be custom-made to work with
the sizes of the material available. So whilst
maintaining the intent, we saved a significant
amount of material from the landfill, as well
as keeping the costs down for the owner, says
Johnson.
Its the new mesh-lined parking garage that
stands out the most in Fergusons mind, partly
because, in the old space, the garage was one of
the buildings most obvious aesthetic problems.
The building was craving a consistent look
that spoke to a parkade, retail space and an
office all together. We struck a balance in terms
of mater ial. The selection of mesh mutes how
that structure loomed off the site, he said.
The final phase of the project finished
up this past September, so there hasnt been
enough time to say how much more energy
efficient 1800 is post-reimagining, but
You would see thistall parking structure,then youd see a ratherdilapidated facade to
the south.-Randy Ferguson, Strategic Groups chief operating officer
(Top) What the building looked
like before being reimagined.
Aware of the need to minimize
disruption to tenants, the design
and construction team developed
a detailed schedule for 1800.
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From chatter space
to collaborative hubs,
offices and learning
venues have evolved
from the contained
cubes of the past
DESIGNOF THE TIMES
BY KENT MCKAY
8
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hen Lindsay Gurevitch walks into a room,
she sees it though a different lens then most.
Working for Edmonton architectural firm Manasc
Isaac taught Gurevitch to focus on sustainable design
approaches on cutting-edge projects. A long history
in sustainable building has earned the studio many
firsts even pioneering the first-ever LEED-
certified building in Alberta and ushering in a new
era of green design.
The interior designer took full advantage of the
sustainable design experience offered by Manasc
Isaac, cultivating a keen sense of possibility and
frugality in a design approach specifically tailored to
workplace environments. This approach led to the
creation of Reimagine Interiors by Manasc Isaac, aCalgary studio dedicated to transforming the citys
interior landscape.
There hasnt been a major shift in office
design since the modern cubicle-and-water-cooler
system was invented, says Gurevitch. We know
that there are better ways to design a space. People
work better in spaces that are designed for them,
and tailored for what they do every day. It sounds
so simple, but designing a good office does require
you to shift your perspective and think outside of
the box.
A reimagined interior is one thats thoughtfullyand thoroughly considered, taking advantage of
knowledge about the work being done in the space,
and leveraging all inherent and existing benefits in-
cluding existing finishes, furniture and natural light.
Each reimagine project begins the same way.
The first thing I look at when I walk into a space
to be reimagined is windows. How much light is in
here? Gurevitch says.
Windows are a fundamental component of a re-
imagined project. They offer natural light, which re-
sults in energy savings for the building and healthier
and happier occupants. Whether or not windows
are operable also influences the sustainability and
comfort of a space; fresh air is widely recognized as
a benefit to occupant health and reduces cooling
loads and energy costs during summer months.
Next, I start scanning the space for anything
that might be reused or repurposed, she says. Is
the carpet in good shape? How about light fixtures?
Ceiling tiles? She notes that items can be reused
across different projects; some furniture might fit
perfectly into a design that the studio is working on
across the street. At worst, excess finishes and fur-
niture can be donated to a reuse centre to benefit
someone else. But perhaps the most important
consideration in a preliminary scan is whether or
not existing walls can be maintained.
At the end of the day, the layout has to
work well. If an offices old design doesnt fit the
workflow of your people, the space needs to be
reconfigured. Its the bones of the project.
So, whose input helps guide the design process?
Everyone in the organization should be at the table
to create the new space. It has to be everyone
from the janitor to the CEO. Its not just about
empowering everybody, but its about understand-
ing how everyone works, every day. By getting to
know everyones individual workflow, we can really
maximize the space.Although inviting the whole team to par-
ticipate in design charrettes and workshops may
look like an additional investment on the surface,
designers argue that it will save time in the long
run. This is part of lean design. Building the
space around peoples workflow gets you away
from cubicle farms. Plus, it gets everyone engaged
and invested in the project.
oday, everyone is questioning the typical office
layout. While many people accept that cubi-
cles, phones, fluorescent lights and water coolersare just how offices are, there is a growing debate
as to whether this is good for people or even the
bottom line.
Technological developments have changed the
way people work. Telecommuting, the Internet
and collaborative tools such as Skype challenge
traditional office design. Old-fashioned office
concepts dont work very well in todays world,
Gurevitch says. If someone is working from home
or a coffee shop, or if they are out of the office
a lot of the time, why should there always be an
empty cubicle with their name on it at the office?
Its not an efficient use of space, and it doesnt do
the employee or the business any favours. So we
say, Lets look at what people actually do on a
given day.
