The residents of Cormier Village had a strong desire for a new community centre to replace the one lost to fire several years ago.  However, instead of simply building a new one along the lines of the previous one, they were looking for a different type of community centre, one where they can blend the community aspects to the environment.   The residents of Cormier Village, as most other people in the province have a strong desire to protect the environment and to keep the surrounding rivers and woodlands for the enjoyment of future generations.
 
Strategically positioned within the proposed Ecoparc, the new community centre is destined to be the focal point of the community.  The centre is designed to be an educational as well as a recreational area and would be available for activities, meetings, and community events. 

The proposed plan is for a building that boasts a passive solar design, an innovative and flexible layout as well as a focus on energy savings to ensure that the building is affordable to build and operate.  The passive solar design makes is easier to heat the building, while reducing the amount of energy required to maintain the indoor temperature at a comfortable level.  The floor plan is designed to be both multipurpose and energy efficient by enabling the occupants to control the climate only in the rooms required for any particular function. 

The design focuses on sustainability by considering key principles in the design, such as: Comfort, Energy Efficiency, Environmental Impact and Affordability. The proposed building has been designed with all aspects of energy efficiency in mind. Le Centre Culturel et Sportif de Cormier Village worked very closely with the local consulting firm, energeia inc., to create a concept that would serve the community’s needs for many years to come. The first three design requirements were:

• a multi-functional building,
• low operating and maintenance costs, and
• a very energy efficient design.

The building meets all of the above requirements, plus it is designed to be a future “Near Net-Zero Building”. In other word, this building, when completed, will be easily retrofitted in the years to come, with solar panels that will allow it to generate, on an annual average, almost as much energy as it consumes.

When a building is designed for maximum passive solar gains in the wintertime, passive cooling in the summer time, and maximum energy efficiency, the requirements for conventional heating and cooling systems are greatly reduced. Complementary heating and cooling will be achieved by using properly sized heating, cooling and ventilation systems.  Furthermore, lighting systems will be designed and installed to complement natural day lighting, and use state-of-the-art lighting technology. Thermal comfort will be ensured through a variety of integrated techniques such as:

• High thermal mass, strategically located in the building to ensure temperature uniformity.
• In floor radiant heat, with multiple controls, so that smaller rooms can be heated separately for superior occupant comfort. 
• Passive solar design will maximize energy efficiency thereby reducing the demand on conventional heating/cooling systems

The building has been designed with occupant comfort in mind.  Adequate day lighting using large windows will provide the necessary light as well as passive solar heat for the comfort for the occupants.  Solar awnings will be used to ensure that there is no overheating during certain times of the year.  The small number of windows on the east and west sides, decreases heat loss in winter and minimises overheating in the summer, while strategically placed windows ensure passive solar gains.

The airtight building envelope ensures maximum energy efficiency.  Constructed with a concrete slab on grade, this building has a large amount of thermal mass, which will be in direct contact with the sun during the wintertime.  Therefore, the overall building envelope will inherently be very efficient. 

In order to increase energy efficient, a number of renewable energy technologies are included in the design:

• Passive solar design. 
• Hydronic solar panels: The hydronic solar panels will be used for space heating and to recharging the geothermal field during the summer when there is an excess of energy. 
• PV solar panels:   PV solar panels will be used to generate electricity. 
• The geothermal heat pump system will use a closed loop field to provide hot water for the in-floor radiant heating system. 
• These renewable energy systems will be orchestrated with an energy management system in order to maximize their efficiencies as well as occupant comfort. 

Another factor that we deem essential in the construction of the new Community Centre is the maintenance of the ecological integrity of the site through the use of environmental corridors, or protected area, as well as best practices for storm water management and forestry.

The choices that we make every day can have a large influence on our health.  For the new Community Centre project, construction materials will be chosen on the basis of low pollutant emissions.  During the construction, there will be an effort to procure locally when possible to decrease transportation costs as well as pollution resulting from transportation.  Natural materials will be chosen where possible for the health and comfort of the occupants.

There are many strategies and technique planned for this construction project that will maximize the use of sustainable materials, while limiting the use of materials that are energy intensive to manufacture (otherwise known as materials with a high level of “embodied energy”). Some of these strategies are as follows:

• The use of locally available construction materials to limit transportation costs
• The use of recycled construction materials such as roofing, insulation, etc
• Minimal use of interior finish materials by using construction techniques such as polished concrete floors,
• The use of locally grown natural wood products such as cedar and spruce for use in both framing, interior finishes and exterior finish
• The use of locally quarried stone rather than importing exotic stones and minerals

A sustainable design does not only refer to energy efficiency, it also defines a minimum overall lifecycle cost.  There are many strategies to achieve the latter: 

• A building envelope solidly constructed with ICF technology that
• Guarantees low operating costs
• Limits need for periodic maintenance
• Ensures durable construction
• Protects the building envelope from moisture related problems
• An exterior finish that will perform exceedingly well for a very long time
• A roof system that will stand the test of time through many harsh maritime winters
• An interior floor layout that can be adapted for multiple uses as the community’s needs change
• A flexible building design that will easily adapt to future changes in technology without the need for major reconstruction

For the construction of this project, sediment and erosion will be kept to a minimum because the chosen building lot is fairly flat.  Also, the proposed design is built on a slab; therefore, very little excavation will be required and consequently lot disturbance will be kept to a minimum.

Comfort, Well-being, Security - Responsable Land Use - Passive Solar Gains and Energy Efficiency
Sustainable Materialsand Construction - Renewable Energy Technologies
Conservation and Recycling - Water, Air and our Surroundings

© energeia inc 2010