Atlantic Canada’s first building to be certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum is Nova Scotia Power’s Corporate Headquarters.
Designed by WZMH Architects and located on Halifax’s waterfront, the facility reused the Water Street Coal Fired Generating Station, which opened in 1911 but has been decommissioned since 1999. The building sits on a 5-acre (2 ha) lot and is a total of 18,000 m2 (193,750 sf).
Some of the sustainable elements contributing to the Platinum status include:
- sea water heating and cooling using existing piping;
- HVAC heat recovery;
- efficient building shell;
- reuse of demolition materials such as steel and concrete rubble;
- daylighting and occupancy sensors for lighting and heating; and
- solar thermal panels for supplementary building and water heating.
Another notable design feature is the first significant use of ‘chilled beam’ technology in the country. This system is placed within the ceiling space and uses low-energy sea water in place of air, to cool the facility using less energy.
WZMH Architects has designed other sustainable developments in Canada including the LEED Gold-certified Durham Region Courthouse (Oshawa, Ont.) and Centennial Place (Calgary, Alta.).