Activity-based working (ABW) has become a
raison dtrefor reimagine interiors projects. It has
revolutionized the way designers at Manasc Isaac
approach office design. Its basically about design-
ing spaces around the functions that people use
them for, she notes.
The team learned this lesson quickly working
on Alberta Museums Association (AMA), who >
W
T
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approached Manasc Isaac to reimagine its office space in 2010.
The results were transformative for the organization and in the
end the project reinvigorated the entire AMA team. It was among
Manasc Isaacs notable ABW experiments.
Even though the term activity-based working hadnt really
been coined yet, the Alberta Museums Association was a kind of
proto-activity-based working project.
The Three Cs of space chatter, concentration and collabo-
ration are at the heart of ABW.
Chatterspace is everyones favourite place to gather and
bond with co-workers. This is the clich water-cooler space,
where team members talk about their weekend or a recent
hockey game. They also offer a unique opportunity for staff to
bump into people, and sometimes these collisions result in in-
creased productivity for the office. Happy accidents take place
in the chatter space. These areas allow cross-pollination between
departments to happen. Many clients have written to me sayingthat they love the spontaneous interactions that take place in the
chatter areas, she adds.
Collaborationspace is a slightly less pronounced version
of a chatter space. These areas are a middle ground, places where
groups can gather for focused discussions and brainstorming ses-
sions and can include boardrooms, but more frequently represent
less formal meeting areas such as staircases, kitchens and lounges.
Collaboration spaces balance comfort and inspiration with
function. These are areas where you can get down to busi-
ness but in a more creative and vibrant setting than a plain old
boardroom.
For Alexandra Hatcher, former executive director of theAMA, the energy of the spaces collaboration areas proved a valu-
able asset to her entire team. We absolutely love the spontaneous
meeting areas; the reading nook and the chat bar, says Hatcher.
People gravitate toward these informal sitting areas. The design
improved both productivity and collaboration for our team.
Concentrationspace is the bread and butter of a traditional
cubicle-style office. These quiet areas are where occupants go to
hunker down and get work done, undisturbed, perhaps following
an inspiring encounter in a chatter or collaboration space.
You absolutely need concentration space, Gurevitch says, adding
the reimagine approach is more about challenging the notion of
one desk per person, per office. For some organizations, having
an open office with a few dedicated quiet areas works really well,
she says.
In 2013 Manasc Isaac decided to walk the talk, adopting an
activity-based-working design for its own Edmonton office. We
colour-coded a map of the building with the different spaces
clearly labelled. This way, everyone knows where they need to be
careful about noise, and where they can go to take meetings and
have conversations. The map was distributed to staff and put up
in washrooms.
Recently, open-concept offices have been given a bad rap in
the news, but the style of workspace is slowly starting to catch
on. You cant just open a space and expect it to work. Acoustic
The Oliver Building in Edmonton houses the
offices of Manasc Isaac, whose venue hasbeen transformed into an activity based
workplace with 150 square-feet/person.
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IMAGES MANASC ISAAC
techniques need to be used to make sure that its well considered
for sound, Gurevitch says.
Flexibility is the order of the day in implementing an
activity-based working model. By untethering occupants from
dedicated desks, designers not only give staffers the freedom to
collaborate when necessary, but the arrangement also reduces
the bottom line for a business. These layouts save business
owners money and even allow them to make more money.
First, you need less space to begin with, due to the fact that you
arent setting aside a certain amount of square footage for everyemployee, at every moment. After all, not all employees are in
the office all the time.
It can also cut down an organizations footprint. Reducing the
amount of square footage that you need, which saves you rent and
operational costs. Second, if an employee has to move around or
change departments, its easier to pack up and move around the
office. You can basically eliminate this cost entirely by doing away
with dedicated desks.
Another byproduct of the approach to design is autonomy
and employee satisfaction, she explains. If your team is happy and
more empowered to do their jobs effectively, the whole organiza-
tion will benefit from that productivity.
hen Manasc Isaac asked Gurevitch to help tweak the
Edmonton studios layout to accommodate its growing
staff, hot-desking or the idea that occupants can anchor tem-
porarily in a different spot all the time made sense even for
some partners.
Change started right at the top. Manasc Isaacs principal
Vivian Manasc, along with partner Shafraaz Kaba, gave up their
desks and offices right away, opting to settle wherever there was
a free desk on any given day. This flexibility speaks to Manasc
Isaacs corporate culture, and also happens to save the organiza-
tion space and operational costs.
