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Pho to Ger ry Kope low

Manitoba Hydro Place, Winnipeg, Canada

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KEY PARAMETERSLOCATION: Winnipeg, Canada (Red River Basin,Lake Winnipeg Watershed)GROSS AREA: 695,742 ft 2 (64,634 m 2)

COST: $271 millionCOMPLETED: September 2009 ANNUAL ENERGY USE (BASED ON SI MUATI ON): 29kBtu/ft2 (330MJ/m 2), 65% reduction from basecase

ANNUAL CARBON FOOTPRINT (PREDICTED): 1.1 lbs.CO 2/ft

2 (5.4 kg CO 2/m2)

PROGRAM: Office and retail

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Tem p./Dew Poi nts Wi nd Ro se s Sky Con di ti ons

CASE STUDY:

Manitoba Hydro PlaceWinnipeg, CanadaCold Comfort: One of North Americas most complex energy-efficient buildings is also sited in one of its most challenging climates.

Architect Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects; Smith Carter Architects & Engineers

By Charles Linn, FAIA

With the southern winds gusti ng across the prairie at speeds of up to 20 miles per hour, and the temperature well below zero Fahrenheiton a recent January afternoon , it challenged the imagination to accept that all of the toasty warmth of Manitoba Hydro Place was beinggen erated by renewable sourc esthe sun and geothermal wells, supplemented by hydroelectric power. The buildings 18 floors of bea utifully daylit offices were b eing continuously supplied with fresh air that was circulated through the workspaces only once. All of thiswas being accomplished whe re extremes in temperature and humidity are among the most challenging for any large city in the world,and yet the buildings energy c onsumption is predicted to be 66 percent lower than similar buildings here. Since September, the fully-metered building has been within 10 percent of that figure.

To be sure, the building has been equipped with a wish list of systems: radiantceilings, double-walled facades with operable windows, and geothermal wells to namea few. Not many projects of this type are completed without having their ambitionsscaled back somewhere along the way, usually due to cost, technical complexity, or afailure of wills. Bruce Kuwabara, principal of Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg

Architects, recalls: When I think back, there are so many ways this building couldhave been compromised. It is a miracle that we got almost everything we wanted. Heattributes much of the buy-in to the year-long integrated design process used, whichincluded representatives of the owner and builders. Manitoba Hydro is a government-owned electric and natural gas utility, the fourth largest in Canada. Its recently retiredmanager for corporate services, Tom Gouldsborough, says, You have to remember,its not signature architecture at any cost, or energy efficiency and sustainability at theexpense of the functioning of the building or the staff. All these things have to worktoge ther. Kuwabara remarks that while the building showcases the companyscom mitment to s ustainability, they also did this for their staff, who are one of its

biggest costs and the future of a company that wants to stay on the leading edge of itsbusiness. He modestly adds that while interviewing for the project against severalstarchitects, I thought we were never going to get the job, so I told them sustainabilitywas important, but without signature architecture and city-building, its not worthdoing.

After extensive programming and site analysis, the team evaluated dozens of massingschemes for the building, examining how each would be viewed from different parts of Winnipeg, as well as the impacts of bringing about 1,800 people downtown.Meanwhile, the projects energy consultant, Thomas Auer of Transsolar Klima-Engineering, noticed something unusual about the climate here. It was a shock, hesaid, to find that Winnipeg is basically sunny whenever it is cold. We couldnt find asingle cold city in the world with so many sun-hours, so there is no better location thanthis for a passive solar design. As massing studies progressed, Transsolar modeledthe way the proposed volumes might shade adjacent buildings and sites such as Air Canada Plaza, a large public space to the north, as well as the effects of wind and

solar loads. Eventually the team chose a scheme with an 18-story office tower thatrises over a three-story podium. Of all the schemes, it had the largest floorplate, butno office is more than 30 feet from a window.

The office towers plan is like a sharply pointed triangle. A pair of long, north-southoriented, column-free office blocks are set at angles to each other, separated by theservice core. These office blocks face west and east-northeast. At the pointed northend, a solar chimney runs continuously from the ground level to several storiesbeyond the roof. Three south-facing, stacked six-story winter gardens form the shortside of the triangle.

This orientation allows Winnipegs prevailing southern winds to naturally ventilate thestructure. In winter, fresh air enters each winter garden through louvers in its south-facing, double-walled facade. Here the air is heated by the sun and humidified by thewater features: 280 tensioned mylar ribbons that carry water from the ceiling to thefloor. If necessary, air picks up additional heat from fan-coil units, then feeds theunderfloor displacement-ventilation systems. It is also tempered by radiant ceilings

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8/12/2019 Manitoba Hydro Place, Architect Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects; Smith Carter Architects & Enginee

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2/7/2014 Manitoba Hydro Place, Architect Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects; Smith Carter Architects & Engineers - Green building and Environmenta

