Energy-efficient project expected to win platinum
Enermodal Engineering's building could be first in region to achieve LEED program distinction
September 27, 2008
Rose Simone
RECORD STAFF
KITCHENER
Stephen Carpenter felt tremendous satisfaction after the area's first energy-efficient green home was completed in 1993.
His company, Enermodal Engineering, helped design the house, dubbed the Waterloo Green Home, as a demonstration project under a federal government program.
But then he turned around and saw, as far as the eye could see, acres of new houses going up that were not energy-efficient. It was deflating.
"It felt like, one down and a thousand more to go," says Carpenter, Enermodal's founder and president.
A lot has changed since then. Green consciousness has grown and so has Enermodal Engineering.
The 27-year-old firm, which specializes in designing energy-efficient, environmentally sustainable buildings and neighbourhoods, now employs 80 people, including 65 in two buildings on Riverbend Drive in Kitchener.
To bring everyone under one roof and accommodate more growth, Enermodal is putting up new headquarters on Lancaster Street, on property overlooking the Grand River that it shares with Gallery on the Grand. It will break ground for the project on Friday and hopes to move into the 22,000-square-foot building by next August.
Beyond just bringing staff together, the building will be a showcase for the ultimate in environmental sustainability and energy efficiency.
It is expected to be the only building in Waterloo Region that qualifies for a platinum rating, the highest possible rating under the Canada Green Building Council's LEED program. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
Enermodal has helped to design a number of silver- and gold-rated LEED buildings in the region, including the recently opened Cambridge City Hall. But few buildings in Canada have achieved a platinum rating.
The building gets a platinum rating for a host of features, ranging from use of reclaimed and renewable materials to sod-free landscaping. But Enermodal is going beyond building features. It is encouraging environmental stewardship by offering its staff free bus passes, building bicycle lockers and providing incentives to encourage employees to buy hybrid vehicles. There will be a vegetable garden and lunchtime meals made from locally grown foods.
Enermodal also is donating a strip of land to the city so the Walter Bean Trail can be extended.
"It's good for the community, but also, it's good for our employees because they can walk at lunchtime," says Carpenter.
One of the most unusual aspects of the three-storey building is that it will be long and skinny, with a width of only 12 metres, meaning almost all employees will have a view of the Grand River. "Everyone has access to a window," Carpenter says.
Heating and cooling will be provided by individual room heat pumps that are connected by a loop.
The arrangement allows staff to control the temperature in each room; it also saves energy because the pumps will operate continuously on low speed rather than cycling from full on to off. A separate ventilation system, controlled by an occupancy sensor, brings in fresh air as needed.
Toilets and urinals will use rain water. Storm water from the site will pass through a vegetated swale and treatment system to remove pollutants before it enters the sewer system.
Other energy-efficient features include triple-glazed windows, walls made with insulated concrete forms and energy-efficient lighting. Plants will surround the building and a white reflective roof will cut down on the need for cooling and reduce the urban heat island effect.
Cabinets and trim will be made of bamboo, a crop that can be grown and harvested within five years. The building will be clad in salvaged stone.
The building will cost about $4 million, or $185 a square foot. That's about 10 per cent more than a conventional building of its size, but the energy savings will cover the extra cost in 10 or 11 years, Carpenter says.
Enermodal estimates the building will use 75 kilowatt hours of energy per square metre, which it says is only 10 per cent of the consumption of the average Canadian office building.
Beyond energy savings, putting up a green building pays off in improved employee productivity and health, Carpenter says. "People think of a building as a big investment, but really, the cost of the building represents about a year of salaries . . . We are a people business and people are our assets, so we never want to compromise the ability of people to do their work. I sometimes go into office buildings where I see these miserable little hovels people are expected to work in, and the managers think they are saving money, but I would argue they are being penny wise and pound foolish."
Today, the company's pioneering vision is a good fit with growing environmental consciousness. But Carpenter notes that "it took us about 25 years to become an overnight success."
It was hard to pitch energy efficiency in the 1980s because developers would only consider it when the cost of energy was high. "It's a bit like when the price of gas goes up 10 cents, everybody is concerned and when it comes back down, everyone acts as if the problem is over," Carpenter says.
The development of the LEED rating system made a big difference because certified buildings are now coveted, he says. In Toronto, virtually every downtown office building is being built to LEED standards.
Enermodal is working with developers of 23 buildings in downtown Toronto. The buildings are worth more than $2 billion and contain about 10 million square feet of space.
More recently, Enermodal started working on LEED for its neighbourhood development projects that aim to design entire communities for environmental sustainability.
"Now, with our environment and global warming, people are realizing we have to do something, for reasons beyond just the strict energy savings," Carpenter says.
Enermodel once again is in the forefront, showing that a healthy environment and healthy business can go hand-in-hand. Its new building will be further proof of that, he says. "We're out there, advising people on how to green their buildings."
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It's developments such as these combined with the new roundabout, and subsequent tearing down off the doll house and service station, that could greatly help to transform Lancaster.
. I have always thought Golf's Steak House was a little out of place here in such a drab area. At least the Doll House is history. 
It's still good to have optimism though that all this will be a start to clean this part of kitchener up...
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