Just as something as simple as a personal choice of shoes
affects first impressions, the esthetics of an office can make an
immediate imprint. When you walk into a reimagined space,
you should instantly connect with and feel the organizations
corporate culture. Are they fun? Progressive? Whats their story?
asks Gurevitch.
For Manasc Isaac, the transition to ABW was a worthwhile
one. Nearly a year after the completion of the new office design
the studios 60 employees have not only adjusted to the style, but
they have embraced it.I like how open it has made the office feel, explains Manasc
Isaac proposal writer Gloria Alamrew. Even though the different
spaces are clearly delineated, the office doesnt feel sectioned off
anymore. We have the work pods throughout the office, which
everybody understands and respects as concentration space. We
can put on our headphones and really focus.
My favourite spaces are the informal gathering areas like the
couches by reception, or even the kitchen with its big bar table.
They really invite you to chat and mingle, and that environment
tends to stimulate very productive conversations, says Alamrew.
The journey wasnt an easy one, she adds. After the renova-
tion, I wasnt sure how the transition to ABW would work and
like with any big change there were a few growing pains. But
once the dust settled it was pretty neat to see how easily everyone
settled in. It felt very intuitive.
For the Alberta Museums Association, culture is an import-
ant part of the design, too. This design reflects where we want
to go as an organization, says Hatcher. Were open, vibrant and
thinking about the future.
The best reimagined interiors require considerable thought,
as well as buy-in from the entire organization, not to mention
careful attention to the unique workflows of each employee, says
Gurevitch. A successful interior is one thats designed around
two things: the people and the brand. re
The Alberta Museums Associations
reimagined office space includes several
collaborative hubs for meetings.
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Dowdy inDenverBY JEN JANZEN
2
Reinventing an office building in the Golden Triangle has made the area more inviting
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Now, as you enter the Golden Triangle
district, youre greeted by a 10-storey marvel
of sustainability: a re-skinned, LEED Gold-
certified aluminum and glass-cladded structure
with a 33 per cent reduction in energy use. And,
filled as it is with natural light from the boost
in window coverage (the windows are now six
feet high, up from four-and-a-half feet in the
buildings previous incarnation), not to mention
a completely renovated interior, its also a more
pleasant place to be for its nearly 300 federal
employees. Its a great-looking building, says
Scott Miller, senior project manager at GE
Johnson, the construction company that won
the design-build contract for the project. When
you see the before and after, you cant believe it.
Owned by the General Services Admin-
istration (GSA), the Cesar Chavez Memorial
Building houses five federal agencies and adaycare. The 180,000-square-foot structure
was built in 1982 and it was clearly time for
a change. The metal panels surrounding the
building were starting to look worn. They
were all fading in various places depending on
how the sun hit them, Miller explains and
the seven-storey, 290-car parkade was showing
structural deficiencies.
The project was designed by Tryba
Architects, a Denver-based firm that specializes
in shaping and reshaping urban spaces.
Tryba worked with GE Johnson to develop
the energy-saving facade of the Cesar Chavez
building, using various solar studies and
simulations to ensure that, despite the generous
amount of sunlight pouring through the
windows, there would be minimal heat gain
in the building. Theres also minimal heat loss
in the winter, thanks to the high-efficiency
glazing on the glass. The building envelope is
designed to last for 75 years. Other energy-
saving upgrades include a new HVAC system >
Youd never know that theCesar Chavez MemorialBuilding was once known
as downtown Denversugliest building. A dark
green postage stamp of astructure with an equally
plain parkade on thestreet to its north, it made
for a drab gateway into
Denvers Golden Triangleneighbourhood, where artsand culture institutionsmingle with office buildingsand residences.
IMAGES FRED FUHRMEISTER, COURTESY GE JOHNSON CONSTRUCTION COMPANY
8/10/2019 reimagine Winter 2015
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and a lighting system with daylight harvestingand occupancy sensors to ensure that energy
isnt wasted on an unoccupied building. The
elevators were also replaced with a high-tech,
high-efficiency model. Local materials were
used whenever possible, including Colorado Yule
marble, recycled steel and a terrazzo floor in the
lobby that credits 50 per cent of its contents to
the recycled beer bottles of local breweries. The
team also made a conscious effort to recycle
construction waste, with 83 per cent being
diverted from landfills.
Construction started in April 2010 andwrapped up in February 2013. The structurally
deficient parkade was first on the list. It was
demolished very carefully, says Miller, pointing
out that it stood just five-and-a-half inches
from an existing building. The top floor of the
improved, structurally sound version features
a solar sculpture that pumps 115 kilowatts of
electricity a year into the office building across
the street, providing five per cent of its total
energy needs.
