Resource Positive Envelope Design: Explorations in Architectural Innovation

Resource Positive Envelope Design
The most powerful legacy of the Edited by Douglas MacLeod

project may be the network of
connections and partnerships that Resource Positive
were built around the world. Envelope Design
It was the spirit of cooperation that
allowed the project to accomplish so Explorations in
much. Over the course of project, the Introduction Edited by Douglas MacLeod
Architectural Innovation
project team held two conferences (one The Connective Thread
Mini-Summit on the Future of
Architecture and another on Living
Brian Lee
Cities); participated in the Buildings and Resource Positive
Appliances Task Force of the Asia Pacific Wireless Monitoring of Buildings In a very short period of time, the
Partnership; organized a Green Building
Envelope Design Resource Positive Envelope Design
Exchange in Busan and Seoul, South Korea (RPED) project has produced a wealth
and in Shanghai, China (that included Douglas MacLeod of activities and resources that have the
Explorations in
some of Canada’s top architects and Our Buildings Can Save the Planet potential to change the way we think
engineers); developed an extensive
Architectural Innovation about architecture.
curriculum for sustainable construction
management; carried out research in Andrew Hay and Robert Parlane The intent was not merely to design new
interactive and responsive design; built a Centre of Excellence in Sustainable kinds of buildings, communities and
detailed database of green buildings from cities, but to design a new meaning for
Building Technologies and Renewable
a variety of countries; deployed a network these structures that is predicated on a
of wireless sensors to measure building Energy Conservation new relationship with the environment.
performance in Penticton, Canada, Busan, To fully realize this goal would require a
South Korea and Tianjin, China; and lifetime of work, but it begins with the
Trevor Butler
conducted an international student comprehensive exploration of architecture
competition with over 200 entries – all in Earth Tubes that is presented here. This exploration
the space of 12 months. Moreover, it is a occurred through technological research,
measure of the cooperative spirit of the visionary designs and experimental
Davis Marques
project that all participants in these installations that were founded on
activities have agreed to share their Building the Case for Core Sunlighting ongoing discussions, a willingness to share
materials freely and openly through the and a spirit of cooperation.
project website at resourcepositive.com.
Okanagan Institute
The issues raised by the Resource Positive
In addition the project was able to forge Envelope Design project will not be solved
key relationships with partners and overnight or by a single project, but the
organizations from around the world. future of our planet depends on us
Closer to home, project members also Published by the Okanagan Institute addressing them now. In this sense, this
helped to form the pan-Canadian College in association with Okanagan College project provided a critical first step in the
Sustainable Building Consortium. ISBN 0-978-234567-0-9 right direction.
Architecture and another on Living Brian Lee
Cities); participated in the Buildings and
Wireless Monitoring of Buildings Resource Positive
Appliances Task Force of the Asia Pacific In a very short period of time, the
Douglas MacLeod
and in Shanghai, China (that included Our Buildings Can Save the Planet of activities and resources that have the
Explorations in
some of Canada’s top architects and potential to change the way we think
engineers); developed an extensive Andrew Hay and Robert Parlane Architectural Innovation about architecture.
curriculum for sustainable construction Centre of Excellence in Sustainable
management; carried out research in The intent was not merely to design new
interactive and responsive design; built a kinds of buildings, communities and
detailed database of green buildings from Energy Conservation cities, but to design a new meaning for
of wireless sensors to measure building Trevor Butler new relationship with the environment.
performance in Penticton, Canada, Busan, Earth Tubes To fully realize this goal would require a
conducted an international student Davis Marques comprehensive exploration of architecture
competition with over 200 entries – all in that is presented here. This exploration
Building the Case for Core Sunlighting
activities have agreed to share their ongoing discussions, a willingness to share
Okanagan Institute
In addition the project was able to forge Published by the Okanagan Institute Envelope Design project will not be solved
key relationships with partners and in association with Okanagan College overnight or by a single project, but the
organizations from around the world. www.okanaganinstitute.com future of our planet depends on us
Closer to home, project members also addressing them now. In this sense, this
helped to form the pan-Canadian College Paperback ISBN 0-978-0-9868663-1-9 project provided a critical first step in the
Sustainable Building Consortium. Ebook ISBN 0-978-0-9868663-2-6 right direction.
Resource Positive Envelope Design 1

2 Resource Positive Envelope Design
Edited by Douglas MacLeod
Resource Positive
Envelope Design
Explorations in
Published by the Okanagan Institute

in association with Okanagan College
March 2011
Copyright © 2011 the authors.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior
written permission of the publisher.
Produced and published by the Okanagan Institute

1473 Ethel Street, Kelowna BC V1Y 2X9 Canada
www.okanaganinstitute.com
C O L O P H O N
Publisher and designer: Robert MacDonald EMGDC
Printed at the Aspire Media Works, Kelowna BC.
The paper was made from flattened bleached trees
and is 100% post-consumer waste.
The type used in this publication is Officina Sans from

the International Typeface Company. It was designed by
Erik Spiekermann at MetaDesign, the internationally
renowned graphic design, tyography and type design
firm in Berlin. It was specifically designed for
contemporary use in a wide variety of printing
environments, including laser printers and digital
transmission applications.
Contents
Introduction
The Connective Thread 7
Brian Lee
Wireless Monitoring of Buildings 13
Douglas MacLeod
Our Buildings Can Save the Planet 23
Andrew Hay and Robert Parlane

Centre of Excellence in Sustainable
Energy Conservation 41
Trevor Butler
Earth Tubes 51
Davis Marques
Building the Case for Core Sunlighting 55
Introduction
The Connective Thread

In a very short period of time, the Resource
Positive Envelope Design (RPED) project has produced a
wealth of activities and resources that have the potential
to change the way we think about architecture.
The intent was not merely to design new kinds
of buildings, communities and cities, but to design a new
meaning for these structures that is predicated on a new
relationship with the environment. To fully realize this
goal would require a lifetime of work, but it begins with
the comprehensive exploration of architecture that is
presented here. This exploration occurred through
technological research, visionary designs and
experimental installations that were founded on ongoing
discussions, a willingness to share and a spirit of
cooperation.
It was precisely this spirit of cooperation that
allowed the project to accomplish so much. Over the
course of project, the project team held two conferences
(one Mini-Summit on the Future of Architecture and
another on Living Cities); participated in the Buildings
and Appliances Task Force of the Asia Pacific Partnership;

organized a Green Building Exchange in Busan and
Seoul, South Korea and in Shanghai, China (that included
some of Canada’s top architects and engineers); developed
an extensive curriculum for sustainable construction
management; carried out research in interactive and
responsive design; built a detailed database of green
buildings from a variety of countries; deployed a network
of wireless sensors to measure building performance in
Penticton, Canada, Busan, South Korea and Tianjin,
China; and conducted an international student
competition with over 200 entries – all in the space of 12
months. Moreover, it is a measure of the cooperative
spirit of the project that all participants in these activities
have agreed to share their materials freely and openly
through the project website at resourcepositive.com.
In addition the project was able to forge key
relationships with partners and organizations from around
the world. Project funding, for example, was used to help
Roger Bayley travel to Tianjin and work with the Sino-
Singapore Tianjin Eco-City project where they are now
planning a Canadian Centre for Sustainable Innovation.
Discussions with Sun Central not only led to the
deployment of an extensive series of light guides in
Okanagan College’s new Centre of Excellence in
Sustainable Building Technologies and Renewable energy
Conservation but also to the participation of project
researchers in the Core Sunlighting Solutions Research
Network which is part of the Canada-California Strategic
Innovation Partnership. Project members were also invited
to participate in the inaugural meeting of the Sustainable

