Sludge Plant's Appearance Aims for the Sky

[SteelTown]

Sludge Plant's Appearance Aims for the Sky

March 14, 2008
Eric McGuinness
The Hamilton Spectator

Architect Philip Smith wants to inject bright colour and striking design into the drab industrial landscape along Burlington Street East.

He plans to give the $160-million Liberty Energy Centre a skin of translucent white and clear plastic panels, creating three angular boxes that will reveal sky-blue machinery inside and glow in the nighttime.

Smith envisions it as "a beacon on the Hamilton skyline that will respect the city's heavy industry while presenting a new, memorable, 21st-century image for the city's future."

That's an ambitious goal for a power plant fuelled by sewage sludge and wood waste, but he sees it as a showcase for a clean-burning, renewable energy project.

"A process like that evokes strong feelings -- they're burning my poop -- but this is a source of energy that will always be there, so let's take advantage of it. I want the building to bring that out."

Smith works in California, where Liberty Energy is based, but says he studied the Hamilton site carefully and considered how the plant would look from street level, from the elevated Industrial Drive and from the Mountain brow.

The big sheds that house much of the heavy industry along the bayfront are cloaked in corrugated steel panels painted rusty red, brown and grey.

Smith plans to stick with corrugated panels, but made of polycarbonate plastic, a mix of translucent white and see-through panels in what he calls a cloud scheme, "as though the building itself were a container for a cloud."

Liberty Energy CEO Wilson Nolan said after meeting with The Spectator editorial board yesterday: "We hold ourselves to a very high standard in execution of our business and want an exceptional-looking building."

The company's environmental screening studies and report were accepted by the Environment Ministry last month. Environment Hamilton and some east Hamilton residents are unhappy the ministry rejected their calls for a more thorough assessment process, but have no further avenue of appeal.

Nolan said he hoped to start building the first of two incinerator units -- he called them reactors -- by this time next year and to start feeding power into the Ontario grid by September 2010, but also said he wouldn't start construction until he has a long-term commitment from one or more municipalities to dispose of their sludge.

Each incinerator is designed to handle sludge produced by a population of two million, about four times the number in Hamilton.

[raisethehammer]

it's about time...i've only been suggesting this for years. all the buildings along Burlington St could become an industrial art gallery for petes sake.

now, whether they actually do this is a different story...it might just a nice PR trick.
I hope they do though. up the ante down there and get some of these firms thinking a little more european instead of just gracing our skyline with more beige tanks.

[BrianE]

Does it concern anybody else that the only company in town willing to push the architectural envelope is a sludge incineration plant?

[HAMRetrofit]

Awsome. I love it.

I think it is a strange twist of fate that the only ones who want to build great buildings are sludge incinerators.

[chris k]

I hope this sets a pretty high standard for other developers considering this is a sludge plant.

[raisethehammer]

am I the only one doubting that this will ever look like this?? I hope it's designed like shown, but have my doubts.

[HAMRetrofit]

I think it will look something like that in the end. I don't see why the architect and developer would release drawings otherwise. Its good marketing for them to build a good building. Now that the public has seen this they are going to demand that the high standards are upheld. Once an image is released there is usually no other choice but to uphold to those standards.

[thistleclub]

Its appearance is a nice surprise and a welcome addition to the area, though much depends upon execution and, given the corrugated translucent white and clear skin, avoiding stack fallout from its neighbours.

[Millstone]

Burlington Street itself also needs some improvement. Then again, so does every single road in Hamilton.

I like the elevated freeway into the city idea, but because of the industry surrounding it, it looks very drab and dirty. It's also incomplete, with the Industrial Drive expressway part separating the two freeway parts. Any ideas on improving this road?

[HAMRetrofit]

Hang upside down hydroponic trees from it.

[SteelTown]

lol

What's the point of the elevated Burlington Street anyways? To give us a good view of the industrial wasteland?