GE Johnson is no stranger to environmen-
tally friendly building projects. The companys
website explains that sustainability experts
work in all facets of the organization to help GE
Johnson reach its goal of continuously reducing
the environmental footprint of its projects. With
a number of LEED-certified projects under its
belt, GE Johnson was a good fit for the GSAs
requirement that the completed Cesar Chavez
renovations make the building eligible for a
LEED Gold certification. We were required to
meet Silver, but delivered Gold for no additional
cost, says Miller.
Construction of the Cesar
Chavez Memorial Building
took nearly three years but
resulted in a LEED-Gold
certification for the building.
4
8/10/2019 reimagine Winter 2015
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panels and installed the new glass and aluminum curtainwall.
The Golden Triangle is one of Denvers oldest areas and con-
struction crews in that area regularly find early-1900s mementos
like horseshoes and bottles. Other buildings had come and gonebefore the Cesar Chavez structure was created, including row
homes and the original site of Denver Public Schools book depos-
itory. During one phase of the construction project, when the team
expanded the lobby by 25 feet to engulf the original colonnade
and dig new foundations, the crew uncovered some old china sets.
Some of them were in very good shape, Miller recalls. They
were just buried from years of excavation and backfill.
This modernization, or reimagining of the building, inspired
urban revitalization. Thanks to a number of other construction
projects since the Cesar Chavez Memorial Building was reinvent-
ed, the entire block is a lot more welcoming. What once was an
overlooked building now takes advantage of integrating a pedes-
trian-friendly and realigned Fox Street, landscaping, public art and
a hardscaped entry plaza, writes the GSA in a press release about
the building. The result is that the Chavez Building no longer sits
in isolation at the end of the block, but rather serves as a gateway
building into Denvers Civic and Justice Center and the Golden
Triangle Neighborhood.
Looking back on the project, Miller says hes still proud of the
way the team collaborated to keep employees productive and on site
even while the building was being totally redone. Owners are always
looking at ways to upgrade their building without displacing tenants.
Weve figured it out; we know how to do it. re
The company may have been familiar with
the world of sustainable building practices, but
GE Johnson had never worked on such an
extensive renovation while the tenants remained
in the building. In many cases, property owners
simply move tenants to a temporary location,
but in the GSAs case, rather than find offices
for about 290 people, move all the furniture to
the temporary location and then back again, it
was more efficient to simply work around the
employees.
The challenge of safely working aroundemployees also turned into one of the companys
biggest success stories. Miller and his team
worked closely with the GSA, planning the
project in phases, mapping out which people
were going to move where and for how long.
They determined which parts of the building
were swing spaces; meaning workers could be
temporarily placed in those areas while major
renovations took place on their home floors.
The team at GE Johnson also developed a
solution for employees who wanted to stay in
their offices while the exterior was being torndown and rebuilt: all the staff had to sacrifice
was three feet of their floor space. A temporary
weatherproof barrier wall was set up to separate
office staff from the work that was being done
on the buildings exterior. It allowed us to work
outside with all the safety precautions in place,
with the tenant just on the other side of that
wall, Miller says.
Most of the interior renovations took place
by a night shift crew. The workers would show
up at 6 p.m. and work until 4:30 a.m., taking
out ceilings, replacing HVAC units and lighting
fixtures and installing new carpet, then cleaning
up all traces of their work so GSA employees
could use it during the day. The team installed
a temporary daycare on the main floor with a
barrier wall, temporary bathroom and hand-
washing sinks and security so the daycare
program could be maintained without a hitch
while the construction crew developed a new
space. During the day, the teams focus shifted
from inside the building to outside, where
they finished taking down the dreary metal
Local materials wereused whenever possible,including Colorado Yulemarble, recycled steel,and a terrazzo floor in
the lobby that credits 50per cent of its contents tothe recycled beer bottles oflocal breweries.
IMAGES FRED FUHRMEISTER, COURTESY GE JOHNSON CONSTRUCTION COMPANY
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PHOTO COURTESY 5468796 ARCHITECTURE
SprucingupThe AvenueA downtown Winnipeg eyesoregoes from blight to delight
By Nadia Moharib
THE BIRDS HAD BRAINS. BUT AFTER TAKING UPresidence in two turn-of-the-century, derelict buildings for years,
they were unceremoniously evicted when deeper-thinkers had
designs on their mothballed downtown digs.