Building Network organized by the International Energy
Agency in Paris, France. Closer to home, project members
also helped to form the pan-Canadian College Sustainable
Building Consortium.
Because the project generated such a tremendous
amount of material, it has produced not one, but two
publications. The first is this publication which documents
the innovative research and design projects conducted
by project members. The second is Living Cities: Vision
and Method which examines experimental and visionary
projections of future urban forms. What ties these two
publications is precisely the need to redefine the built
environment. In both cases, this information is provided
in digital form in order that it be freely and easily
available to all.
The most powerful legacy of the project, however,
may be the network of connections and partnerships
that were built around the world.
Throughout this period we had considerable
moral, and financial, support from a variety of federal
and provincial ministries and department for which we
are very appreciative. Through their ongoing work with
the Asia Pacific Partnership, Amanda Kramer and her
team at Environment Canada provided the vision and
impetus as well the major funding for the project.
Similarly, Elizabeth Tang, and Glen Webb in particular,
at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation provided
constant guidance and support as we built partnerships
in other countries. In addition, Paul Irwin and his team
with the government of British Columbia were a major

sponsor and supporter of our Green Building Exchange
which would have been impossible without the help of
them and their representatives in the countries we
visited. Here we would particularly like to thank K. S.
Kim and Injun Paek in Korea and John McDonald and
Sylvia Sun in Shanghai.
All of the work carried out during the project was
very much a collaboration of friends and colleagues.
Once again I had the privilege of working with David
Covo of McGill University and Philip Beesley of the
University of Waterloo and I look forward to doing so
again. Their insights and collaborative approach were
essential to the success of this work. Similarly Davis
Marques of Ryerson University was indispensable to the
technical aspects of the project; Brian Lee of MGH
Consulting contributed his expertise in wireless sensors;
Alan Maguire of George Brown College helped ground the
project in the real world; and Robert MacDonald was
instrumental in building our web presence and this
publication.
Finally, all those associated with the project owe
their gratitude to the team at Okanagan College who
worked tirelessly to keep the project on track and on
budget. As Project Manager, Michele McCready brought
order out of chaos and she was ably assisted by Patti
Boyd, Jennifer Heppner, Carla Whitten and Margaret
Johnson. I would also like to thank Dean Yvonne Moritz,
former Dean Dianne Crisp and Vice President of Education
Andrew Hay for their support for, and patience with, this
project.
Envelope Design project will not be solved overnight or
by a single project, but the future of our planet depends
on us addressing them now. In this sense, this project
provided a critical first step in the right direction.
Douglas MacLeod
Brian Lee
Wireless Monitoring
of Buildings
A building is comprised of its external envelope
system and the mechanical, electrical, HVAC, and
plumbing systems housed within the structure. The
building envelope and internal infrastructure contribute
to creating a comfortable environment for the building’s
occupants. The useful life of a building depends on its
design, the materials used in its construction, and on the
adherence to a diligent maintenance program.
Whether the building is situated in a harsh
climate or a moderate environment a facility manager
benefits from knowledge relating to performance of its
building envelope components and the building
infrastructure. Key parameters such as temperature,
relative humidity, and moisture content across the
exterior wall indicate whether the building envelope is
performing as intended. Parameters such as temperature
and AC power utilization indicate whether mechanical
and electrical systems are performing as intended. When
a significant departure from normal parameters is
observed, this may indicate a problem at an exterior wall

or at a mechanical system that warrants investigation.
Continuous monitoring of building envelope
components enables designers to better understand how
to create and control conditions that lead to condensation
within the wall. Monitoring can be used to assess the
performance of new innovative moisture control products
installed in test walls. Monitoring wall assemblies at real
buildings can supplement lessons learned from computer
simulations of wall assemblies and from testing walls
under controlled laboratory conditions. The Internet is
a key component to disseminating data obtained from
monitoring wall assemblies and for sharing the
information with students and designers.
Monitoring equipment has been available for
many years. However, recent advancements in wireless
technology enable such monitoring systems to be installed
in wall assemblies of new buildings as well as in existing
buildings without running wires throughout the building.
PARAMETERS TYPICALLY MONITORED
Wireless sensors monitor parameters such as

temperature, relative humidity, moisture content, AC
power & power quality. Readings convey the current
status of parameters being monitored. Threshold levels
can be established for selected parameters and an alert
can be issued by e-mail and/or text message to notify
that a threshold has been exceeded.
"MONITORING" SYSTEMS VERSUS

"MONITORING AND CONTROL" SYSTEMS
Direct Digital Control ("DDC") systems provide

the ability to control devices belonging to mechanical,
plumbing, and HVAC systems in response to information
obtained by monitoring sensors. Monitoring systems are
also used to strictly monitor chosen parameters where
information gathering is the primary objective. DDC
systems are permanent installations whereas monitoring
systems may only be required temporarily to achieve a
specific objective. Advancements in wireless technology
and miniaturization of sensors enable monitoring
equipment to be easily installed, relocated, and removed
at an existing building.
HOW WIRELESS MONITORING OPERATES
Miniature Sensors are designed to monitor

selected parameters. One variety of Sensor measures
environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity,
and wood moisture content. Readings are periodically
taken by the Sensor and transmitted wirelessly to a
Gateway located within the building being monitored.
Monitoring systems can operate as a stand-alone
system where the collected data is transmitted wirelessly
to a Gateway located on site. The information can be
retrieved at a later date for analysis by downloading data
from the Gateway. Stand-alone systems accommodate
remote building locations where the Internet may not be

