CUPE Ottawa Head Quarters

Project Team :

Bryden Martel Architects - Architect of Record

Ainley Group - Civil Engineers

CSW - Landscape Architects

Genivar Inc- Structural / Mechanical / Electrical Engineers

Description :

This new national headquarters for the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) in Ottawa is home to the national administration of the union.  It represents a commitment by CUPE to the broader community as the building.  This facility received a Gold rating under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) system for certification. 

One of the key challenges was the requirement to achieve an overall capital cost payback period of 5 year maximum on LEED targets and energy savings.  Two approaches where taken to ensure this goal was met. The first approach was ensuring the design would receive the maximum grant under the Commercial Building Incentive Programme (CBIP) for energy conservation administered, by Natural Resources Canada.  There by offsetting the capital cost. The second approach was to ensure the building generated the maximum energy savings, which was achieved. The building has been rated to generate energy savings of 46.8% more than the reference level in the Model Energy Code of Canada.  The energy conservation measures designed into the building will remove 390 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere per year.  The payback period for the energy savings measures was 4 years, exceeding the client’s expectations by one year.

The generous two storey atrium space for the headquarters, is conceived as a pedestrian street with abundance of daylighting. It acts as a gathering space for the adjoining one level conference facility.  The pedestrian street and the circulation areas of the conference facility, have been given visual linkages with a focal landscaped garden, sheltered from the three adjoining streets.  The atrium includes, the green education interactive kiosk and wall panels, which explain the green initiatives that have been incorporated into the project.  The internal stairwells are spacious and bathed with daylight from skylights above.  A light reflecting pendant sculpture, running from skylight to basement, brings the natural light further down into the stairwell.  The objective is to encourage use of the stairs.  The exterior skin of the building is predominantly formed aluminum panels in a rain screen system with punched windows.  The conference component is clad in ground faced masonry units in a banded pattern.

There are numerous sustainable design initiatives as described below:

The building is placed on the site strategically to give the roof mounted solar collectors, which pre-heat the domestic hot water for the entire building, the most beneficial orientation.

Energy wheels are used to increase the building system’s latent capacity.  Heating and cooling energy is saved by the transfer of heat directly from the outside air to the low-temperature air leaving the cooling coil.  It will also be used to pre-cool and pre-heat outdoor air with the exhaust air from the conditioned spaces within.  The building, therefore, re-uses its built-up heat energy.

Since daylight is the most readily accessible renewable resource, 95% of the frequently occupied spaces have access to daylight via windows, sidelights, transom and skylights.

Other key LEED features include best practice commissioning, occupancy sensors and daylight harvesting to control lighting energy usage, T5 lighting, CO2 occupancy detectors to control ventilation, roof top solar collectors to preheat domestic hot water, low flow plumbing fixtures and dual flush toilets, a high R value building envelope,  100% fresh air with full heat recovery, nightly flush out of building air and the use of low VOC materials throughout. The boiler plant and air handling units are housed in a roof top enclosed penthouse. Strictly controlled envelope smoke testing was conducted to ensure proper window installation, workmanship and tie-in of air barriers.