Wood Buffalo goes green with new Operations Centre

Proponents of a new LEED Gold building constructed in Fort McMurray say it not only sets a benchmark but also proves it can be built in the same time frame and budget as a traditional building.

The new regional Public Operations centre for the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) in Northern Alberta, will house four branches of the public operations department.

It will be home to park operations, roads, fleet and facilities maintenance.

An estimated 140 employees will work out of it.

"It’s our dedication to what we said. We’re walking the walk," said John McKay, the municipality’s project manager.

"We want to have a sustainable building. We want it to be energy efficient. At the same time, (it has to be) low cost to operate and own, and good indoor air quality so all of the best possible things are at an affordable rate. We’re trying to demonstrate to the rest of the people that we can do it."

The municipality started this project with Bird as construction manager.

The firm helped finish the planning and design along with Stantec.

Bird then became the general contractor in charge of construction.

McKay acknowledged that to construct a $52 million building in less than two years can be a stretch.

"But, when you get the right people in place and right framework in place, it can work to everybody’s advantage," he said.

Features of this 65,000 square foot building include: a spider floor, raised for all wiring such as fibre optics to be underneath; LEED compliant furniture that is ergonomic, LED high efficiency indirect and direct lighting and a living wall covered in 50 plants, utilizing a self-watering system in the main corridor.

"It’s the only thing in the building that generates oxygen," he said.

The interior boasts open concept with enhanced sound absorption thanks to carpet tiles and soft fabrics.

All new buildings in RMWB will be built to LEED Gold standards in keeping with the municipality’s development plan for sustainability.

"We’re controlling the heat loss from the building, the energy efficiency, the lighting, the heating equipment, the landscaping, the layout the orientation – we’re taking advantage of everything we could have to get us the best possible building."

McKay added that along with an extremely low heat loss building envelope, there is heat recovery on all the HVAC systems plus in-floor heating for all the warehouse, storage and shop areas, replacing the usually much less efficient overhead heaters.

"We’re probably running at about 50 per cent less than what a standard building would use," said McKay.

He estimated a typical building would use 1.5 gigajoules per square metre per year.

"We’re going to be running at around 0.75," he said.

Four banks of solar PV panels on the south side of the parking lot will provide an estimated 13 per cent of the building’s energy needs, and 50 per cent of the peak demand during sunny periods.

The four racks equal 85 kW of electric power.

The system was commissioned in mid-August.

It is part of the LEED points need for LEED Gold certification.

An electric car charging station is being set up for a new electric car demo.  Dandelion Renewables installed the solar powered carport at the centre.

Mikhail Ivanchikov, president, said the carport will generate electricity and will protect parked vehicles from the elements.

Most of the generated solar energy will be consumed internally by the South Operations Centre with excess energy sold back to the grid at the retail power price.

A kitchen is separated from the office space by glass walls and a glass door. It has patio area with a walkway to the storm retention pond.

The pond will have a dock and a walkway around its circumference.

As many trees as possible were left untouched and more will be planted.

McKay recognized that this green building belies the misconception that Fort McMurray is a barren work camp with a pipeline running through it.

"We’re trying to show people there’s a better way to do it and there’s a different way that has its own benefits that is as economically sound as the other ways," he said.

The building was ready for partial turnover to the municipality in September, but it’s anticipated to be fully operational by late-November.

"Again the trick was getting a pre-engineered building shell that meets the LEED Gold prerequisites … It’s not just a big industrial shell."