available.
For buildings that have access to the Internet,
wireless sensors transmit readings to a Gateway connected
to the Internet. The Gateway then relays data over the
Internet to a dedicated secured database server. The
frequency of communication between the Sensors,
Gateway, and central host server can be customized for
each facility being monitored. Intervals between
successive data readings can be modified, ranging from
minutes to hours for most applications. The Internet
enables data to be viewed and downloaded for analysis
from anywhere in the world using any device capable of
Internet access.
The Sensor is battery powered which makes it
capable of operating wirelessly. The Sensor is programmed
to periodically wakeup from an ultra low power sleep
state, take measurements, and open a communication
session with the Gateway. This technology enables
battery life to range from fifteen (15) years to forty (40)
years depending on the programmed time interval
between successive readings.
System alarm thresholds are configured by the
end-user so that if an alarm event occurs the end-user or
another responsible party is alerted by e-mail, pager,
text message, or phone.
Monitoring data is accessible 24/7/365 by web
browser for viewing and diagnostics. Data is permanently
archived and can be downloaded for analysis. Graphs are
automatically generated to track and view data collected
from the last hour, day, week, month, 3 months, 6

months, year, and so on.
LEAK DETECTION
The ability to monitor specific parameters such

as relative humidity and moisture content on a continuous
basis enables wireless monitoring to detect and report
unintended water ingress through the building envelope,
leaks through a building roof, and leaks from pipes and
liquid containers. The monitoring system can alert a
responsible party upon early detection of a leak. Typical
applications include exterior and interior wall assemblies,
pipe chases in hi-rise towers, attic and crawl spaces,
mechanical rooms, electrical vaults, etc. By alerting the
building owner or facility manager in a timely manner,
steps can be taken to determine the cause of a leak and
plan for appropriate remedial action before it can develop
into more costly repairs.
Water damage caused by a breach in a roofing
assembly can be devastating. Such roof leaks may not get
detected for weeks, even months. It is possible for water
to migrate laterally between the roofing membrane and
the roof structure before the water enters the building
interior. Subsequently, a breach in the roofing can be
very difficult to locate, especially beneath the over-
burden on green roofs.
Wireless monitoring of roofing assemblies offers
a solution to detect leaks in a timely manner. Continuous
monitoring of the roofing assembly can detect in near-
real time when a roof leak has occurred, send an alert to

a responsible party that a leak has occurred, and provide
the location of the breach in the roofing. Current
methods for assessing the performance of a roofing
assembly include on-site inspections, infrared
thermography scans, and electric field vector mapping
("EFVM"). For on-site inspections, a qualified roofing
inspector assesses the condition of a roofing assembly
and predicts the remaining life expectancy of the roofing
membrane. An infrared thermography scan attempts to
detect whether moisture exists beneath a roofing
membrane. EFVM is capable of locating the breach in a
roofing membrane but only after a leak into the building
interior has occurred. These methods do not typically
provide early detection of a roof leak and requires a
qualified inspector or technician to visit the site.
Wireless monitoring offers a solution to address
two separate needs in the roofing industry. Installation
of a permanent monitoring system for the whole roof
provides the facility manager an ability to monitor the
entire roof area for the service life of the new roofing.
Installation of a temporary monitoring system for over-
night tie-offs provides the roofing contractor an ability
to monitor the temporary seal they make along the edges
of the new roofing at the end of each day. Leaks at such
tie-offs are a significant source of claims against roofing
warranties. The temporary monitoring system is re-
usable and can be re-located to a new tie-off at the end
of each day.
WIRELESS MONITORING AND BUILDING

MAINTENANCE
Building owners can protect their investment

against costly repairs caused by premature failure of the
building envelope and by unexpected water leaks from
mechanical and plumbing systems. Specifically, the
huge financial cost of repairing failed building envelopes
in the wet coastal climate of British Columbia has been
well documented over the past two decades. Regular
maintenance of the building envelope helps ensure its
proper performance. Wireless monitoring of the building
envelope complements a diligent building maintenance
program. A monitored building can help reduce the cost
of maintenance by identifying when and where attention
is needed before a problem can develop into a costly
repair.
Facility managers retain professional engineers
to perform reviews of the building envelope to identify
potential areas of concern. Monitoring the building
envelope makes it possible for early detection of building
envelope problems. Wireless monitoring is not intended
to replace a review by professionals but rather supplement
the review performed by the professional.
WIRELESS MONITORING AND THE

INSURANCE INDUSTRY
Monitoring building envelopes can identify

deficiencies that may have resulted in unintended water
ingress. It is conceivable for a leak through a failed

building envelope to enter the wall cavity but remain
undetected for long periods, especially if moisture does
not migrate into the building interior. Home Warranty
policies offered in selected jurisdictions include coverage
for repairs to building envelope deficiencies and for
subsequent moisture related damage. However, if a
deficiency is not detected in a timely manner, and a
written claim is not submitted within the warranty
period, the claim may be denied. Wireless sensors
embedded in strategic locations at the exterior walls can
detect moisture that may otherwise remain undetected.
Early detection of unexpected levels of moisture and/or
humidity within a wall assembly will alert the building
owner. The insurance industry also benefits from early
detection of building envelope deficiencies because the
potential cost of repair for resultant moisture damage
can be reduced. As wireless monitoring of building
components becomes accepted as standard practice,
insurance providers will recognize its cost-effective
advantages in underwriting risk management. Insurance
companies may be able to add value to their products by
offering engineering condition assessments supplemented
by specialized wireless monitoring systems as part of
their commercial/residential policy packages.
T H E A U T H O R
Brian Lee, P.Eng. is a professional engineer with

thirty-two years' experience, trained in structural
engineering and building science engineering.
His interests include research and experi-
mentation in technologies to monitor building
envelope performance. Mr. Lee's experience
includes investigation, analysis, and remediation
of building envelope failures located within the
coastal climate of British Columbia.
Douglas MacLeod
Our Buildings Can

Save the Planet
Our buildings can save the planetbecause green
buildings are the best means of addressing global warming,
reducing energy usage and creating a healthier and safer
environment.
THE EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM
The heating and cooling of buildings accounts for

about a third of the world’s total greenhouse gas emis-
sions. When the carbon emitted in the manufacture of
building materials and the transportation of those mate-
rials is included, this figure rises to almost one half. The
manufacture of concrete alone produces some 7% of the
world’s total greenhouse gas emissions. When all of the
energy costs of a building are combined, buildings have
the dubious distinction of being both the largest consum-
ers of energy and the largest emitters of greenhouse gases
of any sector (Mazria, 2002).
There is no question that the economic and

environmental impact of designing and constructing bet-
ter buildings would be enormous. The Carbon Mitigation
Initiative at Princeton University has calculated that if all
buildings were designed to the most efficient energy
standards then it would reduce carbon dioxide emissions
by 1 billion tons each year. This is roughly equivalent to
the amount of greenhouse gases produced by 800 one-
gigawatt coal power plants – plants which cost well over
$1 billion to construct (Talbot, 2006).
RESOURCE POSITIVE ARCHITECTURE
We can now produce net zero buildings that

