Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/137453
CUPE Ottawa Expansion courtesy PCL Constructors Canada Inc. by Jerry Eberts djacent to its national headquarters building in Ottawa, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has expanded its facilities for its Ottawa office staff. "This project is an expansion building to accommodate the growth in staff numbers experienced at our main national headquarters building and will house our Ottawa office staff who are directly responsible for member services," says Tammy Greaves, managing director of finance and administration for CUPE. "We have also built in 10,000 square feet of additional space to accommodate future expansion. It has been built on the same parcel of land as our headquarters building." The project began in the spring of 2011. "This is not our first design-build project so getting it off the ground was fairly routine for us. We work with an excellent project manager, JacksonBrown Associates Inc., that guides us through the process from start to finish. Architect and construction manager selection were completed by the fall of 2011 and construction began in March 2012. Our staff took occupancy of the building in February 2013," says Greaves. Anthony Leaning of CSV Architects' Ottawa office describes the project as a relatively simple two-storey building that was designed so it can expand upwards with a third floor, should the union find at some later date it needs more space. "It is a typical office building," says Leaning. "It's located in what was industrial park space, but that area is slowly transforming into more residential." Leaning adds that each of the two A CUPE Ottawa Expansion p62-63CUPE.indd 63 floors can comfortably accommodate 25 to 30 people. Both Leaning and CUPE were aiming high on the "Green Meter" with this project. "Like other CUPE properties, this building is targeted to achieve LEED Gold certification," says Greaves. Leaning adds that there was no problem hitting that LEED Gold standard. "Nowadays it really is the norm. Most projects can hit LEED Silver without trying too hard. Supplies, equipment and materials are all much better environmentally than they were just a few years ago. It is remarkable how quickly these standards have been picked up by most everyone in the building industry." Green construction is important for several reasons, but the building is also designed to be a good place to work. Leaning says each office has localized controls for temperature and lighting, building systems are quiet and everyone has a window – providing both a view and plenty of daytime light. "That is easily done with a building like this," says Leaning. "For example, the windows open, which makes a big difference to the people working in the offices. We were also careful to choose different glazing for different sides of the building. We tried to maximize solar gain and insulation was carefully considered. Obviously in Ottawa it is important to minimize thermal breaks." Massimo Fata was the project manager for PCL Constructors Canada Inc., general contractor on the project. PCL is another company that has worked extensively with CUPE on past projects. "It all went very smoothly," says Fata. "We had a pretty good team. We began by targeting LEED Silver, with about 60 per cent of the materials we used regularly sourced and at least 20 per cent recycled content. We also achieved a 50 per cent reduction in water use for the property." Fata describes the building as sandwiched between various buildings. "It was kind of interesting. We were abutting the other properties. We also started our construction later than usual. The summer last year was the hottest on record for Ottawa. We had to ice the [prefabricated] concrete at the factory," says Fata. Ontario-based MMM Group Limited acted as both mechanical and electrical consultants on the project. The senior project managers for MMM Group were Ammar Salameh and Matthew Aston. Communications coordinator for MMM Group, Matt Brinkman, says his company has extensive experience working on similar projects, including the University of Ottawa, The Ottawa Hospital and the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario. "This project is unique since it sought LEED Gold certification. Sustainable design features included energy-efficient lighting and controls, a water-sourced heat pump system with a condensing boiler, a building automation system and increased system controllability," says Brinkman. David Lashley of Lashley + Associates Landscape Architecture and Site Engineering describes his role as "doing what we could to achieve LEED points. We wanted to earn water credits, to use less potable water. We decided to use native plants or ones suitable for Ottawa. There's no irrigation needed, though maybe someone will turn a hose on the plants now and then." Some of the methods used by Lashley's company on the ground include permeable pavers and structural soil underneath. No grass was planted, apart from the curb-edge; for the most part green plants or shrubs were used around the building. With the shared parking lot to the west of the building, the main entrance to the south has a small driveway and just three parking spots. "The main entrance is a large landing, forming a courtyard," says Lashley. "We used large boulder bollards, big enough that people can walk between them. It's an interesting effect." CUPE's Tammy Greaves says the building "has been designed with a suite of boardrooms at the front of the building to allow access by our members in Ottawa to use the facilities to host both meetings and training. It has a very open feel inside with lots of glazing to keep the space bright." n Location 1378 Triole Street, Ottawa, Ontario Owner/developer Canadian Union of Public Employees Project Manager Jackson-Brown Associates Inc. Architect CSV Architects General Contractor PCL Constructors Canada Inc. Mechanical/ Electrical consultant MMM Group Limited Landscape Architect Lashley + Associates Landscape Architecture and Site Engineering Total area 18,000 square feet Total construction cost $6.75 million june 2013 /63 13-05-30 2:27 PM