by Heather Livingston
Contributing Editor

How do you . . . transform a brownfield into welcoming and walkable sustainable residences?

Summary: The Vento Residences, designed by Busby Perkins+Will and located in Calgary, Alberta, used a plethora of sustainable design strategies to garner the first Platinum LEED® certification for a multi-family residential project in North America. Completed in May 2006, the 39,000-square-foot Vento is an infill project that offers mixed retail, 20 market-rate townhouses, and two affordable townhouses within a vibrant inner-city neighborhood. The project is also a recipient of the Environmental Design + Construction Excellence in Design Award for multi-family residences.

The first redevelopment phase of a former hospital site, the Vento Residences are the result of the Windmill Development Group’s desire to bring environmental sustainability to the public consciousness. With this project, the developer set out to establish the benchmark for mixed-use residential and commercial developments in Canada. The Vancouver office of Busby Perkins+Will designed the $8 million Vento Residences with key sustainable elements that ensure a healthy indoor environment for occupants and the integration of energy- and water-efficiency strategies.

“We have successfully incorporated a broad variety of sustainable strategies into a small-scale project on the brownfield site of a former hospital,” said Managing Director Peter Busby, AIA, LEED-AP. “Achieving Platinum LEED certification now raises the bar for residential developments in Canada.”

Situated above the ground-floor retail shops, the townhouses each have a south-oriented private garden and are accessed from a second-story outdoor terrace. A mews-like courtyard terrace separates the complex from the adjacent building to the south, serving as an interaction space for the residents who share it and contributing to a sense of community that is often missing in multi-family residential projects. In addition to the 20 market-rate residences, 2 additional affordable suites that are owned and operated by the City of Calgary are located at grade along the residential side streets that flank the project.

Energy measures
What sets this project apart is the wide array of sustainable strategies involved in a small-scale residential and commercial project, says the architect. For energy efficiency, the Vento Residences surpass the Model National Energy Building Code by 47 percent, resulting in net energy savings of 42 percent. Each town home suite contains a heat-recovery ventilator, radiant-floor heating, double-glazed low-e argon-filled windows, and occupancy sensors for lighting in bathrooms and closets. In addition, deciduous trees have been planted to provide passive, natural shading during the spring and summer months. The decks also double as shades to provide relief from the sun, while the window and building orientation helps warm or cool the town homes, depending on the season. Finally, for the first two years, half of the annual electricity usage is offset through the purchase of renewable power.

Daylighting and water efficiency
While many townhouses lack abundant natural light, daylighting was of singular importance in the Vento Residences. Fully three-quarters of the regularly occupied spaces in both the residential and retail areas are daylighted, with 90 percent having direct views to the outdoors. To save on potable water consumption, the architect specified high-performance, dual-flush toilets and water-efficient appliances, fixtures, and HVAC equipment. All of the rainwater that falls on site—plus water from sinks, showers, and bathtubs—is collected, stored, and reused for toilet flushing and irrigation, netting more than a 50 percent reduction in water consumption.

Air quality
To address indoor air quality issues, either no- or low-VOC paints, adhesives, sealants, and carpets were used. Rapidly renewable and recyclable materials were used throughout the project, including the incorporation of wool carpets in bedrooms and dens, recycled countertops in kitchens, and regionally sourced and manufactured products. “This accreditation illustrates that living green is possible regardless of the size or location of the project,” says Busby.