Building An Environmental Vision | Mountain Equipment Co-Op, Toronto, ON
Our engineers worked closely with the entire design team to help our client, whose policy is a commitment to "green" building and energy conservation, significantly reduce the environmental footprint of their building.
Our client, Mountain Equipment Co-op, came to us with a specific need: a new store in downtown Toronto that would embody, both in its construction and structure, MEC's vision of environmental stewardship. Our entire design team was challenged to develop innovative ideas for materials and building practices that would reduce the building's environmental impact. Our engineers worked closely with the owner and architect to devise solutions that minimized the building's energy content and consumption, incorporated recycled materials into the construction, and created possibilities for further environmentally friendly uses of the building.
In the building's concrete, energy-intensive Portland cement was replaced with environmentally friendly fly ash, a waste by-product of coal-fired electric power generation plants. The wooden entrance structure and the upper level roof tresses were built using recycled timber salvaged from log booms in the Ottawa River. Numerous skylights and windows allowed for plentiful natural light and ventilation, reducing electricity use. All ceilings and wall finishes were eliminated and the structure was left exposed with concrete beams and slabs on the ground floor and structural steel on the second floor. No chemical primers or paints were used on the structural steel. The roof structure was specifically designed to support the additional loading of a "green roof." The resulting urban roof garden pleases the eye, provides a natural habitat for migrating birds, prevents polluting storm water runoff, diminishes the urban heat island effect, and significantly reduces MEC's energy consumption.
Vital Statistics
- Single-level below-grade parking area, two levels of retail above
- Construction materials are left exposed and unfinished surfaces incorporate recycled materials and products
- Cast-in-place concrete beams and slabs to the underside of main roof utilizing fly ash concrete
- Structural steel main roof
- Clerestory roof heavy timber
Owner: Mountain Equipment Co-op
Architect: Stone Kohn McGuire Vogt
Construction Manager: David Chard
Awards
Merit Award from International Council of Shopping Centres