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When it opened to the public in 1929, the Automotive Building at Toronto’s Exhibition Place was considered a modern marvel: 80 years later, restored, refurbished, rebuilt and renamed the Allstream Centre, the building combines state-of the-art technology and cutting edge design with environmental sustainability.
Going green
When it opened to the public in 1929, the Automotive Building at Toronto’s Exhibition Place was considered a modern marvel: 80 years later, restored, refurbished, rebuilt and renamed the Allstream Centre, the building combines state-of the-art technology and cutting edge design with environmental sustainability.
The building was renovated in 18 months and at a cost of $46 million by a team that included NORR Ltd., heritage architects E.R.A. Architects Inc., LEED consultant Enermodal Engineering and general contractor Vanbots, a division of Carillion Construction Inc.
At the core of the building is a 43,900-square-foot, column-free ballroom, which can be divided into two rooms.
“What we essentially did was drop a brand new building into the heart of an existing building,” said Vanbots senior project manager Kevin McKay. “That entire ballroom structure is a brand new building in itself.”
McKay said working within an existing structure and to fixed dimensions presented its share of challenges, as did the combination of meeting LEED Silver standards and heritage restoration.
“But we had an owner who was extremely involved and that was immensely helpful,” he said. “Dianne Young (Exhibition Place CEO) in particular kept a tight rein on the process and helped keep the project on track.”
The centre officially opened earlier this month.
Billed as Canada’s greenest conference centre, the 160,000-square-foot building is the first at Exhibition Place to be fully powered by renewable energy. The centre has secured a green power purchase agreement for the next two years, via Direct Energy Business. This power is sourced from Ecologo-certified generation facilities, which ensures that power generation is derived from natural sources.
The project incorporates a highly reflective white roof. This roof features 150-foot, long-span joists, which carry 30-foot-high acoustic, track-mounted partitions. The new roof deck is acoustically perforated to reduce sound reverberation.
Demolished materials and construction waste were diverted from landfill sites, to recycling facilities in accordance with LEED criteria.
Considerable recycled content was used, including concrete, compost wood, ceiling tiles and gypsum board.
The building is believed to one of the first public facilities in Toronto to install a rainwater harvesting system, eliminating the use of city-treated water to flush toilets. A rainwater cistern, stored below the building, collects water from the roof for use in water closets.
The centre will use 66 per cent less water than a LEED benchmark building.
The exterior of the building has been restored, as have many heritage features in the interior. These include tulip-shaped Art Deco light fixtures, iron hand railings, terrazzo floors and winged car-tire plaster decorations.
While heritage restoration wasn’t part of the contractor’s original scope of work, McKay said “it was brought into the fold very well and turned out beautifully.”
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