Sustainable renovation in energy intensive laboratory while improving EH&S

Pierre Luc Baril, Eng., LEED AP BD+C, ASHRAE HFDP, PAGEAU MOREL
Robert Stanley, Architect, OAQ MRAIC, MCGILL UNIVERSITY

The Otto Maass Building built in 1964 and located on the McGill University campus in downtown Montreal is dedicated to education and research in chemistry (total gross floor area of 125,000 ft2). With an average fume hood density of around 10 chemical fume hoods per 5,000 ft2 (including mechanical rooms and office spaces for a total of 235 chemical fume hoods), it was, in 2008, the biggest energy user of the campus (around 10% of the total energy consumption of the whole campus but accounting for only 3.4% of the floor area of the campus). The mechanical system supplying the lab area had not been renovated since the construction and there were no energy recovery devices installed.

McGill decided, in 2009, to completely renovate 37,500 ft2 of laboratories (40% of the building's laboratories) and all mechanical rooms and distribution shafts serving laboratory areas, while maintaining most of its operations in the rest of the building. The biggest concern was to maintain a safe, secure, and healthy environment for users while replacing all HVAC. One solution was to install temporary HVAC systems in the courtyard for a total of 120,000 cfm of 100% fresh air to supply the spaces that were left occupied. Since all central distribution shafts were renovated, the temporary air distribution was placed on the outside wall and many windows were removed to pass the ducts serving each room. During the 12-month project, which included the winter period with temperatures as low as -20 F, laboratory works had to be carefully planned and scheduled so researchers had enough lab space to continue their experiments.

In the end, a total of 150,000 cfm of capacity (6 supply systems of 25,000 cfm each at 100% fresh air and 6 exhaust systems of similar capacity) was installed. The energy efficient installations included VAV, motion sensors for light, ventilation and fume hood face velocity, run around glycol recuperation loop, low temperature terminal reheat that is heated by various heat pumps in lab equipment rooms and by the heat rejection of a major server room located in another building, low velocity system, reuse of office air for minimum ACH required in lab space, precooling of exhaust air (with recuperated condensate) for greater energy recovery in the summer. In addition, energy meters were installed to monitor the energy consumption of the building via energy management software used by the University.

Biographies:

Pierre-Luc Baril quickly carved out a place for himself in the PAGEAU MOREL team, having been hired soon after graduating in 2006. A rigorous and conscientious engineer, he works primarily on science and office building projects, is a LEED accredited professional since 2007, and HFDP since 2008 (ASHRAE Healthcare Facilities Design Professional). He is also involved in Construction Specifications Canada (CSC) and gives a certificate course at the École Polytechnique de Montréal. In addition to his involvement on the Otto Maass project, he has worked on monitoring the construction of McGill's Life Sciences Complex (180,000 ft2 of cancer research laboratories, genetic biology, animal facility, sector for transgenic animals and a containment level 3 laboratory), on the John Abbott College project for the new Science and Technologies Building (115,000 ft2 of classrooms,laboratories, faculty offices and student service spaces), and on several other laboratory and animal facility projects.

Robert Stanley is an architect with 40 years of experience in the construction industry in Montreal. For the last 22 years he has been doing construction project management as an employee of McGill University. In 2007 he became the director of the construction project management unit at the university. In that role he leads a staff team of 34 project management professionals. He is responsible for all construction and renovation projects executed by the university. Annual project volume exceeds $100 million, and usually between 200 and 300 projects are in progress at any one time. Work load is driven by the imperatives of research infrastructure renewal, capital reinvestment and deferred maintenance at one of the oldest university campuses in North America. McGill University is a publicly financed, research-intensive university with 37,000 students, and more than 270 buildings on two campuses, measuring more than 9 million square feet in area.

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