The ideal office space
As the building moved through construction, Cisco Systems Canada coincidentally began the process of looking for a new home. Multiple locations within the Toronto core were reviewed, compared, and analyzed before WaterPark Place III was selected. Smart building capabilities provided by a converged IP POE infrastructure were paramount. A network that was flexible, modular, and secured provided the opportunity to layer on additional space functionality.
The team assembled to build out the Cisco Smart Work Space across approximately four floors and 9290 m2 (100,000 sf) included:
- CBRE (project manager);
- EllisDon (general contractor and smart building integrator);
- HOK (space design);
- Hidi Rae (mechanical/electrical consulting);
- Kelson Mechanical (prime mechanical);
- Guild Electric (prime electrical and structured cabling);
- FlexITy Solutions (smart networks);
- Panduit (network cabling); and
- Delta Controls (automated HVAC).
Based on recent satisfaction studies, personal control of the environment (including temperature and light level control) was top of mind and led to the replacement of the base building Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI)-based T5 fluorescent lighting system with a next generation IP POE+ (30 watts) LED assembly connected to the building’s IP network.
The control and power architecture for the lighting solution was based on a star and home-run configuration instead of the home-run architecture implemented for the HVAC BAS solution. Compact switches formed the star connection hub, and short-run (small pre-made cables connecting the switch to the luminaire) Cat 6 patch cables were used to provide communication and power to the lighting luminaires including:
- general purposes 2 X 2;
- specialty pot lights;
- recessed linear lighting; and
- suspended linear lighting.
Cat 6 communication connections were home-run in cable trays to the base building IT closet and connected to Ethernet switches housed in a separate communication cabinet located below the base building BAS cabinet. For the workspace, the total IP POE+ fixture count was 1400.
Conclusion
The journey for both WaterPark Place III and Cisco Systems Canada’s new home started off as concept a number of years ago, developed by a team who began early and were collaborative. By bringing all stakeholders representing the owner, the tenant, the architect, and the design and construction community, all aspects of the project could be clearly articulated and built. The fundamental connection of facilities and IT design via the linkage of MasterFormat specification Divisions 23−HVAC, 25−Integrated Automation, 26−Electrical, and 27−Communications clearly formed the foundation for the delivery of a smart connected building.
William R MacGowan, P.Eng., CEM, is Cisco Systems’ director of smart connected real estate. He has considerable knowledge in the areas of converged building systems, enterprise integration, and the delivery of high-performance business value. With 30 years of experience in the new construction and retrofit industry affiliations, MacGowan has held project management, marketing, and global sales positions in the energy and automation sector. Prior to joining Cisco, he worked at Delta Controls for 16 years in various national and global roles. MacGowan holds an honours degree from Queens University (Kingston, Ont.) in electrical engineering and is a Certified Energy Manager with the American Energy Engineers Association. He can be reached at bimacgow@cisco.com.
