Waterloo office building earns Canada’s first zero carbon certification

The building is a collaboration between The Cora Group, Sustainable Waterloo Region, The David Johnson Research and Technology Park and anchor tenant E&Y. The building, designed and engineered by global design firm Stantec and constructed by Melloul Blamey, is also targeting LEED Platinum certification.

The Cora Group has earned Canada’s first Zero Carbon Building – Design certification for evolv1, a commercial multitenant office building in Waterloo, Ont.

Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) presents the certification, which required the building to: model a zero carbon balance for future operations; incorporate a highly efficient envelope and ventilation system to meet a defined threshold for thermal energy demand intensity; and design onsite renewable energy systems capable of providing a minimum of five per cent of building energy consumption.

Still under construction, evolv1 is one of 16 projects across Canada selected to participate in CaGBC’s Zero Carbon Building Standard two-year pilot program.

The high-performance building envelope incorporates triple glazing, a solar wall for preheated ventilation, a geo-exchange/VRF HVAC system, three-story green wall, and a combination of photovoltaics. It is due for completion in Summer 2018.

Over the course of the first 12 months of operation, evolv1 will monitor performance to demonstrate a zero emissions balance in order to earn Zero Carbon Building – Performance certification.

“It is extremely satisfying for all involved to have our work nationally recognized,” said Adrian Conrad, COO of the Cora Group. “We firmly believe it sets a new benchmark for green building design and construction.”