Progress continues on the Team Ontario / BC job site. Our high-performance krypton filled quad Insulated Glazing Units (IGUs) have a centre of glass value of R13, and utilize a proprietary warm edge spacer to deliver incredible performance with only a 1-7/8” thickness as manufactured by Serious Materials. These units are installed over the custom Douglas Fir Curtain Wall system designed by the North House Team and fabricated by MCM 2001, using Douglas Fir donated by A&M Wood Specialty. The design minimizes thermal bridging at structural supports, and will be completed with a custom ABS cap. The glazing system, in concert with our exterior shades are one of the major innovations on the North House project, that combines passive and active technologies to maximize daylight and thermal gain and thermal performance over the course of the year.

Meanwhile, the HVAC team is testing and beginning the arduous process of balancing an experimental system. Unwanted condensation, excessive noise, vibration and careful energy performance monitoring are challenges that the team is now addressing. Within the first 24 hour period, improvements are underway as the system gets fine- tuned and ready for Washington.

Glazing installation underway (left) Now that the project is effectively closed in the team is hard at work advancing the electrical fit-out in the main living space. Ivan (UW), Aya (RU), Kush (UW), and Humphrey(RU) install power and data systems for lighting and the interior blinds controls, under the ever-watchful supervision of Robin from RED Electric (right).

Brent, Chris and Geoff (UW) review digital systems feedback (left). Andrew and Sebastian (UW) monitor systems performance in the densepack (right)

Big changes have occurred over the past few days on the North House at the Team Ontario / BC construction site in the MCM parking lot. The exterior dynamic shades, provided by Nysan Solar Control, have been installed and are working!

The exterior dynamic shades have been engineered with dual operation tilt angles. This means that the blinds can tilt to shade the house, preventing overheating and reverse tilt to harvest the sun, all without needing to fully retract. They are connected to 15 Embedia Technologies controllers located inside the house that readjust the position of the exterior shades. The controllers have been programmed with information about the location of the North House including the regions particular climatic information and the specific orientation of the individual blinds. In addition, they are connected to sensors in the main living space that feedback data about the interior climatic condition.

As well, a second important milestone was reached - our state-of-the-art mechanical system is now functioning. We can now manually activate cooling/heating, which definitely comes in handy on these hot and humid summer days.

To see the blinds in action during our initial testing, check out the North House Exterior Shading Video.

The exterior dynamic shades during installation

Close up of exterior shades from roof (left). Fully deployed shades with dual stage operation (right).

Seeing the exterior shades in action was immensely gratifying for the team of architects and engineers who made it happen. Brent Crowhurst (UW) and contractor Robin Sanders of RED Electric wire up the numerous shading controllers (left). Brent Crowhurst, Lauren Barhydt, Ivan Lee, Chloe Doesburg and Kush Bubbar (UW), and Chris Brandson (Vertech Solutions) take a minute to relax in the newly shaded interior (right).

Aya Dembo (RU) prepares a pipe for soldering (left). Ivan (UW) insulates the copper piping in order to prevent heat from escaping into the house (centre). Brent (UW) installs the programmable logic controller that will soon take over control of the HVAC system (right).

Sebastien Brideau and Andrew Marston (UW) devour some refreshing ice cream in celebration of a productive week of work (above).

While the majority of Team Ontario / BC has been hard at work at the North House construction site, other tasks are being accomplished in Cambridge Ontario at the University of Waterloo North House office!

Teamwork!

Members of Team Ontario / BC - plus a few additional volunteers - help load a truck transporting components of the North House from JG Group's warehouse in Cambridge to the construction site at MCM 2001 in Toronto.