Today, The Avenue on Portage houses birds of a different
feather in 75 apartment units for tenants and a 22,500-square-footground-level commercial space thats occupied by Manitoba Start, a
non-profit organization serving new immigrants to Winnipeg.
Colin Neufeld, with 5468796 Architecture and the projects prin-
cipal, is proud of the final product lauded by many as an architectural
icon, a str iking addition to the citys centre. But he concedes it took
looking with some imagination at the boarded-up Avenue and Ham-
ple buildings now a single entity to make it happen. Essentially,
we had to walk through the building with hazmat suits, he recalls
of his introduction to the project. You literally were knee-deep in
pigeon droppings.
The firm was approached in 2010 by a developer looking for
someone to reimagine the buildings, to breathe new life into the
city-owned structures that had survived the wreckers ball numer-
ous times. We thought it was a great project, a great location and
a building that really needed some excitement, Neufeld says. Im
certainly proud to be part of it.
After structural remediation to make the buildings safe, crews
then went about renovating the inter ior, removing partitions, eleva-
tors and staircases. While the three-storey Hample building was built
like a bomb shelter, its wood-framed neighbour, with all six of its
floors, was in need of extreme upgrading.>
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Rick Hofer with Hofer Construction,shortly after completing a successful 43-unit warehouse
refurbishment nearby with Neufeld, was approached by
the city, asking if his company would be interested in
refurbishing an understatement, to be sure the sad and
decrepit Portage Avenue buildings. At first, we didnt even
want to think about it, Hofer says. It looked 10 times
worse than the building we had just done. It was just in
such a state of disrepair. He decided to give it a second
look, and soon Neufeld and company were on board.
Hofer bought into the lofty vision to transform the
buildings, which had become a blight on the city centre,
but it took some time. Everybody thought I was crazy,
he says. I always thought, Lets just see how the building
is. If we rip it apart and we still ended up with good bones,
then its a go. If you have a good building, if thats the case,
then its off to the races; you already have the property, thefoundation and the walls.
Hofer says the job was challenging from the start. It
had OK bones but we had to fix the bones, he says. Lets
put it this way: we had to use a lot of casts and splints.
At one time, Portage Avenue had many mixed-use
buildings that were abandoned due to urban sprawl. But
over recent years, Winnipegs downtown has seen quite
the transformation, says Stefano Grande, executive director
for Downtown Winnipeg Biz. With millions of dollars in
public-sector cash flowing into developing housing on
the nearby waterfront, there has also been the influx of
restaurants, hotels, post-secondary campuses and theMTS Centre, home of the Winnipeg Jets and a popular
concert venue.
With an influx of about 4,000 residents in recent years,
there are now about 16,000 people living downtown,
Grande says, noting The Avenue on Portage is simply
another success story. The Avenue building has been in
the dark for about 15 years, Grande says, clearly thrilled
with its newest incarnation. If there was ever a silver bullet
to revitalize downtown, it is people living downtown who,
in turn, spend money downtown and are extra eyes and
ears on the streets.
The project is not only a coup for downtown
development, but it is also philosophically pleasing,
by repurposing buildings that have housed everything
from billiards to bowling lanes, a kung fu school and
retail in the past. We have a good mix of old and new,
Grande explains. Preserving our history and celebrating
contemporary architecture its one of those buildings
tourists will take photos of.
He appreciates the building and its original brick
exterior, rooftop patio garden, beautiful original marble
staircase and unique balconies, which showcase the new
life within and extending from the building. You see it
when you have the Christmas parade and all the residents
come out on the balconies thats what we want to see, people
enjoying the urban environment downtown, Grande says. Its
a very contemporary feel.
While stellar on its own, the project also contributes to the
cores vibrancy. Its dramatically different than it was 20 years
ago, he says of the downtown. Its not a boom like in Calgary
or Vancouver but we are a very stable market and there hasbeen steady growth.
Neufeld says the last 15 years have been transformative to
the downtown and he is pleased this project could help in that
continued evolution. It needed an adventurous spirit; it was a
project that needed someone who could see past the buildings
derelict past, he says. We are young and stupid and optimists
and believed it could easily be a great building.
Neufeld says the buildings reimagining was beneficial
in many ways. First, its an environmental win, given the
project diverted building material from the landfill, and
second, theres the significant salvaging of Winnipegs history.
Its important to save it from the perspective its from the
turn of the century, on one of the most famous streets, two
blocks from Portage and Main and has been there for the last
hundred years, he says. They were nothing terribly sexy,
just office buildings but in their heyday probably occupied
80,000 square-feet of commercial office space in downtown
Winnipeg, he says. They are part of our fabric. And our city
is dying for residential development in its core.
