Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/178323
COURTESY B+H ARCHITECTS Centre for Engineering Innovation (CEI) – University of Windsor by Angela Altass he University of Windsor's new Centre for Innovation will be, "a living and learning building – a combination of exposed structure and monitored systems designed to exhibit construction concepts and illustrate engineering principles through environmentally friendly technologies," says Holly Ward, chief communications of icer at the University of Windsor. The CEI building includes faculty of ices, lexible high-tech classrooms, specialized research labs as well as student study and activity spaces, says John Quinn, principal at Quinn Design Associates Inc. "Outdoor spaces include a generous entrance plaza and a green roof adjacent to the rooftop gathering and social space. Existing trees have been maintained wherever possible. Landscape elements such as an extensive T bioswale in the parking lot will enrich learning by making sustainable ecological practices visible to students." "Flexibility was important," says David Sylvester, principal with Crossey Engineering Ltd. "Every room is different so there were unique things to each." Managing a building of this magnitude and square footage with a construction schedule of greater than two years posed challenges, says Jennifer Di Domenico, project manager with JPT Management. "The building will house faculty and staff as well as all teaching and research space associated with the Faculty of Engineering," says Di Domenico. "It was designed with different construction technologies enabling faculty to use the building as a teaching tool, illustrating construction systems and principles to students." Centre for Engineering Innovation (CEI) – University of Windsor p.88-89CEI Windsor.indd 89 A 350-seat auditorium allows equipment as large as an F-150 truck into the room to accommodate hands-on, tactile learning, says Ward. The university wanted the CEI to be new and innovative, says Kevin Stelzer, principal at B+H Architects. "It was important that it be generated by a series of ideas; one of those was innovation." The building terraces down from three storeys to one, with 20,000 square feet of green roof containing thermocouples and water low measuring devices. "We have a control sample on the regular roof so students can compare the performance of the green roof to the regular roof," says Stelzer. The design features different structural systems and materials: concrete shear walls with precast slabs, concrete shear walls with cast-in-place slabs and structural steel with concentrically braced frames, says Fernando Cruz, project manager with Halsall Associates Ltd. Glulam laminated wood is used for the atrium roof and loadbearing masonry for the labs. There are four pedestrian bridges over the atrium, which are designed with different structural systems: concrete slab on concrete beams, concrete slab on steel beams, concrete on steel deck on 3-D trusses and king post system – concrete slab with exposed post-tension cables. "The university plans to place instruments on the bridges to measure material strain and deformation so students can apply load to the bridges and study their behaviour," says Cruz. Services come from a small basement, which required coordination among consultants. "The laboratory has a strong wall and loor to carry out structural testing," Cruz says. "The wall is 1.5-metres-thick by 10.8-metres-high and the loor is 1.1 metres thick. Casting of these elements was a challenge and precautions were taken to minimize concrete cracking due to high temperatures reached in the concrete." Targeting LEED-NC Gold, enhanced energy modelling was used to analyze occupant comfort, daylight accessibility and glare control. "Thermal comfort conditions were analyzed for the lecture hall using computational luid dynamics (CFD), evaluating the impacts of displacement ventilation," says Richard Macintosh, building energy specialist with Halsall Associates. "A daylighting and glare study was conducted to analyze visual comfort under different climatic conditions in of ices, the industrial courtyard and atria." A Termobuild system that uses the air distribution system to temper the slab so it can be used as a thermal mass is the key mechanical feature, says Elaine Hopkins, project manager – mechanical, Smith + Andersen. "The building is made with hollow core slabs [precast concrete slabs with tubular holes within the slab] and air is run through the slab in the cores to temper it," she says. "This system, coupled with demand ventilation and energy recovery, is expected to operate at a lower building energy use than a traditional VAV system." ■ LOCATION 2285 Wyandotte Street West Windsor, Ontario OWNER University of Windsor PROJECT MANAGER JPT Management ARCHITECT B+H Architects & Di Maio Design Associates Architects In Association GENERAL CONTRACTOR PCR Contractors Inc. STRUCTURAL/LEED CONSULTANT Halsall Associates Ltd. LOCAL STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT ALEO Associates MECHANICAL CONSULTANT Smith + Andersen ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Crossey Engineering Ltd. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Quinn Design Associates Inc. TOTAL AREA 300,000 square feet TOTAL COST $112 million AUGUST 2012 /89 7/13/12 10:43 AM