MCM 2001 and Team Ontario / BC forces began work at 5am today to finalize alignment issues with roof panels, complete installation of the roof truss systems and components, and install temporary weather protection to the main living space. Early next week, beams that will support the exterior shading system will be installed to facilitate preliminary mounting of the venetian blinds. Controls team members Lauren Barhydt (UW), Chris Brandson (Vertech Solutions), Wade Brown, Brent Crowhurst (UW), Kush Bubbar (UW), Raqib Omer Mian (UW), Ivan Lee (UW) are pulling out all the stops to ensure their team is ready to roll testing the interactive controls systems of the North House. Meanwhile, on site electrical, mechanical and building teams will be completing all preliminary installs to ensure the controls teams can test the beta-system in place on the building carcass. This next week will be critical to the success of the project, and all hands are on deck to deliver the right conditions for a successful test bed of the ALIS (Adaptive Living Interface System).

In anticipation of a Veil: Project progress on the base building as of Saturday at noon (left) Poly sheets will be secured to protect interior surfaces during the next week of blinds installation and testing – slightly liberated by Toronto breezes, these surfaces recall our early ambitions for the solar blinds – stay posted.

Team Ontario / BC is once again demonstrating the benefits of close collaboration between students and industry partners. Contractors Al Davies of Eco-options GeoSolar™, Gord Walsh of Indoor Climate Experts™, and Aaron Goldwater of Goldwater Solar Services™, along with Graduate engineering students Andrew Marston (UW), Humphrey Tse (RU), and Aya Dembo (RU) have been working hard to make the leap from mechanical and HVAC schematics to a functional and attractive system. The many unique and advanced components of North House’s mechanical system means that there’s a lot of excitement – and anxiety – as we attempt to push the energy efficiency envelope.

Space is tight as we try to fit more and more components into the mechanical closet. Our two custom heat pumps each have a specific function in maintaining supply of both space heating/cooling and domestic hot water heating. State-of-the-art Copeland™ digital scroll compressors from Emerson Climate Technologies allow us to move heat in the most energy-efficient way possible, continuously adapting their capacity to the current high- and low-side temperatures as well as current heating/cooling demands. Our overall mechanical system, designed with help from Steve Davies of Ecologix is sure to turn some heads on the mall.

North House custom-built space-heating tank, containing 250 feet of copper heat exchanger tubes, hand-bent into five sets of concentric helical coils in a thirty-gallon plastic drum.

Open heat pump cabinet with digital scroll compressor (left). Custom heat pumps in their cabinets (centre). Aaron solders connections to the Viessmann pumping unit (right).

With a system designed with the best possible performance in mind, care needs to be taken at all steps of installation. Humphrey (left) and Andrew (right)) work to seal up all possible points of air-leakage using their favourite engineering tool: duct tape.

Following the assembly of all roof and floor panels, Team Ontario / BC erects the structural steel frame that will support all rooftop PV Panels, solar thermal collectors, exterior BIPV cladding panels, and PV inverters. All trusses are factory-primed with a zinc-rich primer and prefinished prior to site bolting. The advantage of factory fabrication and test-assembly on the property of MCM2001 has become abundantly clear – installation occurs 250ft from the main steel fabrication shop, so parts now trail installation by a one-day lag time, allowing for adjustment to site conditions, during fabrication. Minor adjustments are made on a just-in-time basis, then are sent for paint ready for installation the following day. The successful installation of all structural components within 2 days under these conditions serves to boost Team Ontario / BC’s confidence about our execution on the Mall.

At the same time, work continues in the densepack, which is becoming increasingly dense with both activity and equipment. All Mechanical equipment has now been secured, and plumbed. Ductwork remains underway and will be complete within the next week.

Preliminary testing and dry-fitting of the rooftop truss assembly (left) Chris of MCM reloads propane fuel to the Clark CGC32 – The diversity of application of the skid-steer astonishes the team when executed in the hands of a master operator!

Densepack Densifies! Graduate engineering students Humphrey Tse (RU) and Aya Dembo (RU) have been hard at work supporting Al Davies of Eco-Options installing and testing various components of the HVAC System (left) Humphrey plumbs the heat pump that will support space heating for North House (middle) Successful pressure testing of heat pump components (right)

Team Ontario/BC’s North House began to take full form today, following the Densepack relocation. First, the structural steel frame to support the main living space was installed and leveled, awaiting floor and roof panel assemblies. The flat-packed floor and roof panels were brought from the third floor of MCM2001’s shop facilities, and then eased into place using a Clark skid steer lift. On the mall in Washington, this work will all be executed on the first day of erection utilizing a crane and telescopic handler. The densepack serves as the primary bearing point for all roof panels, and provides lateral stability and torsional resistance for the main living area. This structural design feature enables North House to remain open and transparent while rigid and stable. Thanks to Corey Zurell of Blackwell Bowick Partnership for working with the team on the structural design and providing all of the structural calculations and on-site review.