produce as much energy as they consume, but the next
generation of green buildings must do more than that. As
architect William McDonough asserts, being less bad is not
good enough – particularly when architects and engineers
now have the means to remediate and repair the damage
we have done to the environment.
This is the promise of regenerative or resource
positive architecture. Resource positive buildings gener-
ate more energy than they consume; sequester more
carbon than they emit; purify more water than they
contaminate; and recycle more than the waste they make.
Regenerative or Resource Positive Design is

the most effective, fastest, most equitable
and least expensive means of combating
global warming
Resource positive architecture, however, demands a sea

change in the way we think about our buildings and our
communities. In essence each home, each building and
each neighbourhood will manage its own resources and
live within those resources. At the same the inhabitants of
those homes, buildings and neighbourhoods will own
those resources and be free to share or sell them.
Using the example of water processing, Andrew
Benedek, the founder of Zenon Environmental Inc. whose
membrane filtration systems earned him the first the Lee
Kuan Yew Water Prize in 2008 Water Prize, compared this
change to the one that occurred in computerization.
Originally mainframe computers were sequestered in sepa-
rate rooms, attended by their own cadre of acolytes, and
computing jobs were submitted to these facilities for
processing. Today computers are everywhere and comput-
ing power is controlled by anyone with a desktop, laptop
or tablet to be used whenever they need it. We need to
adopt a similar model for our buildings. Energy is every-
where and it should be controlled by building owners
whenever they need it.
In this approach, all of the things you do
become part of your ‘architecture.’ Your electric car, for
example, becomes part of your house – recharging its
batteries when the house is generating energy and
storing that energy for the house when it is not
generating energy. In this approach rainwater is stored
for irrigation and grey water is filtered and re-used. In
this approach green roofs and walls grow food for their
inhabitants and cash crops for the market. In this
approach there is no such thing as garbage. Everything

is re-used or re-cycled.
ACHIEVING RESOURCE POSITIVE
All of the components for moving beyond net zero

into a resource positive state already exist and some of
them are dead simple. André Potvin of l’Université Laval
has estimated that the performance of a building depends
on its architecture (25%), its systems (50%) and a
remaining 25% that is essentially due to the behaviour of
the occupants. Occupants interact constantly with both
the architecture (opening and closing shades, windows
and doors) and its systems (changing thermostats and
turning lights on and off) and their impact has always been
underestimated. In fact, behavioural studies have shown
that consumers will reduce their energy consumption by as
much as 12% (Wood & Newborough, 2003) when provided
with monitoring and metering systems that clearly and
effectively communicate energy usage.
7 PILLARS OF POSITIVE
Including metering and monitoring, there are

seven ways to incrementally tip the balance from resource
negative to resource positive. As the table below suggests,
each of them can be used to make a modest reduction of
from 10 to 20% of our energy consumption but taken
together they could move our buildings into energy
production.
Approach Savings
1. Metering and Monitoring 10%
2. Passive Solar Design 15%
3. Change our Behaviours 15%
4. Energy Efficient Lighting 10%
5. Energy Smart Appliances 20%
6. Better Insulation 15%
7. Alternative Energy Systems 20%
Total Savings 105%
With a total savings of 105%, a building would be

able to feed its excess energy into the grid. Each of these
approaches is described in more detail below.
1. Metering and Monitoring

While the benefits of metering and monitoring
were referenced above, it must be noted that reliable
performance data on green buildings is sadly lacking. The
actual performance of a green building is often less than
half of its predicted performance. We desperately need an
ongoing stream of data collected in a consistent manner
that will allow researchers to analyse and compare what
works and what doesn’t work.
2. Passive Solar Design

Significant savings can also be attained simply by
orientating a building in accordance with the sun, and
providing it with shade through overhangs or trees. If this
is done during the design phase then it needn’t add any
costs to the overall construction of the building. Moreo-

ver, new technologies, like light guides, can capture and
concentrate natural light and bounce it 100 feet inside a
building - with a 25% saving in lighting power bills.
3. Change our Behaviours Still More

In addition to metering and monitoring, changing
our behaviours by a further 15% is both feasible and an
ongoing cost savings to the consumer. Adjusting the
thermostat, unplugging appliances when not in use, and
keeping the air conditioner off would all make a differ-
ence.
4. Energy Efficient Lighting

While compact fluorescent bulbs are a good sub-
stitute for incandescent ones, LED bulbs provide the next
level of energy efficiency in lighting. With a very short
payback time, using these new types of bulbs saves
consumers money.
5. Energy Smart Appliances

Our appliances are energy hogs and they’re get-
ting worse. Office equipment and home electronics are
being designed with no concern for their energy usage.
Sustainable Development Technology Canada Corporation
has estimated that “Between 1990 and 2004, the auxiliary
equipment load rose by about 105%, and in 1999 sur-
passed lighting as the second-largest load in commercial
buildings (SDTC, 2007).” What we need are appliances and
electronic devices designed for low energy usage with
unambiguous rating systems that clearly identify products

which are energy efficient.
6. Better Insulation
Well-insulated buildings can dramatically reduce
the need for mechanical heating and cooling. Taking this
approach to extremes, the German Passiv Haus has neither
an air conditioner nor a furnace, instead it uses the mass
of the building to moderate its interior temperature.
7. Alternative Energy Sources

Once all of these other measures are in place, the
rest of a building’s energy needs can easily be met (and
surpassed) with solar, wind and geothermal energy sources
installed on the building or in the community. Excess
energy can be stored for future use or sold to the grid,
thereby generating income for the building’s inhabitants.
DUMB IS BETTER THAN SMART
These seven steps to resource positive emphasize

that simple measures have a far greater impact than
complicated ones. Again and again, over the last few
decades, proponents have advanced the idea of smart
buildings, smart homes and smart appliances, and again
and again, these ideas have failed. Instead we need to
allow people to act intelligently. We don’t need elaborate
sensors to turn off lights based on motion, or to adjust the
temperature based on identity badges, we simply need to
ensure that the windows are easy to open, that anyone can
change the thermostat, and that the light switches are

located where people can turn them on and off.
This is why the smart grid is also destined to fail.
By adding successive layers of complexity and cost to our
energy system we exclude ordinary people from playing an
active role in their energy future. The Internet, in con-
trast, is extraordinarily dumb. It simply moves bits from
one place to another, but this has allowed people to
innovate in a manner undreamed of by its inventors. Today
anyone can send or receive a wide variety of user gener-
ated content. A dumb energy grid would simply move
energy from place to place, allowing people to send it or
receive it, but ideally it would also empower innovators to
create new energy applications and services.
BEYOND ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Energy efficiency in the operation of buildings is

