Centre of Newton Phase II

Location

Located on the east side of King George Boulevard at 72A Avenue in Surrey BC, the Phase 2 portion is situated on the north­east side of the shopping centre, fronting both the “main court” of the shopping centre and 137th Avenue.

Taking advantage of the sloping site, the lobby entrances for the offices are located on the podium level and at grade on 137th Street. The retail units are accessible at grade from both sides of the building. The building has been designed and constructed as a ‘Core and Shell’ project, with tenant spaces to be completed once tenants are ready to occupy.

High Performance / Green Building Features

Centre of Newton Phase 2 was built targeting a gold certification in the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) 2009 Core and Shell Rating System. The project surpassed its target and achieved a LEED platinum certification. The project is also BC Hydro’s Power Smart certified. The goal of the project was to provide a high performance building that significantly reduces energy consumption, increases facility flexibility and improves comfort and satisfaction for the occupants.

The project design started with an enhanced building envelope to maximize energy efficiency. The building uses ground source heat pumps for heating and cooling, which provide unmatched efficiency with operating costs approximately 30% to 60% lower than ordinary heating and air-conditioning systems. Efficiencies in the electrical system were reached through a control system and energy efficient and LED fixtures. The project’s water efficiency’s goals were met through the use of low flow fixtures and waterless urinals.

Key Energy Conservation Measures

• Increased insulation in the building envelope (exterior wall R-value nearly 60% and roof R-value about 44% higher than baseline building)
• High performance windows (overall window conduction close to 27% lower than baseline)
• Reduced interior and exterior lighting power density
• Heat recovery ventilator with exhaust air heat recovery
• Ground source loop and heat pump system
• Water-to-water heat pump system preheats domestic hot water for further energy savings
• Waterless urinals, low flow faucets and showerheads
• Building systems controlled via a DDC system, with HVAC, Lighting and security systems integrated to work together.

Sustainable Sites

The building was constructed on a pre-developed site as an urban infill strategy. It is situated in a highly dense area with connections to nearby amenities, including accessibility of public transportation, charging stations for electric vehicle and cycling facilities, as of which create an ease of use for occupants.

Stacking over three-quarters of the project’s parking needs underground reduces asphalt surfaces that contribute to negative urban micro-climates known as heat island effect. The installation of a reflective (high albedo) roof combats heat island effect on top of the building.

Material Use

In addition to prioritizing as much regionally extracted and manufactured material as possible, the project also specified and installed Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood. FSC wood supports environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable forest management via wood products tracked from forest to shelf.

Durable Building

To achieve a healthy indoor environment, it is essential the building envelope be designed for thermal and moisture performance. The Centre of Newton undertook a Durable Building plan to create a design service life and prevent durability failures inside the wall and roof spaces.

Adaptability for Future Change and Expansion

Flexibility in building systems was identified as an important project goal. Consequently, the architectural, mechanical, and electrical systems were designed to allow for future program changes, and/or additional capacity to accommodate an undetermined quantity and type of tenants.

Indoor Environmental Quality

Thermostats in the spaces are equipped with humidity and carbon dioxide sensors to monitor thermal comfort and ventilation. In addition, the central air-handling unit is equipped with a flow meter to measure the amount of outside air delivered to the building. The specification and installation of low-emitting coatings, adhesives and sealants provided a way to prevent healthy air quality from the start.

The parking area is equipped with a gas detection monitoring system, which operates the parking area exhaust fans when either carbon monoxide or propane levels are above normal.

Measuring and verifying energy

Measurement and Verification (M&V) protocols have been undertaken in the base building, and tenant spaces have been sub-metered to allow energy savings from each energy conservation method (ECM) to be evaluated separately, as well as ease of trouble shooting systems in the future.

Green Tenant Agreements and Guidelines

To ensure the building is operated as efficiently as intended, Mandatory Lease Agreements are in place outlining various tenant implemented efficiencies measures.

A Green Tenant Design and Construction Guideline has been created for distribution to tenants. This Guideline has been created to inform tenants about the building’s high performance features, the importance of green building, as well as recommendations for green building maintenance and operation.

Source: project documents from MMM Group, Recollective, Value Property Group, CES Engineering