The positive impact of the retrofit on its surroundings is
undeniable. Its a block away from the arena where the Jets
play, having this residential infill says we are not a vacant city,
says Neufeld. It was an empty building for a decade that
sends the wrong message. Everybody knew it was full of
Suites in The Avenue boast 11-foot ceilings and large
windows and range from 400 to 1,100 square-feet.
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ORIGINAL BUILDING + ACQUISITION = MINIMUM PARKING RAMP LENGTH
ECONOMIC VIABILITY
ORIGINAL COMMERCIAL
ALLOCATION
LONG TERM TENANT
=
EXPANDED COMMERCIAL
ALLOCATION
DISPLACED RESIDENTIAL
=
ADDITION REQUIRED
EXCEEDS STRUCTURAL CAPACITY
TOO HEAVY
ADDITION REQUIRES
SUBTRACTION
FINAL PROJECT
pigeons and parties and to overcome that we thought
it needed a big statement to give it a complete
makeover.
That statement seemed to work, given the tenants
flocking to the buildings suites, which range from 400
to 1,000 square-feet, one block west of Winnipegs most
famous corner: Portage and Main. The building now
features a salvaged staircase, punctuated by marble and
a wrought iron railing and skylight at the top in anO-shape so that someone looking over the railing on the
ground floor can see all the way up to the top floor.
Inside boasts 11-foot ceilings and big windows,
while the exterior is painted a dark grey over original
brick. The balconies incorporate the old building with
the new the idea being to push out from the inside
and announce new life to the city. Balconies of dif-
ferent sizes are randomly scattered along the face of the
building, built through the original openings. They rep-
resent the her itage projecting out of existing openings,
so thats pretty cool, Neufeld says.
They had to apply for encroachment on city prop-
erty but there was significant public encouragement,
Neufeld says. We probably encountered less opposition
than we would have if we were just proposing other
developments. There was an appetite to work with us.
Of course, given Winnipegs notorious winters, one
safety concern was the snow and ice falling to the street
below easily eliminated by construction and design of
the balconies which have transparent steel grated floors
preventing any buildup. The mirror-finish aluminum
south-facing canopy angles outward 13 feet from the
face of the Hample side before returning to meet the
edge of the Avenue. The effect is a unity of the two
facades, and a de factosafeguard against potential ice and snow
falling from balconies above.
The city has given you this building and given you
money to develop, so you have to give the city something,
Neufeld says of the budget constraints. They really wanted it
to be an important piece on an important street not just a
building which made money for the owner. They were game,
but said, You only have this much money, Neufeld says.
There wasnt an open chequebook. It got built for$12 million; thats where the love comes in.
Hofer says the project probably spearheaded a lot of
future downtown reconstruction. Nobody believed it would
work. Numerous architects have tried and it just didnt work
either due to a lack of money or expertise. It needed some-
one with this crazy vision, he says.
All of a sudden its an iconic building from a building
that was empty for 11 years. It has numerous awards from
architects and peers. To take a building like that and turn it
around its awesome to actually see people in it. That was
our vision, Hofer explains. He also says there was some-
what of a spiritual approach behind the reimagining. I
believed it should have been torn down; you walked through
that place and all you saw was mould, he says. What re-
ally inspired us is we met a fellow about a quarter of the
way through construction who intended to buy the Avenue
building. He believed in it, he says, adding the man hesitated
to do so due to a lack of parking.
As it happened, the buildings had enough frontage
for a ramp to allow for 38 parking stalls, Hofer says. The
project, although created with passion, was hardly a get-
rich-quick venture. I only got my wages, says Hofer, who
owns the building with his partners, adding, I am making
my money now. re
The construction
process, seen here
through a series
of sketches, was
multi-faceted.
PHOTO/RENDERINGS COURTESY 5468796 ARCHITECTURE
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NEWSTATE OF
THE EMPIREBy Matt Beauchamp
The Big Apples best-known landmark
soars as a deep energy retrofit leader
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ON MAY 1, 1931, PRESIDENTHOOVER OFFICIALLY DEDICATEDTHE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING.Hailed as one of the seven wonders of the
modern world by the American Society of
Civil Engineers, the Empire State Building is
not only an American treasure but a feat of
engineering to marvel the world over. It stood
for 41 years as the worlds tallest skyscraper
and, while it may no longer hold the record,
it still stands as an iconic piece of the New
York skyline.Back in 1931, the term deep energy
retrofits didnt exist. In fact even as recently
as five years ago the term was unknown. Now
in 2014 there is a booming industry around
it, with architects and engineers collaborating
with property managers to develop ideas that
allow building renovations to go deeper and
provide greater energy efficiencies with more
cost savings.