only part of the challenge of resource positive design. We
have not addressed the whole problem if we only make net
zero buildings. The careful choice of materials, for exam-
ple, can not only reduce the overall carbon footprint of a
building, but make it safer at the same time.
In this context, it is difficult to understand how
a building made largely of concrete can be described as
green when the manufacture of that concrete generates so
much carbon dioxide. Wood, on the other hand, sequesters
carbon and is one of the only building materials that
absorbs greenhouse gases as it is ‘manufactured.’ A large
wooden building sequesters enough carbon that its carbon
credits could be sold under existing ‘cap and trade’

systems.
More serious is the fact that we are in daily contact
with the toxic chemicals embedded in our building mate-
rials. An older house may contain up to 225 kilograms of
lead (La Rose, 2011). In many ways, it is extraordinary that
we have allowed such a dangerous situation to persist for
some long when there are alternatives. Not only must we
eliminate toxic materials from our buildings, but we can
also use natural and native vegetation to draw toxins from
the surrounding soil and water. The real potential of
regenerative design lies in creating and selecting materi-
als that make us healthier.
A QUADRUPLE BOTTOM LINE
The complexity and magnitude of creating better

buildings, demands a comprehensive approach and this
too suggests the idea of a resource positive architecture
as an interdisciplinary means of addressing a global
problem. Some have already advanced the idea of a Triple
E Bottom Line method for evaluating future projects. The
Triple E includes a consideration of the Environment,
Economics and Equity or alternatively Planet, Profits and
People. This is a good start, but it is neither complete nor
specific enough.
Resource positive buildings regenerate the envi-
ronment; they generate income for their inhabitants not
large corporations; and by doing so they help to make
housing affordable for ordinary people.
This economic regeneration is critical. Every month

homeowners pay hundreds of dollars in utility fees – in
effect adding a second mortgage to housing which is
already too expensive. As noted above, through resource
positive architecture, people not only manage their en-
ergy resources, they own them as well. Excess energy
generated by the house becomes income for the home-
owner. This makes housing more affordable for those
entering the market, and makes it economically feasible
for an ageing population to stay in their homes longer.
At the same time, there is no disputing that
resource positive buildings are more expensive to build
than energy inefficient ones. Developers, contractors and
homebuyers often balk at the additional costs and green
measures are often the first to go when cost cutting
occurs. Yet ESCO’s, or Energy Service Companies, have
already provided a model to address this issue. Instead of
wasting billions of dollars in fruitless and failed endeav-
ours such as carbon sequestering, governments should act
as national ESCO’s and work in partnership with homeown-
ers to purchase energy efficient elements (such as solar
panels) and thereby remove them from the cost of the rest
of the building. By sharing the energy savings between the
government and the homeowner, it would be possible to
pay back the original investment while still realizing some
of the economic benefits of generating your own energy.
Moreover, at the end of the payback period, the assets
would belong to the homeowner, as would the revenue
stream.
We also need to add another E to the Triple Bottom

Line – that of Experience. We need to make living in a
resource positive building a compelling and even irresist-
ible experience. As architect Servag Pogharian (Pogharian,
2010) has pointed out, nobody asks what the payback
period is on a sports car, yacht or piece of jewelry. This is
precisely why architecture and design are critically impor-
tant to whole idea of being resource positive. There is no
doubt that solar panels as they are currently designed are
butt ugly, but there is also no reason why a good designer
couldn’t transform them into objects of beauty - as the
company Aerotecture has done for building-based wind
turbines. Properly promoted, the additional costs of a
resource positive building would be considered part of the
price one is willing to pay for the experience of living in
one.
ANCILLARY BENEFITS
In 2011, construction is expected to be a $7.5 US

trillion industry or roughly 13.4% of the world’s economy.
Global Construction Perspectives have estimated that by
2020 construction output will grow by 70% to $12.7 US
trillion and represent 14.6% of the world’s economy
(Global Construction Perspectives, 2011). These figures,
however, only tell part of the story. There are trillions and
trillions of dollars more invested in existing buildings. As
energy efficiency increases in importance almost all of
these buildings will need to retrofitted for improved
performance. New construction and renovations repre-
sents an enormous market potential for countries and

regions that are perceived as leaders in green buildings.
THE REAL COST OF BUILDINGS
Figure 1: Life Cycle Costs of a Building over 30 Years
Construction costs, however, are only the tip of

the economic iceberg. In realizing the market potential of
regenerative design, it is important to understand the
various costs of a building over a period of thirty years.
What is immediately obvious from this pie chart, is that
the cost of salaries for the people who inhabit a building
far outweighs any other expense and resource positive
buildings may have their most dramatic economic impact
in this area. As the Commission for Environmental Coop-
eration reports:
Substantial research supports the health and

productivity benefits of green features, such as
daylighting, increased natural air ventilation
and moisture reduction, and the use of low-
emitting floor carpets, glues, paints and other
interior finishes and furnishings. In the United
States, the annual cost of building-related
sickness is estimated to be at $58 billion.
According to researchers, green building has
the potential to generate an additional $200
billion annually in the United States in worker
performance by creating offices with improved
indoor air quality (CEC, 2008).
Lockheed Martin has reported that simply by

“daylighting” Building 157 in its sprawling Sunnyvale,
California facility, it was able to save $500,000 per year in
energy costs – and far more than that in reduced absen-
teeism and increased productivity (Thayer, 1995). In other
words, regenerative design may also be the most cost-
effective means of improving the productivity of industri-
alized nations.
At the same time, it is also important to emphasize
the value of resource positive architecture in comparison to
current approaches. According to the Asia Business Council,
“In China, gaining a megawatt of electricity by building
more generating capacity costs at least four times as much
as saving a megawatt through greater efficiency – and that
ignores the environmental costs of generating power using
fossil fuels (Hong, Chiang, Shapiro & Clifford, 2007).”
In other words, every dollar spent on

regenerative buildings has a 4 times greater
impact than a dollar spent on energy
generation.
CHALLENGES
Yet despite the obvious economic and environ-

mental advantages of regenerative design and resource
positive architecture there are still serious challenges to
the wide scale deployment of next generation green
buildings. These include:
1. Reliable Performance Data