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TEAMOWNER: Manitoba Hydro

ARCHITECT: Kuwabara Payne McKennaBlumberg Architects (KPMB) (designarchitect); Smith Carter Architects &Engineers (executive architect)ENVIRONMENTAL/ENERGY CONSULTANTS: Transsolar Klima-Engineering; Prairie Architects (LEEDconsultant)ENGINEERS: Halcrow Yolles, Crosier Kilgour &Partners, (structural); AECOM (mechanical &electrical)INTERIOR DESIGNER: KPMB Architects (publicspace); IBI Group, Number Ten ArchitectureGroup, Environmental Space Planning (officeinteriors)LIGHTING: Pivotal Lighting DesignLANDSCAPE: Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg;Hilderman Thomas Frank CramCOST ESTIMATOR: Hanscomb

ACOUSTICAL: AercousticsBUILDING ENVELOPE CONSULTANT: Brook Van Dalen& AssociatesGENERAL CONTRACTOR: PCL ConstructorsCanada

SOURCESMASONRY: Alpha MasonryMETAL/GLASS CURTAINWALL: Ferguson Neudorf GlassEXTERIOR DETAIL AND INTERIOR GLASS PARTITI ONS:

Border Glass & AluminumCONCRETE: PCL Constructions CanadaWOOD: Western MillworkCOMPOSITE ALUMINUM CLADDING: Ferguson Neudorf GlassPREFINISHED STEEL AND LOUVERS: ThermalSystems KWCGLASS: Prelco; ViraconSKYLIGHTS: KawneerHOLLOW METAL DOORS: Allmar InternationalEXTERIOR GLASS DOORS: Ferguson Neudorf Glass; Border Glass & AluminumInterior glass Border Glass & AluminumROOFING: Master RoofingCABINETWORK AND CUSTOM WOODWORK: WesternMillworkPAINTS AND STAINS: Valour WALLCOVERINGS: Loewen DrywallPANELING: Ferguson Neudorf GlassSPECIAL SURFACING: Antex Western / FabrisMilano Group (Interior Stones)FLOOR AND WALL TILE: Fabris Milano GroupRAISED ACCESS FLOOR: Camino Modular Systems

ATRIUM RETROPLAT E: Antex WesternCARPET: Interface CarpetOFFICE FURNITURE: Teknion (Interior SystemsFurnishing); Nordwall (Office Wall System)RECEPTION FURNITURE: TeknionCHAIRS: Herman Miller OTHER FURNITURE: Keilhauer Canal (LaughtonSeries)ELEVATORS: Thyssen KruppINTERIOR AMBIENT LIGHTING: LedaliteDOWNLIGHTS: Lithonia LightingEXTERIOR LIGHTING: IO Lighting; Sistemalux;Bruck Lighting; Lumec Inc.CONTROLS: Douglas Lighting ControlsCHILLERS: TRANE Canada (Controls)PLUMBING: Derksen Plumbing + Heating

AUTOM ATED FAADE ACT UATORS: SomfySOLAR THERMAL COLLECTOR IN SOLAR CHIMNEY: TPGPritchard MetalfabSOLAR CHIMNEY GLASS LOUVERS: Nysan Solar Control

heated by alcohol-based fluid. This heat is supplied in turn by chillers, whose source isa bank of 280, 400-foot deep geothermal wells drilled beneath the building. Air moveshorizontally through the offices, finally reaching the solar chimney at the north end of the building through any one of nine two-story atria. In winter the air is is drawndownward through the solar chimney into heat-recovery units, then warms the parkinggarage beneath the building. The buildings double-walled facades consist of two low-iron glass curtainwalls, separated by a three-foot-wide air buffer. It holds in heat bypreventing thermal bridging from the interior to the exterior.

In the summer much of the process is reversed. Water running down the mylar ribbons is now chilled to the point that it can dehumidify fresh air entering the winter garden. If necessary, additional cooling may be added before the air enters theunderfloor displacement-ventilation system. Heat is also absorbed by the radiantceilings, extracted by the chiller, then sent into the geothermal wells, warming the soilaround them until heat is needed in the winter. As in winter, air flows from south tonorth, although now the stack-effect draws it upward and out the top of the solar chimney. To ensure that cool night air does not interrupt the stack effect, the sunsheat is stored in 632 pipes filled with 17 tons of sand installed behind glass at the topof the chimney.

Whenever heat in the space between the double-walled facade rises to a certainthreshold, the building management system opens operable windows in the exterior wall to vent it. Automated shades inside the curtainwall block out direct solar gain andglare, and the T5 fluorescent uplights dim when daylight exceeds certain levels;occupancy sensors turn them off when not needed. During shoulder seasons workersmay manually open windows on the inside of the curtainwalls to introduce fresh air.

Because Manitoba Hydros technology is so fascinating, it is easy to forget that part of the story is the revitalization of the downtown, what Kuwabara calls city building.

Bringing 1,800 workers here is an economic boon: in the course of a year they spendhundreds of thousands of dollars on shopping, eating, and entertainment. Tom Akerstream, the companys manager of office facilities, notes that almost everyemployee used to drive, solo, to its suburban offices. Now 68 percent take publictransportation. And the three-story gallery, with its stunning architecture, water features, and barrier free access, is the most sought-after venue for downtownevents. This great new public space has quickly become a focal point for Winnipeglife.