Deep energy retrofits is a term coined
by the Rocky Mountain Institute to describe
a whole-building analysis and constructive
process that uses integrative design to achieve
much larger energy savings than conventional
energy retrofits. The Empire State Building is
a shining example of what deep energy ret-
rofits can achieve and it is, once again an icon
forging the way into a new area.
I think the Empire State Building is the
leading example for many reasons, says Dana
Schneider, senior vice-president of Jones LangLaSalles Energy and Sustainability Services di-
vision, the firm with whom the Empire State
Building partnered for the retrofit. We were
one of the first projects and still one of the
best examples that went through an intensive
analysis. We conducted a holistic, quantitative
analysis for all the options that would work
best then we developed a replicable process
that we shared.>
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PHOTOS COURTESY ESRT EMPIRE STATE BUILDING L.L.C.
It is that openness and continued education
that Schneider says is one of the main reasons the
Empire State Building is a leader in the deep en-
ergy retrofit field. Its all posted on our website,
its all open book, not proprietary, for others to
use. Our whole motivation there was to inspire
others to replicate what we did, says Schneider.
We were using this entire project to develop
the ideal process in an attempt to show that
there is a business case for deep energy retrofits
and inspire others to follow suit and do the same
in their buildings.
Schneider adds that the education process is
ongoing and a point of pride for those that work
at the Empire State Building. I dont know anyother building that has gone through a process
and given away all of their tools and all of their
results, he notes. We guest lecture, we speak
at panels, in an attempt to educate other build-
ing owners and occupiers about how great the
business case is and how much difference we can
make in overall energy usage by doing this and
the fact that it completely makes business sense
as well.
And businesses are beginning to listen, due
in large part to the results the Empire State
Building has managed to achieve. Since 2012 thedeep energy retrofit program has generated
a total of approximately $7.5 million in energy
savings and, over the next 15 years, will keep
more than 105,000 tonnes of CO2from entering
the atmosphere.
All portfolio managers and real estate own-
ers to some extent have been concerned with
energy efficiency, and theyve done small things,
says Clay Nesler, vice-president of Global Energy
and Sustainability for Johnson Controls. What
this project is going to show is that it actually
makes sense to make large and significant energy
efficiency improvements, not the five to 10 per
cent type things, but the 20 to 30 per cent and
more type of improvements, and that there is a
business case for doing so.
The remanufacturing of the Empire State
Buildings 6,514 windows is perhaps the most
innovative undertaking in this retrofit. This step
was completed in 2010 and saw the change of the
buildings original windows into super windows.
This cut winter heat loss by at least two-thirds
and summer heat gain by half. The advanced
glazing, along with improved lighting and officeequipment, will further cut the buildings peak
cooling load by one-third. Replacing windows
and glass units with new ones is one of the
strategies that differentiate deep energy retrofits
from more conventional building renovations.
The result is that the buildings old chiller
plant can simply be renovated instead of replaced
and expanded, saving more than $17 million of
budgeted capital expenditure. This will account
for 38 per cent energy savings, which is several
times the savings commonly achieved from a
typical retrofit.A major renovation project like this couldnt
be completed without the involvement of the
buildings tenants and Schneider says their buy-in
to the program will help them achieve a lot of
their energy reduction goals.
Nearly all our tenant spaces are scheduled
for renovation over the next 10 years, says
Schneider. We developed a section of the lease
for high-performing tenant spaces and it sets
forth guidelines of what we expect our tenants
to do to ensure that their space is a high-
performing space.
We assist them with design reviews, design
workshops, evaluations of technologies, payback
analysis to incorporate these standards into their
spaces. We also developed a software tool for ten-
ants to monitor their energy usage in real time
and compare their usage to other tenants in the
building to give them daily recommendations on
usage and inspire them that way to use less, since
they pay by usage.
Anthony E. Malkin, Empire State Realty
Trust chairman, president and CEO, says the
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(Left) The chiller plant retrofit project included the
retrofit of four industrial electric chillers for the air
conditioning system.(This page) The remanufacturing of the buildings
6,514 windows is the most innovative undertaking
in the Empire State Buildings retrofit project and
designed to maximize natural lighting.
project is exceeding all expectations. The Empire State
Building retrofit project has dramatically exceeded
projected energy savings for the third straight year,
reducing costs by millions of dollars, says Malkin. As we
continue our energy-efficient installations for incoming
tenants, we are confident we will meet and exceed our
completed project goal of saving $4.4 million each year.