As noted above, because of the scale and complex-
ity of an average building, it is difficult to accurately
assess and quantify both the performance of individual
building components and entire buildings. In simple
terms, we really don’t know what works and what doesn’t.
We need an international network of buildings to act as
living labs that accurately gather, store and compare
performance data in a coherent and consistent manner.
2. Implementation
The AEC (Architecture, Engineering and Construc-
tion) industry can be resistant to change and to effectively
design and construct green buildings demands significant
changes to current approaches. Awareness, education and
training must be a fundamental part of any regeneration
program, but our building codes must also be updated to

reflect this new approach.
3. Ownership
Traditionally the organizations, such a developers
and contractors, that construct buildings are not the same
ones that operate them and for this reason there is little
interest in increasing construction or capital costs to
reduce costs. As suggested above, however, informed
policies can address this challenge.
4. Research
The lack of research in green buildings in general
is the most serious challenge facing this field. Historically,
the AEC industry is one of the poorest in terms of research
and development investment, with less than 0.7% of total
building permit value in 2006 re-invested in research.
Moreover, according to the U.S. Green Building Council:
... research on green building constituted only

about 0.2% (two-tenths of one percent) of all
federally-funded research from 2002 to 2004 –
an average of $193 million per year ... Levels of
green building research pale in comparison to
amounts being invested in other sectors, and
green building research funding is fundamen-
tally fragmented and thus not conducive to
creating integrated solutions (USGBC, 2007).
Yet despite these challenges, the advantages of a

resource positive or regenerative architecture are clear.
Not only can we dramatically reduce our energy consump-
tion and our greenhouse gas emissions, but resource
positive buildings can also improve the quality of life for
ordinary people by making a built environment that is
healthier, more productive and more affordable. Our
buildings can not only save the planet they can make it a
better place to live and work.
References
CEC (Commission for Environmental Cooperation. (2008).

Green Building in North America. Montreal, QC: CEC.
Global Construction Perspectives. (2011). Global Construction
2020. Retrieved from http://
www.globalconstruction2020.com on 3/10/11.
Hong, W., Chiang, M., Shapiro, R. & Clifford, M. (2007).
Building Energy Efficiency: Why Green Buildings Are
Key to Asia’s Future. Hong Kong: Asia Business
Council.
La Rose, L. (2011, March 7). How home reno jobs can be
harmful to your child’s health. Globe and Mail, p. A5.
Mazria, E. (2002). Architecture 2030. Retrieved from http://
architecture2030.org/the_problem/
buildings_problem_why retrieved on 3/10/11.
Pogharian, S. (2010, October, 27). The Net Zero Energy Life in
Canada. Presentation to the Cascadia Green Building
Council, Kelowna, BC.
SDTC (Sustainable Development Technology Canada). (2007).

Commercial Buildings – Eco-Efficiency. Retrieved 23
October 2008 from http://www.sdtc.ca/en/knowl-
edge/business_case.htm.
Talbot, D. (2006, July/August). The Un-Coal. Technology
Review, 109(3), p. 55.
Thayer, B. (1995, May/June). Daylighting & Productivity at
Lockheed. Solar Today, pp. 26-29.
USGBC (United States Green Building Council). (2007,
November). A National Green Building Research
Agenda.
Wood, G. & M. Newborough. (2003). Dynamic Energy-con-
sumption Indicators for Domestic Appliances:
Environment, Behaviour and Design. Energy and
Buildings, 35, pp. 821-41
T H E A U T H O R
Douglas MacLeod is the Associate Dean of

Science Technology and Health at Okanagan
College. He is a registered architect in
California, a contributing editor to Canadian
Architect and the former Executive Director of
the Canadian Design Research Network. He has
degrees in both architecture and computer
science, a Masters Degree in Environmental
Design and is currently completing his
doctorate also in Environmental Design.
Andrew Hay and Robert Parlane
Centre of Excellence
in Sustainable Building
Technologies and
Renewable Energy
Conservation
The main purpose of the Okanagan College
Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Technologies
and Renewable Energy Conservation (COE) is to educate
students in the design, installation and maintenance of
sustainable green building technologies. To achieve this
goal the COE, as a building, will lead by example, being
at the forefront of sustainable construction and creating
an agent for progress in green building design in North
America.
The building targets the Living Building Challenge
[1]: a new extreme benchmark for sustainable
construction. The Challenge includes an all encompassing
set of green requirements, including net-zero water use,
net-zero energy, and locally sourced materials avoiding
a red list of significant, widely used yet environmentally
hazardous construction materials. This article considers
specifically how the building envelope responds to the

requirements of net-zero energy and material selection.
HIGH PERFORMANCE ENVELOPE
Although located in a semi-arid climate with an

average annual temperature of 9° C, the building still has
a net heating load. Therefore a high performance building
envelope is the first step to target net-zero energy.
Insulation values of R28 and R40 are provided on the
walls and roof respectively, and a maximum air leakage
rate of 5m3/hr per m2 is required. Higher values for
insulation in the walls and roof could have been targeted,
but the design team chose to set realistic modelling
targets that allowed for possible cold bridges and air
leakage, and conserve the limited budget for use in more
vulnerable areas where a greater return might be achieved.
Doors are typically prone to poor air leakage and
poor insulation values. Therefore the number of external
doors in the COE is minimised, and reduced to single leaf
whenever practical. All entrance doors have vestibules
to reduce drafts and heat loss.
Heat loss through the windows accounts for 50%
of all heat loss through the external envelope of the COE.
[2] To help offset some of this heat loss, all windows and
curtain walling will use argon-filled triple-glazing.
While the heavily articulated building form
increases the area of external envelope and hence heat
loss; it also allows the building to capture winter solar
gain, daylight, and natural ventilation with a net benefit
to the overall energy equation. The south orientation of

the glazed entrance wing and some of the classrooms
allows low level winter solar gain to be captured,
reducing the heating loads on the building. Summer
solar gain is shaded by large overhanging roofs and brise
soleil. The capture of daylight and natural ventilation
reduces lighting and ventilation requirements and hence
further reduces the energy demands of the building.
High ceilings and tall windows are used to
maximise light penetration into offices and classrooms.
North and south-facing windows are typically used, with
only small punctured windows facing west where
necessary to bring light into darker corners. The west
light is problematic for afternoon summertime solar heat
gain and wintertime glare, while south-facing glazing is
more easily controlled with the use of conventional brise
soleil. Internal high-level light shelves are also used to
bounce south light deep into the plan. High level
clerestory windows are used to throw light into the
larger volumes of the gymnasium and workshops. All
occupied work spaces within the building are within 9 m
of a window offering daylight, views and natural
ventilation.
Where natural illumination is not easily achieved,
light-pipes are incorporated to bring light deep into
these spaces. Further to this, some areas use a prototype
system, developed by the University of British Columbia,
that actively tracks and collects sunlight and ducts it
horizontally into the deep plan spaces.
Typically, single aspect opening windows provide
natural ventilation to a depth of 6 m into any space,

