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Royal Canadian Mint Expansion p60-63Royal Can Mint.indd 63 "Because officials from many countries will visit the facility, it needed to have a world-class image." inspection machines, an automated plating machine and a complete wastewater treatment plant," says Auger. "There are connecting truck doors and pedestrian doors from the expansion into the older part of the Mint." The manufacturing line is laid out with straight, open aisles and the finishes include epoxy-coated floors and sound-absorbing features to provide a safe, comfortable environment for Mint employees to work. The Centre of Excellence includes a second-floor conferencing centre to serve as a receiving area for foreign dignitaries and first-floor labs to illustrate the cutting-edge plating technologies that RCM is investigating for implementation into the adjacent manufacturing line. The blank production process requires about 80,000 cubic feet per minute of exhaust air to maintain good operating conditions in the plant. This air is routed through heat exchangers to reclaim heat, which is then used to – Mark Auger, Associate IBI Group preheat the air entering the plant. The wastewater treatment system is designed to recycle water that, in the past, would have been discharged to the municipal sewage system. "IBI Group process engineers designed the plant so the water can be re-used as makeup water in the scrubbers and as back-flush water at the wastewater treatment filters," says Auger. "Our mechanical engineers designed the cooling system to automatically change over into free-cooling mode whenever outdoor temperatures are low enough to provide cooling with towers alone," adds Auger. "This minimizes the use of the heavy chillers that maintain the correct cooling water temperatures." Because the Mint uses a lot of electricity for the plating process, IBI Group's electrical engineers designed the incoming power to be corrected for power factor using special rectifiers and filters that ensure the power is used as efficiently as possible. n doug little photography / courtesy royal canadian mint eight-inch-thick, 35-foot-long precast panel that incorporates all of the features of the composite wall on the older building." Auger explains that the Centre of Excellence presented a challenge. "The Mint wanted the Centre to be outstanding, but it also wanted it to integrate visually with the existing facility," he says. "A glass wall and bold, wallmounted letters make a distinctive entrance to the Centre, and a two-storey entrance hallway with an open stairway makes a lasting first impression. High-quality interior finishes and fixtures were selected to extend the first impression up the stairs or elevator into the main conference centre." The addition to the Mint incorporates many of the principles of LEED design. Energy and environmental design details include heat recovery systems, free cooling, water recycling, re-use of site materials, building insulating values and light transmitting windows. Inside, the two-storey building addition is 70,000 square feet in area. The Centre of Excellence has a footprint of 3,000 square feet and the central utility block covers 9,400 square feet. "The expansion contains coin blank production equipment, with two gas-fired, controlled-atmosphere furnaces, deburring, burnishing and Location 520 Lagimodière Blvd, Winnipeg, Manitoba Owner/Developer Royal Canadian Mint Architect/ Engineering Consultant IBI Group Design-Build Contractor PCL Constructors Canada Inc. Total Area 70,000 square foot expansion Construction Cost $60 million october 2013    /63 13-09-13 4:01 PM

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