Photos courtesy Enermodal Engineering

Collaborative Structures Limited's (CSL's) head office boasts a green core and shell. Its interior, pictured below, also boasts sustainable features.

The new Collaborative Structures Limited (CSL) headquarters in Cambridge, Ont., is the first building in the country to earn the Canada Green Building Council's (CaGBC's) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Designâ??Core and Shell (LEEDâ??CS) certification.

The facility's certification derives from its energy and water conservation measures that offer operational savings, increased workplace productivity, and sensitivity to the community. For example, insulating concrete forms (ICFs) were used for perimeter walls, creating an airtight and highly insulating building shell. Additionally, employing ICFs instead of a conventional wood concrete form saved on the labour and material costs needed to build a traditional framed wall.

The CSL project's mechanical design includes high-efficiency gas heating/cooling rooftop units. In winter, an energy recovery system captures heat and humidity from exhaust air for pre-heating ventilation air. During the hotter summer months, the same system removes heat and humidity from incoming air before it is conditioned for indoor ventilation.

Together, the building envelope and mechanical design created an annual energy savings of 41 per cent. Water-efficient fixtures yielded 56 per cent potable water savings.

As an added bonus, more than 35 per cent of construction material costs (e.g. concrete, gypsum board, and asphalt) were regionally sourced. Using materials from the surrounding area reduces the cost and impact of transporting materials, while helping the local economy.

To strengthen its green focus, the CSL building utilizes a landlord-tenant agreement with guidelines on topics such as light pollution, low-toxicity building materials and cleaning products, and recycling.