Toronto’s York University is undertaking an expansion at its Schulich School of Business that has been designed to be one of the most environmentally sustainable academic buildings in Canada.
The new 67,000-square-foot building incorporates thermally active building systems, maximizing opportunities for natural ventilation, daylighting and solar energy harvest while minimizing unwanted solar heat gain.
A tall solar chimney will provide free cooling and ventilation in spring and fall as well as passive solar pre-heating of mechanical air ventilation in winter.
The new building, which is linked to the existing business school, also features green rooftops and a rainwater recapture system. LEED Gold is being targeted.
The fast-track project is being undertaken by a team that includes Baird Sampson Neuert Architects, structural engineers Blackwell and mechanical-electrical engineers Crossey Engineering Ltd.
Landscape design services are being provided by Plant Architect Inc. General contractor is EllisDon. Construction costs are estimated at $36.8 million.
Patrick Saavedra, the university’s director of planning and architectural design, said one of the most innovative features of the new building is the 27-metre-high solar chimney.
"I think this will only be the second (installation) of its kind in Canada and the only one like it at a university or college in the country," he said.
A solar chimney was incorporated in the design of the Manitoba Hydro Place development in Winnipeg which opened in 2009 and subsequently achieved LEED Platinum status.
The new business school at York University also features radiant heating and cooling within the floors and panels — an active slab system — to enhance climate control.
Saavedra said the building also features extensive green roofs, designed to meet Toronto’s rigorous green roof standards.
"We decided to pursue Tier 2 because we thought that was consistent with LEED Gold and didn’t require any additional interventions," he noted.
Other green features include: external shading devices on the windows, water-efficient fixtures, and "native" plantings surrounding the building.
Natural light will flood the spaces. A central landscaped courtyard will reinforce a direct connection between the inside and the outside.
"This building has been designed to achieve an aggressive sustainable agenda, which is in keeping with Schulich’s core values," said Barry Sampson, partner in charge of the project at his firm.
The building was designed in close collaboration with the New York City office of Transsolar, an international climate engineering firm.
"This really is a climate responsive design," Sampson said.
The building, now under construction and slated for completion by late March of next year, has a concrete structure. The exterior features fibre-cement cladding.
Algonquin limestone is being used "in select areas" on the interior and exterior, Saavedra said.
The project, which has a total cost of almost $50 million, will provide facilities and services to accommodate the business school’s expanding academic and research agenda.
The federal government is contributing $15 million in funding. York is providing the remainder.
Saavedra, also the university architect, said the building, with its dramatic solar chimney, will function as a gateway to the university’s Keele campus.
"This will be another architectural jewel," said Saavedra, referencing the new 126,000-square-foot student centre also under construction on the campus.
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