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a comfortable interior," explains Aepli. The top of the building is crowned by an elegantly curved cornice. "The unique architecture of the project is what makes it so special," says Jordan Thomas of Axiom Builders Inc., the gen- eral contractors on the project. "There are no buildings in that area that you can compare to The Prescott." The beauty of the building, however, goes beyond its exterior skin made of concrete, stone, Alucobond metal pan- els, and titanium panels and glazing. It is considered to have the highest resi- dential energy standard in the City of North Vancouver. "The zoning for t his proper t y meant higher energ y performance requirement s were imposed upon the design and construction of the mechanical systems," says Rob Gregg of MCW Consult ant s Ltd. "Energ y modelling was per formed at t he outset to ensure that the final design was 24 per cent better than current energy standards, and an indepen- dent commissioning authorit y was appointed to review the final operation of the building from the perspective of energy efficiency." The BlueShore space features two energy-saving elements. The first is through its Variable Refrigerant Flow ( V R F) system. Since it operates at varying speeds, the VRF system allows for heat transfer bet ween interior spaces when there is simultaneous heat- ing and cooling, giving greater thermal control and improved efficiency. The second system involves Blue- Shore's ventilation through the use of a Heat Recovery Ventilator ( HRV). "The HRV removes heat from the air leaving the building and transfers it back into the airstream entering the building," explains Gregg. "This results in a sig- nificant energy saving by reducing the heating requirements by 38 per cent." Other contributing element s to the energy efficiency of The Prescott include low-f low water f i x t ures throughout the building, low-flow dual- f lush toilets and hydronic radiators. Moreover, all non-vision glass window walls are backed up with additional insulated framed walls to ensure mini- mal heat loss wherever possible. For the residents of The Prescott, hot water is supplied from a cit y heating plant via underground pipes to provide all domestic hot water and space heating, a system with significant energy savings over traditional electric and natural gas utilities. To further improve efficiencies, the entire building, both residential and commercial, has a central Building Automation System ( BAS). This allows all major equipment to be linked, maxi- mizing efficiency improvements for the system as a whole instead of targeting improvements on an individual basis. Other environmental considerations are as a result of the building's location, providing convenience for its residents. "The central Lonsdale area offers all essential services within easy walking distance," says Aepli, "and proximity to public transit further encourages the reduction of fuel energy consumption." Aside from the careful consider- ations given to the energy efficiency of The Prescott, some unusual challenges arose as a result of the shared space with the key partner and commercial anchor of the development, BlueShore Financial. "The emergency generator for this site is very large due to their back- up power requirements," states Gregg. Located two floors below grade in the parkade, the emergency generator made it challenging to connect venti- lation air and exhaust pipes with the exterior of the building. "Exhaust pipe routing had to be considerably extended to ensure noise and exhaust fumes were not an impact to the exterior occupied areas of the building," adds Gregg. While many of these considerations would go mostly unnoticed by The Prescott's new residents, there are some that are uniquely geared to their lifestyle. "Wesgroup has had a heated dog wash station built in the parkade to make it as easy as possible for residents to care for their pets without the con- straints of a condo," explains Thomas. With its contemporary architecture, concrete construction, cit y centre location and attention to detail, The Prescott epitomizes North Shore liv- ing. Hardly surprising, considering the project's owner/developer, Wesgroup, is familiar with North Shore needs as the company was started 50 years ago in North Vancouver. n LOCATION 1250 Lonsdale Ave, North Vancouver, B.C. OWNER/DEVELOPER Wesgroup Properties ARCHITECT Francl Architecture GENERAL CONTRACTOR Axiom Builders Inc. STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Glotman•Simpson Consulting Engineers MECHANICAL CONSULTANT MCW Consultants Ltd. ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Nemetz (S/A) & Associates Ltd. TOTAL AREA 145,000 square feet TOTAL COST $34 million AUGUST 2014 /75 The Prescott Congratulations to Axiom Builders and Wes Group Properties on the completion of The Prescott project. Bridgewater Tile Ltd. is pleased to have been a part of this prestigious project. BRIDGEWATER TILE LTD. 524 Sharp Street, New Westminster, BC V3M 4R2 Phone: 604.540.7670 Fax: 604.540.7680 Bridgwater Tile.indd 1 14-06-10 9:56 AM