[raisethehammer]

woah...wasteland? no sir. the view from the elevated portion is incredible!
I've taken many photos down there and never get tired of the incredible architecture, power and landscapes.
Burlington St should get new lights, signs and brick treatments that reflect the industrial heritage. huge warehouses along it should be used for Hamilton-centric murals and arts displays.
I'd love to see the large stacks lit up multi-coloured at night with LED lights like the CN Tower now has. it would be quite a sight from the elevated expressway as well as the Skyway Bridge to see a dazzling display of moving lights and colours across the water.

[the dude]

i hate burlington street, but you can't fight it. it ain't goin' anywhere.

i'd like to see some industrial-inspired art pop up along the strip. i can imagine a giant steel sculpture of some sort welcoming drivers to the area.

for example:

[hamiltonguy]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

lol

What's the point of the elevated Burlington Street anyways? To give us a good view of the industrial wasteland?

To Seperate the Highway Truck Traffic from slower heavy internal truck traffic and the numerous Rail Crossings.

[flar]

Burlington St reminds me of the Chemical Valley in Sarnia.

[Millstone]

Originally Posted by flar

Burlington St reminds me of the Chemical Valley in Sarnia.

Except it's not the main entrance into the city, except from the south.

[flar]

No difference, Hwy 40 through chemical valley is the main entrance to Sarnia from the south, Burlington St. is one of the main entrances to Hamilton from the North.

[Millstone]

Originally Posted by flar

No difference, Hwy 40 through chemical valley is the main entrance to Sarnia from the south, Burlington St. is one of the main entrances to Hamilton from the North.

402 arguably sees more traffic.

[SteelTown]

A Real Dustup on Strathearne Avenue
Dirty air 'astounded' visiting U.S. envoy

May 30, 2008
Eric McGuinness
The Hamilton Spectator

Liberty Energy wants to work with its future neighbours to control dust on one of Hamilton's dustiest roads.

The California-based company, which plans a $160-million sludge-fired power plant on Strathearne Avenue, says it was prompted to act when United States consul general John Nay was enveloped in dust clouds during a visit last month.

Former MPP Trevor Pettit, who works for Liberty, said: "It was 20 minutes of what I would deem a slide into second base. It was like a dust bowl. It was embarrassing. What is transpiring there is not acceptable.

"The consul general was astounded it's allowed to be like it is, worse than when I worked at Stelwire (now Mittal Canada) when I was a kid."

Existing industries on Strathearne, several in the scrap and waste-handing business, started a voluntary cleanup drive two years ago and say they made some progress, but the effort petered out.

Pettit invited them to Liberty's new satellite office in the Hamilton City Centre to try again this week.

The move follows a motion by Ward 4 Councillor Sam Merulla to make new companies in the bayfront industrial area pave their properties. Liberty proposes to pave all of its currently unpaved site. Merulla says there's no way the city can make companies pave unless they're seeking approval for new facilities.

It's a significant issue because fine particles from smokestacks, exhaust pipes and road dust have been shown to be a serious health hazard.

The Ontario Medical Association says 5,800 people in Ontario die prematurely each year from long-term exposure to smog and microscopic particles small enough to pass through the lungs into the bloodstream.

Dust on Strathearne is sometimes so bad it interferes with the accuracy of instruments used to measure air pollution.

Gord Gilmet of VFT Canada, which has a paved property next to the Liberty site, said conditions are better now that ArcelorMittal Dofasco isn't trucking steel slabs down the street, but the 69 workers at his plant constantly complain about dust on their cars and worry about the health effects of inhaling it.

Robert VanWyngaarden of Lakeshore Sand said the Fairmount Minerals subsidiary has paved its entrance road, started to cover its sand piles and is working with the port authority to keep down fugitive dust.

Gary Thomson of Thomson Waste Transfer said his company and Alfa Paper Products spent $130,000 on paving and another $130,000 on a water-spraying sweeper, but he can't afford to pave all his land.

Ward 5 Councillor Chad Collins, who attended in place of Merulla, told the group: "You need to formalize this process. I don't think you've come up with a clear list of solutions. The community is looking for higher standards. You individually have to pick up the torch and run with it."

[flar]

I can tell you, the last time I was down there (about a month ago) it was hell. It was a particularly windy day and the dust was as thick as fog.