PEI’s Global Wake-Up Call

Charlottetown – People are invited out for a “Global Wake-Up Call” in Prince Edward Island’s capital city on Monday September 21, at 12:00 noon. The gathering will coincide with other such events in public places all around the world. These flashmob “wake-up call” events are designed to raise awareness and encourage our leaders to take action on climate change.

The event will appropriately take place at the Jean Canfield Building, a federal government facility in Charlottetown that is targeting a LEED-Canada Gold certification or possibly the highest Platinum level.

This project consists of a four-story office building, located on a brownfield site. The building is anticipated to reduce by 55% energy expenditure compared to conventional efficient buildings, an 80% reduction in water use, the use of recycled building materials, and designs that employ solar heating and natural light.

The design of a cast-in-place concrete flat plate structure with exposed columns and slab soffits was selected to help maximize daylight penetration and for ease of churn management. The concrete of the slabs also acts as a heat sink to maintain temperature stability and house the mechanical system’s heating/cooling pipes and allow for radiant heating and cooling.

Recycled materials are used in the structure and throughout the building and include fly ash, recycled steel in rebar and structural steel and recycled aggregate. The project includes many other sustainable features such as the east coast’s largest photovoltaic cell array, fuel cell for emergency power, geothermal heating and cooling, collection of rain water and an in-slab radiant piping system. The materials have all been selected for no or low VOC, to create a healthy and inspiring interior work climate.

A split-level, centrally-located atrium will provide secure and inviting public access to the building’s main level and encourage interaction among the 500 employees. This carefully orchestrated feat of sustainable architecture and structural engineering will become an exemplar for future government projects and, hopefully, raise the bar so that LEED certification becomes the rule and not the exception. RJC aims to work again in this capacity as we grow our portfolio of leading edge, environmentally-responsible building design.

Please join us for a tour of one of the few environmentally designed buildings in town and to show your support for actions that support environmental sustainability.

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