Design Intent and Sustainable Strategies
The Tower’s form consists of two 18-story twin office towers resting on a stepped 3-story public arcade that includes commercial space. The towers converge at the north side and open to south for capturing maximum sunlight and winds. The towers with narrow floor plates and floor-to-ceiling glazing let the daylight to enter the
Fig. 7.6 Manitoba hydro tower Left: top of the chimney, Right: double-skin fagade and chimney, © photos by Terri Boake
space deep. Every six floors of the towers open to south-facing winter gardens with waterfalls to humidify and dehumidify the air entering the offices (Fig. 7.6).
A 115-m tall solar chimney is located on the north side of the building. It rises above the towers and is a key element for the passive ventilation system. It works with winter gardens that extend through a number of floors with mechanical louvers at each end of the atrium and enables the space to be closed or opened according to weather conditions, ventilating the air using the stack effect in solar chimney.
Solar chimney, during the summer month and shoulder season, draws the exhausted air out of the building. In winter months, the heat recovered at the chimney is brought to the bottom to preheat the air inlets.
The building consumes 80 kWh/m2 per year which is 66 % more efficient than the model national energy code for buildings. Beyond being a high-performance building, it also provides 100 % fresh air, which results in a healthy environment. The building uses a holistic approach to be Gold LEED rating building. The sustainable features to achieve the results are:
- - Passive strategies : thermal mass, daylighting, geothermal, natural ventilation, solar chimney, winter gardens, water features.
- - Mechanical strategies: radiant heating and cooling, displacement ventilation, and double-skin facades.