before the air starts to warm and rise above head height.
This is improved by the articulated plan increasing the
penetration of natural ventilation further into the
building. This works well in combination with the
radiant heating/cooling within the floor slabs, as the
chilled slab keeps the incoming fresh air cooler and close
to the floor, penetrating further into the building before
rising.
A series of five 14 m high ventilation chimneys
along the spine of the building are designed to boost the
natural ventilation and draw fresh, external air deeper
into the building plan. These chimneys will utilise the
natural stack effect of warm buoyant air to draw air
through the building, creating an estimated natural flow
rate of 1000 l/s per chimney at peak conditions. Optimal
periods for the solar chimneys are shoulder seasons
(spring and fall) and in the morning and late afternoon
during the summer. When outdoor temperature exceeds
the chimney temperature the ventilation will be
mechanically assisted. This ventilation is made possible
by the orientation of the chimneys to the prevailing
south-north winds, and by the use of glazed panels
above the roof level to utilise solar gain to heat the rising
air. At peak summer month conditions the glazed panels
alone will increase chimney air flow rate by as much as
100%.
When winter temperatures and peak summer
temperatures make it inefficient to use un-tempered air
for natural ventilation, the building will operate in
closed mode. In order to maintain simple operating

systems and reduce costs, all windows are manually
operated. Thus closed mode will indicated to the building
occupants by simple red/green lights throughout, as has
been successfully used elsewhere. This system in turn
will make the users of the building part of the control
system for the building envelop and further assist in the
goal of the COE as an agent for change.
TIMBER CONSTRUCTION
British Columbia (BC) is currently facing a major

pine beetle epidemic. This small beetle, spreading
unchecked due to milder winters, attacks pine trees and
kills them by introducing a fungal infection, leaving vast
areas of red forest. After two-three years the needles
drop and the trees turn grey. In this grey-attack stage
the structural value of the lumber significantly reduces.
If left un-harvested, the beetle killed forests will
eventually burn, releasing the carbon that has been
sequestered over decades back into the atmosphere.
However, in most cases this wood is not FSC certified.
It is estimated 14.5 million hectares in BC are
either red or grey stage infected; in some areas over 80%
of all pines are beetle killed. [3] So in addition to the
widespread environmental havoc this infestation has
wreaked, many small BC communities are facing serious
economic hardship in coming years. It was therefore
clear from the outset that this building needs to respond
to the social and environmental factors of the immediate
availability of large volumes of non-FSC lumber from

beetle kill forests. The project design team has established
with the ILBI acceptable parameters for the use of wood
harvested from beetle killed forests.
Once it was decided to incorporate a timber-
framed construction, BC Building Code requirements,
and the proximity of the Penticton airport navigation
beacon, dictated that the building be no more than two
storeys in height. The decision to use wood construction
resulted in a relative low embodied carbon footprint,
calculated at 1770 Tonnes compared to 2235 Tonnes or
3360 Tonnes for an equivalent steel or concrete framed
building respectively. [4]
Within the gymnasium the sprung timber floor is
not suitable for use with a radiant heating/cooling
system in the floor slab beneath, as used elsewhere in the
building. In heating mode the void beneath the timber
floor would form a insulating layer above the radiant
system, while in cooling mode the risk of interstitial
condensation causing rot to occur within the sprung
floor, is too great. Instead, an innovative system of
composite wall panels was developed that combined a
radiant heating/cooling system within a robust structural
wall panel, that was highly efficient in the use of
materials and reduced embodied carbon.
A 75 mm thick reinforced concrete wall panel
provides the thermal mass for a radiant heating/cooling
system. The pex piping is cast, while pressurised, into
the concrete panel under factory conditions, and upon
delivery each panel is connected into the radiant heating/
cooling supply system on site. The 3.6m wide and 7.9m

high concrete panels are cast between 175x266mm
glulam columns, with two additional 80x190mm glulam
reinforcement columns on the rear face. The composite
action between the concrete and wood elements reduces
both the structural size of the glulams as well as the
thickness of concrete, reducing the volume of materials
used and subsequently lightening the weight on the
foundation piles. The typical panel incorporates 2m3 of
concrete and has an overall weight of 5Tonnes. An
equivalent pre-cast concrete panel would be 185 mm
thick and use 14 Tonnes of concrete, an increase of 280%
in the overall weight. [5]
This is believed to be the first use of a composite
concrete/glulam system in North America, and may
ultimately offer an efficient alternative to tilt-up or pre-
cast concrete construction that utilises significantly less
concrete.
CONCLUSION
Most sustainable buildings influence their

respective societies by example, within the constraints
of their primary building purpose. One of the main
purposes of the COE is to train the next generation of
construction professionals in sustainable technologies
and renewable energy. The building will therefore have
direct impact on the wider construction industry
throughout Canada for decades to come.
The COE, currently nearing completion, is well
poised to meet all elements of the LBC and is comparable

in cost to a conventional building design in the Southern
Interior of BC. This is perhaps the most significant result,
that a building can be constructed to be fully sustainable
without a significant cost premium. Further, the COE
through its’ design will influence new sustainable design
and construction, and the COE will create a learning and
teaching environment that is both sustainable and
synergistic The building envelop innovations, taken
together, represent the potential to influence design
throughout the Pacific Northwest region of Canada and
the United States and demonstrate the ability to respond
to a highly demanding set of challenging conditions.
DESIGN TEAM
Architect: CEI Architecture Planning Interiors

Mechanical engineer: AME Group Engineers
Electrical engineer: Applied Engineering Solutions
Structural engineer: Fast + Epp
Civil engineer: True Consulting
Landscape architect: Site 360
Sustainability consultant: Recollective Consulting
Quantity surveyor: Spiegel Skillen & Associates
Construction manager: PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc
NOTES
1. International Living Building Institute - www.ilbi.org

2. Stewart, H, 2009. “AME Consulting Group - COE Energy
Model”.
3. Schrier, D, 2009. “BC Stats Environmental Statistics -
Giving Dead Wood New Life: Salvaging BC’s Beetle-
killed Timber”.
4. BuildCarbonNeutral.org, 2007. “Construction Carbon
Calculator”.
5. Epp, G, 2009. “Fast+Epp - COE Structural Design
Development Report”.
Andrew Hay, PhD, P.Eng. is VP Education,

Okanagan College, 1000 KLO Road, Kelowna,
British Columbia, Canada, V1Y 4X8
Robert Parlane RIBA MRAIC is Project Manager, CEI