East panels and column assemblies installed and secured (left); pre-roofed panel assemblies being removed by MCM’s ever-agile steer-skid operator Chris (right)

Second panel pairing erected, plumb, level and secured (left) North House videographer and UW Architecture student Jamie Usas captures all the action (right) Jamie will be documenting all daily progress throughout the remainder of the build, shipping to DC, and while Team Ontario / BC is on the Mall in Washington.

Slenderness has its advantages! Within the main living area, roof panels are supported by five 2-1/2” HSS pipe columns with moment connections at top and bottom. Mid-panel roof connection (left) Floor panel mid connection at leveling frame detail (middle) Roof panel corner connection (right)

Drilling Down! In anticipation of the controls team visit next week, North House forces go into high gear to complete installation of mechanical and electrical services. Richard Mills and Andrew Marston (UW) bond seams in the neoprene insulating jacket that surrounds the tank housing our custom copper heat exchanger (left) Brad Paddock assembles framing to support the temporary electrical panel while we test North house in Toronto. A major push on electrical work will be underway next week in anticipation of testing HVAC during the controls team visit.

Team Ontario/BC’s Exterior dynamic shades, provided by Nysan Solar Control, have arrived. The dynamic exterior shading system of customized exterior venetian blinds that wraps the glazed volume of the house is a fundamental part of the DReSS (Distributed Responsive System of Skins). North House is structured and constructed in layers, with each layer performing a different task. The idea behind this strategy is that each layer is able to be optimized for performance and can undergo future research, development and modification, independent of the other layers. The exterior shading is fundamental the performance of solar radiation entering the building must be mediated by an active shading system outboard of the glazing in order to avoid overheating – even in the winter months. Simulation modeling shows that dynamic shading, combined with phase change materials in the floor, decreases the cooling load by as much as 90%, while allowing the house to take maximum advantage of passive heating. The blinds, which have dual operation tilt angles, as well as the ability to be fully retracted, are automated to manage the passive heating and cooling. Next week the exterior shades will be installed in order that our controls integration team can test and optimize their operation.

A key component of Team Ontario / BC’s interior design strategy for North House is the development of a continuous suspended ceiling system that will both behave as a distributor of daylight, diffuse artificial light during the evening, and form a soft and continuous surface within the Main Living Space. Rigorous materials research and testing has been required in order to source a textile that has both the fire resistance and flame-spread ratings to ensure occupant safety and optimize fabrication and assembly logics while providing the desired translucency to achieve our ambitions for this luminous soffit.

Preliminary renderings of interior ceiling (left); full scale prototype of cell configuration and textile selection using mechanical snap fasteners (right)

Architecture Graduate Students Allan Wilson (UW) and Matt Peddie (UW) assisted by undergraduate students Daniella Leon, Sophia Wu and Simeon Rivier have been conducting extensive and iterative testing of a variety of products and pattern configurations for the ceiling design utilizing panelized sheet, films, and now fabrics. Each ceiling design is parametrically modeled to optimize visual density, field translucency, and lighting delivery prior to being fabricated at full scale for assessment. Over 15 materials in 10 separate configurations have been evaluated.

Final ceiling design will enter fabrication over the next two weeks using Hunter Douglas’ GreenScreen Eco. This product is a 100% recyclable, and PVC free polyethylene coated polyester product, that meets all of our safety and aesthetic criteria. The ceiling will be mass-produced from digital templates, laser-cut, and then hand assembled using specialized adhesives. This new product application will combine high-tech prefabrication with the collective efforts of an old fashioned quilting bee. All hands on Deck!