Green Building Approaches

October 9th field trip 303 Portage Avenue - Mountain Equipment Co-op and 586 Ellice Avenue - West End Cultural Centre. On this field trip we have visited these two sustainable building structures.
The MEC building was constructed out of two deserted buildings that were converted to one environmental sustainable building. This building incorporates features such as, locally sourced materials, rooftop garden, and rainwater collection system. For the MCE construction all structural materials in this building were reclaimed from the other two buildings, including the brick and wood floor, joists, exterior masonry, cast iron columns and steel beams. These materials were inventoried, sorted and cleaned and the design of the new building was based on these materials. MEC minimized use of interior finishing for example they used limited painted surfaces, exposed brick walls, floor, wood and avoided using unnecessary materials. The new building is 97% reused and recycled material. Use of salvaged and refurbished materials in new building extends the life of materials and adds character to the building.
The MEC includes: energy efficiency, embodied energy, landfill diversion and CO2 emissions. CO2 detectors located in each zone and there are 19 zones in the building that ensure an optimal balance of fresh incoming air, so energy isn't wasted in heating or cooling. To reduce heat loss and energy consumption, exterior building walls are insulated. A green roof provides evaporative cooling and helps insulate the building to reduce energy required for heating or cooling. Storm water from the green roof is collected in two 5700 L storage tanks. Collected, stored water is used to irrigate the roof, via a solar photo-voltaic powered pump, with the flow being proportional the solar heat gain on the roof. Composting toilets provide fertilizer that is used in rooftop garden.
The MEC building is build in such way that it can be easily taken apart or disconnected.



The West End Cultural Center is 101 years old former church that recently went through redevelopment of designing a building that would be environmentally sustainable. It is based on 3 principles reduce, reuse and recycle. The WECC accommodates many environmentally-friendly features, that include a geothermal heating system that will reduce energy consumption for heating and cooling, low flow toilets, high efficiency windows and upgraded insulation to help reduce heat loss. More than 85% of the materials from the old building were reused. Also, a great deal of the construction materials used on site were made with recycled material. The bathroom countertops were created out of toilets, sinks, as well as wine and beer bottles all recycled locally. A lot of materials like doors, partitions, floor boards, joist, and bricks were used from the old building and some materials were given to WECC from other buildings. The theatre seats from the former Epic Theatre, solid oak doors, windows and bathroom partitions came from a Calgary courthouse. High efficiency T8 fluorescent lighting incorporated throughout the building for better energy saving.
Before the redevelopment the WECC building had a lot of major problems: it was not wheelchair accessible, washrooms were not up to code, and it had not designated community programming space. As building got redeveloped it had to meet three goals:
• Be structurally sound and environmentally sustainable: meet building code standards for accessibility and amenities such as washrooms.
• Have increased physical capacity: Increase concert seating from 300 to 400, add community hall seating, and expand the lobby area.
• Offer improve programming and patron facilities: a large stage, new sound and lighting technology, better facilities for artists, patrons and community programming participants.
Now the West End Cultural Centre’s new home became a better place for patrons, artists, for the community and the environment.