As for now, we are ahead of our projections, and thatmeans more savings and more returns on our investments
to date.
The Empire State Building retrofit is about more
than just energy savings and educating current building
owners; its also about educating the public. With more
than four million visitors a year, the well-known Big
Apple landmark is a huge tourist attraction. As part of
the renovations, the project team took advantage of the
observatory line-up space, to educate visitors on whats
being done and what they can do.
It goes through the whole design and construction
process we went through and ties it into what you can
do, says Schneider. Its a beautiful exhibit of five or six
pillars that are interactive and that are LED. They have all
these displays and statistics and information about all the
projects that we implemented and what it would mean if
everyone in New York replicated what we did, if every-
one in the U.S. replicated what we did, if everyone in the
whole world replicated what we did. That really ties into
our message of education and trying to move the needle
and inspire others to replicate what we have done.
Its a wonderful building and it just continues to
inspire, says Schneider. re
ESB BY THE NUMBERS$550 MILLION - Total cost of retrofit
$106 MILLION - Total cost of energy-related projects
6,514 - Total number of windows
105,000 -Metric tons of CO2kept out of the atmosphere in the next 15 years
2.7 MILLION SQUARE FEET - Total size of the building
88 kBtu/square-foot pre-retrofit and
60 kBtu/square-foot projected - Annual energy use
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higher ground
ooking around our
cities, there are many
existing buildings
that have become
outdated in their performanceand technology, and no longer
operate at optimal efficiency.
The building facade plays an
important role in this, and
since tearing down existing
buildings generates much
waste and emissions, savvy
urban planners are consid-
ering ways to retrofit them.
Since the building facade acts
as the barrier between the
outdoor and indoor climates,it plays an important role in
the overall performance of
a building. Retrofitting the fa-
cade on an existing structure
offers an opportunity to sig-
nificantly improve the overall
performance, and can allow
the opportunity to explore
new strategies for envelope
solutions that explore new
technologies and offer more
effective building solutions.
Existing buildings are
typically static in nature, and
retrofitting them allows archi-
tects to rethink the approach
to creating facades that are
responsive, interacting with
building users, climate, light
and other surrounding condi-
tions. Designing a facade that
has the ability to respond to
these various factors provides
an opportunity to create effi-
ciencies in the overall perfor-
mance of the building.
The Hanwha Solar power
company saw an opportunity
to do just this by retrofittingits headquarters in Seoul,
South Korea. As a producer
of photovoltaic power,
Hanwha wanted to improve
its environmental impact to
align with its company val-
ues around sustainability. The
existing building was built
in the 1980s, with 29 storeys
and standing more than 127
metres tall.
It offered several areas forimprovement in its environ-
mental impact, including ener-
gy consumption. The facade on
a building of this scale covers
a lot of surface area, and the
existing one on the Hanwha
headquarters was not ideal with
its opaque and covered single
layers of dark glass.
Hanwha made a call for
proposals as a design compe-
tition to retrofit the existing
headquarters. The winning
design was led by Ben van
Berkel with UNStudio, who
proposed a retrofit addressing
several sustainable approaches,
including energy consump-
tion and the well-being of
the buildings occupants. A
significant component of the
proposed redesign includes
the revamp of the existing
building facade. UNStudio
partnered with Arup for the
design of the facade and en-
gaged AG Licht as the lighting
consultant.
The design of the new fa-
cade includes individual LED
lights that correspond with
movement within the interior
of the building. It was import-
ant for the design to respond
to the existing site conditions
and fit in with its surround-
ings. The design for the
Hanwha HQ media facade
aims to avoid an overstated
impact. In the evenings, as the
By Lindsay Farr
SAVING FACE
L
There is a sound argument forrevamping building facades ratherthan tearing them down
8/10/2019 reimagine Winter 2015
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mass of the building becomes less appar-
ent, the facade lighting integrates withthe night sky, displaying gently shifting
constellations of light, says van Berkel.
The proposed exterior offers the op-
portunity for significant building perfor-
mance improvements, resulting in a more
sustainable building, which addresses the
context, environment and programmat-
ic use. Van Berkel says, By means of a
reductive, integrated gesture, the facade
design for the Hanwha HQ implements
fully inclusive systems which significantly
impact the interior climate of the build-
ing, improve user comfort and e