Concordia launches PLAN/NET ZERØ pilot venture with deep vitality retrofit of the Guy-De Maisonneuve Building | Information

The Guy-De Maisonneuve (GM) Building is about to turn out to be a testing floor for Concordia’s PLAN/NET ZERØ initiative.

Through a deep vitality retrofit, the college is popping needed repairs into a possibility to foster innovation in sustainable amenities. Work on the 11-storey construction will assist lower vitality consumption by 50 per cent by bettering heating, cooling and air flow methods, lighting and extra.

The venture can even scale back the constructing’s greenhouse fuel emissions, enhance wellness and create extra snug areas for the Concordia neighborhood.

“This initiative reflects our commitment to shaping the next generation of resilient, intelligent and carbon-neutral campuses through innovative partnerships,” says Concordia President and Vice-Chancellor Graham Carr. “The GM Building is the first step in a long-term transformation that will benefit our community and help us be best-in-class when it comes to sustainable innovation.”

Unique partnership

After a two-year choice course of, Concordia selected Johnson Controls, a worldwide chief in sustainable constructing methods, as its accomplice for this venture. The firm will handle the two-year design and building interval, in addition to a 10-year operations and upkeep section to make sure the constructing continues to satisfy its bold efficiency targets.

“The GM Building was chosen as the first project because it’s primarily an administrative building,” explains Michael Di Grappa, vice-president of providers and sustainability. “This allows us to test the model with minimal disruption to students, while creating a blueprint we can use later in academic buildings.”

The venture can even be the primary time Concordia pursues WELL certification, a global normal targeted on occupant well-being. WELL appears at elements resembling air and water high quality, pure mild, noise discount and alternatives for motion.

In addition, the retrofit is focusing on LEED v5 Operations and Maintenance (Gold) and the Zero Carbon Building – Performance Standard, making it a mannequin for sustainable constructing operations in Canada.

A dwelling lab for innovation

Throughout the venture, an area within the GM Building might be transformed right into a dwelling lab. This versatile analysis house will convey collectively Concordia college students, school and employees — in addition to business companions — to check new applied sciences in real-world circumstances and share findings with the broader neighborhood.

The building interval runs till July 2027, adopted by a decade of efficiency monitoring and dwelling lab analysis.

“This project is about more than efficiency,” says Marie-Claude Lavoie, affiliate vice-president of Facilities Management. “It’s about reimagining how our buildings can support our academic mission and contribute to a net-zero future.”

Learn extra about Concordia’s PLAN/NET ZERØ.