The Canada Clean50 awards recognize innovative projects across the country that have achieved exemplary results that will inform and inspire others.
The EAC renovated their office, a century-old saltbox style home, in 2016. The renovation increased office space by 50 percent and reduced energy consumption by 65 percent.
The project consisted of a complete renovation of the basement and main floor, an improved building envelope, as well as a newly constructed, super-insulated third floor. For this ambitious project, the EAC partnered with Solterre Design and Tekton Design + Build over a two year design-build process. The energy conservation methods used in the project include: daylighting, thermal mass, and a substantially improved building envelope, achieved by enhancing insulation, upgrading windows and doors, and air sealing.
Emma Norton, Energy Conservation Coordinator at the EAC, said creating a showcase of what is possible in an ecological renovation was at the heart of the project. She is excited for the attention the award will bring to what is possible through deep energy retrofitting.
“There’s a lot that can be learned from what we did with this renovation,” Norton said, “By the time our solar panels are up, we will have reduced our energy consumption by 89 percent, and will be using just 3 percent of what the average office building uses. Those numbers seem impossible until you see it done.”
The EAC is planning to install photovoltaic solar panels on their roof later this year, as part of a pilot program for generating solar electricity on community buildings.
Jordan Willett of Solterre Design, the architecture firm that designed the transformation of the EAC offices, says the renovation readied the 100-year-old building for the next 100.
Guided tours are given every week. Visitors are also able to take a self-guided tour using a comprehensive signage program or visit virtually through an online tour.
This is the second award the Halifax renovation has received this year. The renovation received a national Canada Green Building Award from Sustainable Architecture and Building Magazine in June.
