Bregman + Hamann Architects
Since its inception in 1953, B+H Architects has established itself as a leading force in Canadian architecture. Through the 1950s and 1960s, B+H developed expertise in the innovative tall building design that shaped the skylines of Canada’s largest cities, and through its corporate history continued to diversify with a variety commercial and institutional building sectors.
As part of a full-service, integrated philosophy of design, B+H established itself as a leader in interior design early in its history. As part of a desire to expand its global presence, in 1992 B+H developed a strategic alliance partner to undertake a series of large-scale projects in China.
Sustainable environmental design is an integral part of B+H’s design process. Sustainable design is most successful when treated as an intrinsic consideration, because it is a function of many factors—programming decisions about diversity; siting and context issues; economic concerns about material quality and longevity, system integration and energy costs; as well as technological considerations such as building envelope design, “smart” building technology and the inter-relationship of mechanical, electrical and structural systems.
Environmental design
Good environmental design responds uniquely to each design problem. For instance, at SCAET part of the ground floor is buried to take advantage of the natural thermal characteristics of the earth. A broad extension of the roof eave provides solar shading in the summer while allowing heat gain in the winter. At the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, environmental innovations include burying the bulk of the building underground to take advantage of the earth’s natural insulating qualities.
Technological integration
Integrated technology is a powerful tool for achieving sustainable design. Technological integration can happen at all scales, beginning at the scale of the city. For example, a major component of the Metro Convention Centre was the incorporation of the Toronto District Heating and Cooling pumping station, which draws water from Lake Ontario for cooling systems throughout the downtown. It can also happen through the plan and sectional design of buildings. For instance the plan of the animation centre at Sheridan College is based around two atria, which are used as heat sinks for the laboratory spaces with venting and cool air re-circulation occurring at night. Variations in temperature are absorbed by these spaces to allow for more constant temperatures in the teaching spaces, and decreased energy costs.
Material considerations
Materials are evaluated against performance criteria, the sustainability of the means of production, the amount of energy required to produce the material, the environmental implications for building occupants, and the recyclability at the end of their life cycle. For instance, the new Integrated Learning Centre at Queen’s University in Kingston uses materials low in urea to reduce off-gassing, or the release of toxic fumes that can create health problems for users, as well as using fly-ash concrete, an industrial by-product whose principal environmental benefit is in reducing the large amount of CO2 emissions and energy used in the production of cement.
Green Technologies
Good sustainable design can help reduce operating costs (heating and air conditioning) and improve the comfort levels of a building environment. B+H has explored a number of “green” technologies and design strategies to achieve this goal, including:
• Optimizing natural ventilation, and using operable windows interlocked to the mechanical system
• Using atriums for stack effect to draw out warm air
• Drawing cool air from the north side of the building through cooled earth to naturally air condition buildings
• Using exposed structure for thermal mass and night cooling
• Using heat recovery systems
• Designing high-performance envelopes for energy efficiency
• Using chilled or warmed slabs for heating and cooling