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J UNE 2015 | 75 Mosaic Centre for Conscious Community and Commerce PHOTOGRAPHY ROSS AUSER + DAVID TRUBRIDGE/COURTESY OIL COUNTRY ENGINEERING; MANASC ISAAC ARCHITECTS LTD. Mosaic Centre for Conscious Community and Commerce by ROBIN BRUNET T he Mosaic Centre for Conscious Community and Commerce in the emerging Edmonton community of Summerside is revolutionary in how its architecture inspires workplace produc- tivity. It's also an example of how ambi- tious, sustainably oriented projects can be completed with conventional budgets. But arguably the most remark- able aspect of the 30,000-square-foot, $10.5-million facility is that its basic structure came to one of the owners in the form of a dream. "I'm talking about the type of dream you have while asleep," says Nicole Auser, communications assistant at Oil Country Engineering, referring to OCE co-founder and Mosaic co-owner Christy Benoit. Auser goes on to explain that Benoit "dreamed about the way Mosaic looks and its unique functionality, and when she discussed her dream with her partner Dennis Cuku, he was equally inspired to make it a reality." Further motivating them was the fact that in 2013, when Benoit had her nocturnal vision, OCE was located in what Vedran Skopac of Manasc Isaac Architects describes as "a dark, cookie- cutter strip mall, which is a demoraliz- ing ambiance for workers. When Dennis came to our office, he said `how would you feel about designing the first com- mercial net-zero energy and greenest building in all of Alberta?' Some of my colleagues thought it wasn't possible given his budget and a harsh Edmonton climate – but I thought Dennis had a fan- tastic attitude, so we went ahead." From the outside, Mosaic is a bold combination of long spans of wood-clad lower levels and a glazed, overhanging upper-level: clean lines predominate. It's only when guests step inside that Mosaic's true genius is revealed. Simply put, if workers need to get from point A to point B, they must navigate the entire alphabet first before reaching their destination. "We made it impossible for anyone to walk directly to their work station," says Skopac. "There are no tra- ditional office levels, no cookie-cutter hallways, no predictable office layouts. Instead, we have a series of different platforms for floors, a feature staircase that explodes in different directions, unexpected niches, multiple eye levels – a complex but not complicated design that is value-added driven." The purpose of this design scheme was to encourage people to interact with one another, thus increasing problem solving, productivity and social well- being. "It really does work," says Auser. "Even the stairwells are built wide to facilitate conversation. Plus, there's an intermingling of different elements: for example, there's a daycare space on the main floor for Summerside residents as well as cafe and gym space for lease, and open-desking space on the upper levels for small businesses. We all interact, and it's an invigorating environment." Purely in terms of esthetics, an impressive heavy timber superstruc- ture is the showpiece of the three-sto- rey atrium. An exposed wood ceiling, decking and columns were designed using glulam beams. Not only are the pine and fir structural elements beau- tiful, they're the reason why Mosaic is estimated to have avoided 1,360 tons of greenhouse gas emissions in compari- son to using concrete – the equivalent of taking 261 cars off the road per year. There are a number of other notable green features to the Centre: Instead of using abundant light fixtures, work- ers are exposed to copious amounts of natural sunshine; and the heating and cooling system is a 32 borehole geo-exchange heat pump system, which along with the 212 kW solar photovol- taic (PV) system, is what gets the build- ing to Net Zero Energy. The geoexchange system in particular was key in achiev- ing Net Zero because the system is 50 to 60 per cent more efficient than the next best system. The size of the solar PV system was reduced by over 50 kW (or $160,000). This extra amount of PV would not have fit on the roof. Skopac concedes that the unortho- dox interior structures made Building Code officials think outside the box. However, he's grateful for Cuku and Benoit giving him free design reign. "They had no preconceived ideas, only a series of mandates: in addition to sus- tainability, they wanted their employees to thrive, have a beautiful building, and make it pragmatic so other developers could create similar facilities." In order to achieve the latter goal, Skopac, the prime contractor and the owners quickly set tled on the Integrated Project Delivery model that calls for joint control by the owner and key designers and builders, to reduce waste and optimize efficiency through all phases of design, fabrication and LOCATION 2003 91st Street SW, Edmonton, Alberta OWNER/DEVELOPER Mosaic Family of Companies ARCHITECT/ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Manasc Isaac Architects GENERAL CONTRACTOR Chandos Construction Ltd. STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Fast + Epp MECHANICAL CONSULTANT Clark Engineering Corporation GREEN BUILDING CERTIFICATION CONSULTANT EcoAmmo NET ZERO ENERGY CONSULTANT ReNü Building Science Inc. SOLAR SYSTEM Great Canadian Solar GEOTHERMAL/ENERGY MODELLING CONSULTANT Revolve Engineering Inc. TOTAL SIZE 30,000 square feet TOTAL BUDGET $10.5 million

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