Award

66 | FEBRUA RY 2018 The Joyce Centre for Partnership & Innovation – Mohawk College RENDERING COURTESY B+H ARCHITECTS On the main level of the building there is a cafe, a large lecture theatre, a collaboratorium, and the atrium. "We hope the main atrium foregrounds itself as a social condenser; encourag- ing academic and social interchange," says Stelzer. "It connects the formal teaching spaces, the information com- mons and the cafe. It is a flexible space that can host formal and informal events – becoming a hub of circulation and activity – drawing the occupants to the heart of the facility." The interior is clean and simple in design, providing clear wayfind- ing to the various labs and classrooms on all five floors. A single loaded cor- ridor runs along the side of the facade and welcomes a tremendous amount of daylight into the east side due to the clever placement of glazing. While visually the building is extremely striking in design, it's what goes on behind the scenes that truly captures the imagination, such as the highly efficient heat pump HVAC system with 24-metre by 150-metre- deep geothermal wells that help regulate the building's temperature by transferring heat to or from the ground. TMP Consulting Engineers worked alongside RDH to come up with a highly responsive ground-source VRF heat pump system. When it came to the electrical sys- tems, MBII's mandate was to help make this building a driver of innova- tion, and so the electrical systems and components were designed and care- fully selected to achieve a high level of energy conservation, above and beyond the industry benchmark set by ASHRAE Standard 90.1. "With lighting being one of the main energy consumers, MBII focused on the design of illumination systems and the choice of light sources to drive down the overall lighting power density per square foot. High-efficiency, long-life, low-power consumption LED light fix- tures complete with 0-10V dimming drivers were specified, paired with dual technology occupancy in all enclosed spaces and rooms and daylight dimming sensors that synced with the daylight harvesting strategies," says Remus Banulescu at MBII. "A wireless web- based lighting control system tied the lighting systems all together, allowing for time-based, sensor-based [both occupancy and daylight], and local lighting control stations. Additionally, the control system is capable of turning lighting loads on/off as well as dimming lighting fixtures, from any internet con- nected device via web-based software." Once the building is complete, the focus on energy won't stop there. Using live building systems data and new simulation software, students will, come fall, be able to conduct lab experiments and capstone projects to evaluate the energy efficiency and areas of opportunity. It's clear that everyone who worked on this project is extremely proud of not only what they managed to achieve, and within such a tight timeline, but of the true teamwork involved. "The pride that came out of the peo- ple who worked on this project was astounding. We held a final beam place- ment ceremony and we had somewhere in the 50 to 100 range of signatures on the beam. It was incredible," says McElhone, to which McCallum adds: "It was tremendous joy to work with such a talented team and a support- ive, knowledgeable client. Everybody pulled together and we had a lot of fun, which is indicative of the kind of proj- ect we were involved with." A Walters Group is a family-owned steel construction company that designs, fabricates, and constructs commercial and industrial projects throughout North America. Regardless of the industry, size or complexity, we always bring the same passion and commitment to every project we take on. Walters Group is proud to have been a part of bringing the vision and structural innovation to the Joyce Centre for Partnership & Innovation at Mohawk College in Hamilton. www.waltersgroupinc.com @waltersgroupinc Transforming Vision into Reality. Award Magazine Jan 2018.indd 1 2018-01-18 10:26 AM

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