LEED buildings: creating green constructions that save energy

Ecological thinking is omnipresent, and the field of architecture is no exception. Over the last ten years “green building” has flourished as people have gradually become aware of the importance of what was once viewed as a somewhat abstract concept: energy—and energy conservation in particular.

[caption id="attachment_2047" align="alignleft" width="305"] Check it out: the new Goethe-Institut. Conceived and designed by Montreal architects, the interior features furniture by Konstantin Grcic and Dieter Rams.[/caption]

More and more new construction and renovation work are carried out in conformity with new standards, such as LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design), a green building certification system, and Novoclimat 2.0, a program that promotes bioclimatic principles. Institutions are also making the shift. One of the best examples of this type of building in Montreal is the Goethe-Institut (the German cultural organization), which was renovated in 2012 in keeping with LEED Silver standards.

The Institute occupies the ground floor of the Lofts des Arts in the Quartier des Spectacles. The project involved converting 9,500 square feet of vacant space into a modern cultural centre equipped with a library, several classrooms, a multimedia room and offices. TauTem, the architectural firm that handled the project, faced many challenges, including gutting a space that originally was not at all in line with the desired standards and applying German safety and design standards to a local project.

Several key requirements served as a conceptual framework for the project. For example, each employee workstation had to be located less than six metres from a window (it is worth noting that one of the project’s greatest achievements is the interactive storefront window where the Goethe-Institut looks onto Ontario Street and St-Laurent Boulevard).

Energy efficiency was also a priority. According to TauTem the lighting system (manufactured almost entirely in Quebec) was designed based on a calculation of wattage per square foot. Additionally, movement detectors were installed in several rooms in order to reduce electricity consumption when rooms are unoccupied. The focus on energy efficiency even extended to evaluating the origin of construction materials in an effort to reduce the carbon footprint as much as possible. All in all, more than 40 percent of the material was produced less than 800 km from the construction site.

The Goethe-Institut commercial project, with its ecological positioning, is a striking example of LEED construction. But energy conservation is above all a major consideration in the field of home construction. In Quebec, the architectural firm Tergos is a leader in this area. Geneviève Mainguy, one of Tergos’ architects, identifies seven basic criteria for green homes: overall quality throughout the process, bioclimatic design, integration into the site, choice of materials, energy efficiency, smart resource management, and comfort coupled with aesthetics.

As far as she is concerned, energy efficiency is essential, of course, but not at any cost. “We see energy efficiency as one very important element among a number of equally important considerations. For example, a concern for energy efficiency shouldn’t prompt us to make excessive use of petroleum-based insulation products (spray polyurethane foam) as opposed to more natural types of insulation (such as cellulose). We should always consider the environmental impact when selecting insulation materials,” says Genevieve.

The founders of Tergos decided to become general contractors in order to ensure that standards are correctly applied on the construction site. This decision reflects the moral commitment of Tergos’ architects to ecology not as a hollow marketing buzzword but as a genuine ethical and philosophical principle to be applied from start to finish.

While working within the parameters of ecological building standards still costs two to five percent more than building per conventional standards, the gap is between the two is narrowing every year as a result of growing demand from customers who are conscious of today’s energy challenges and who see going green as not only the most natural but also the soundest choice.