Identifying green buildings that work

Is a green building defined by what it looks like? Should it have various ‘sexy’ technologies like solar panels, green roofs, and straw bale insulation? Or does it need to have low off-gassing materials, plentiful daylighting, and native species landscaping?
Instead of defining a green facility by a checklist of technologies, one should define a building by its actual reduced environmental footprint. As the most significant direct impact of structures, energy use should be the most important way they are ultimately judged. Without significant, monitored energy savings, no facility should be called ‘green.’

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Reducing energy use in correctional facilities

The Government of Canada’s commitment to sustainable development continues to drive its efforts in greening its operations. Such work offers an opportunity to help protect and conserve the environment, as well as contribute to the economy. The Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE) is Canada’s centre of excellence for energy, efficiency, and alternative fuels information. It is mandated to strengthen and expand the country’s dedication to energy efficiency to help address the government’s policy objectives.

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Owens Art Gallery: A holistic conservation strategy

Located on Mount Allison University’s campus in Sackville, N.B., the Owens Art Gallery is the oldest university art gallery in Canada.1 Officially opened in 1895, the gallery was designed in the elegant Beaux-Arts style by highly regarded Toronto-based architect, Edmund Burke (Figure 1). Locally quarried and fabricated olive sandstone was used to construct the traditional mass masonry exterior walls, and decorative terra cotta friezes bearing the names of famous artists were incorporated within the front and side elevations and supported on circular sandstone columns.

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ASHRAE 90.1: The future of Ontario’s energy efficiency

Ontario has signalled its intent to remain among the energy efficiency leaders in North America for new building construction in adopting American National Standards Institute/American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-conditioning Engineers/Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA) 90.1-2010, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-rise Residential Buildings.

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Wind Design For Roofing: Misconceptions and consequences

For the last few years, the media has highlighted roofing failures caused by wind. Although these problems sensationalize the effects of global warming, they are not new and have occurred since buildings were first constructed. The major contributing factor to many of these failures is the roof or perimeter flashing was not properly designed to meet the project requirements––such as location and occupancy type. Depending on its direction, wind acts on the building in different ways. As it collides with the structure, it travels up and over, increasing in speed––similar to the effects of an airfoil on a wing.

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