Architecture Planning Interiors, 100-1060
Manhattan Drive, Kelowna, British Columbia,
Canada V1Y 9X9
Trevor Butler
Earth Tubes
The main cause of energy use in commercial
buildings is associated with heating, ventilation and air
conditioning (HVAC) and artificial lighting.
Historically, thermal comfort and fresh air has
been provided to buildings through the combustion of
wood or fossil fuels (coal, oil) and through openable
windows. The need for cooling has evolved through
increased use of glass in the façade, electronic equipment
and artificial lighting. Some studies, EEBD (2006), have
also been carried out that show with improved building
fabric (U-values, envelope) beyond a certain limit, there
is potential for cooling loads to increase, whilst heating
loads will decrease. This is due in part to the increase in
electronic – heat giving – equipment, and a building
envelope that does not allow the heat gained to leave.
Whilst this is fine for heating conditions, the summertime
experience has been that overheating is more likely to
occur – therefore increased cooling from air conditioning
is required to maintain comfort.
It is against this backdrop, the author has been

working to minimise energy requirements to maintain
healthy and comfortable buildings. His interest in earth
coupled systems began at Fulcrum in 1994 with the
Milton Keynes Future World housing projects, and has
grown from there.
After having monitored a number of his
installations from 1994 to the present date – 2011 – he
is now in the process of investigating ideas to create a
business to provide earth coupled systems for air-based
earth coupled thermal systems for buildings. This project
will seek to investigate the potential benefits and
identify risks that will be required to see if energy
efficient and healthy, comfortable buildings can be
delivered using these systems.
The subject of air-based earth coupled thermal
systems have been researched and written about fairly
extensively through industry and academia. The basic
theory of air-based earth coupled thermal systems has
been explored through the fluid dynamics of heat
transfer as discussed by Welty et al (2000). In terms of
industry application CIBSE (2004) has demonstrated a
methodology for calculating the frictional characteristics
of different types of pipework.
The systems work by drawing fresh (outside air)
into buried underground ducts. The temperature of the
earth is prone to fewer variations in temperature to the
outside air and as such temperature extremes associated
with peak summer and winter can be moderated as the
fresh air passes through the buried ducts.
The volume of fresh air drawn through the ducts

needs to be considered in two separate parameters:
1. Primary Fresh Air: the minimum fresh air
requirements of 20 cubic feet per minute (cfm) per
person, ASHRAE (1989) or 10 litres per second (l/s)
according to Part F (2006)
2. Thermal cooling load: the pre-cooled air will
meet all or part of the cooling loads of the building.
The use of buried ducts for tempering fresh air
supply has been used for centuries throughout the
world. Some of the earliest are recorded in Persia, where
they are named ‘badgeers’ and linked with ventilation
chimneys to draw the air through. These are completely
passive systems – which is obvious due to the time being
pre-industrial revolution.
In Germany, with the advent and growth in
interest of Passivhaus, Adamson & Feist (1988), the use
of earth tubes are required for providing tempered fresh
air – mainly for wintertime.
Davis Marques
Building the Case

for Core Sunlighting
Core sunlighting is an approach to indoor lighting
whereby direct sunlight is captured and concentrated at
the perimeter of a building, then channeled to the
building’s interior core where it can be used as an
effective work illuminant. As a class of lighting systems,
it offers the potential to significantly reduce building
energy use, green house gas emissions and the cost of
indoor lighting, while increasing the quality of lighting,
for a diverse range of climate zones and geographic
locations.
In the Asia Pacific region, rapidly growing energy
demand is a source of significant future risk.
Commercial and institutional buildings are among
the largest consumers of electricity, with lighting
accounting for a significant portion of that usage. In the
United States, lighting is responsible for approximately
51% of total commercial building energy consumption.
(U.S. Department of Energy, 2003, pg. 60) In Canada, it
is the third largest end user of electricity following
building and water heating. (Natural Resources Canada,

2009) Rising energy demand in this sector places an
enormous strain on existing providers. HydroOne, an
energy transmission company, reports that:
”In Ontario, growth in peak electricity demand
has outstripped increases in supply, to the extent that
Ontario is experiencing situations when peak demand
threatens to exceed the available supply of reliable,
reasonably priced capacity. Exacerbating this problem is
the need to replace or refurbish a significant fraction of
the province's aging generating facilities over the next
5-15 years.” (HydroOne, 2003, pg. 1)
The capacity of the market to increase demand
far outstrips the ability of providers to source new
sources of energy and respond to demand shocks. The
2003 power grid blackout of eastern Canada and the
northeastern United States demonstrated how vulnerable
the North American energy infrastructure has become.
Reducing energy demand in commercial and institutional
buildings can do much to increase the stability of the
collective energy system while offsetting future risks.
Using sunlight as the primary source of building
illumination provides a number of distinct advantages.
First, the demand for electricity has a strong
correspondence with standard work hours and the
availability of daylight: demand is lowest in the early
morning hours, greatest through the day, then drops
rapidly after dinner and remains low through the night.
Using sunlight instead of electricity for lighting in
commercial and institutional buildings reduces both the
total annual demand and the peak electric load precisely

at those times of day when most people are working,
electricity use is greatest, and the cost of producing that
electricity is highest.
Second, using sunlight as an illuminant is nearly
100% efficient. Unlike other sources of energy, which
must be converted from potential energy, into electricity,
and then into light, sunlight requires no conversion. As
such, there are no conversion losses, few transmission
losses, and a significant percentage of the energy that is
captured arrives at the work surface as useful illumination.
Third, using sunlight as a direct illuminant
reduces operational externalities over conventional
electric lighting. Recent events have brought attention
to the fact that much of the world‚Äôs oil supply is
located in politically unstable regions. Some Asia Pacific
countries, such as Korea, are particularly dependent
upon foreign oil for domestic energy production. (U.S.
Energy Information Administration, 2006) The
converging, interrelated problems of dwindling world oil
reserves, increasing energy use, climate change, and
political volatility in oil producing regions impede reliable
access to energy and introduce instability in the energy
markets. Similarly, domestic energy systems are
increasingly strained to deal with extreme weather and
demand shocks. Business competitiveness is increasingly
based on an ability to provide predictable, stable service.
When energy prices rise dramatically or infrastructure
fails, businesses are impacted, and the social and economic
fallout can be catastrophic. Though the weather itself
varies, the sun is ever consistent. If the power systems

fail, core sunlighting can remain wholly or partially
operational during the most energy intensive periods of
the day, reducing operational risk for property owners
and passively increasing the resilience of the network.
Fourth, core sunlighting is feasible for buildings
located in a diverse range of climate zones and geographic
locations. For example, Southern Ontario, where both
population and industry are the most dense in Canada,
”has a greater solar potential than leading regions in
Germany, France and China and an even better summer
solar resource than Miami, Florida,” despite its northern
location. (TRRA, 2009, pg. 8) Densely populated Asia
Pacific nations such as India, Korea, the United States
and Australia are located in areas of equivalent or greater
solar potential.
Finally, human physiology is attuned to the
properties of daylight and, as such, daylight is the
benchmark against which all other lighting sources are
compared. Commercial and institutional buildings around
the world are illuminated principally with fluorescent
lighting. Fluorescent bulbs exhibit an uneven spectral
distribution that can giving objects a distinct pink,
green or yellow tint depending on the particular lamp in
question. The inability to distinguish colours can be a
detriment to effective work in office environments, an
impediment to sales in retail spaces, and a hazard in
health care settings.
Solar lighting technologies have been in research
or commercial production for some time now, though
few have seen widespread adoption. Historically,

limitations of early solar lighting systems, inexpensive
electricity, and risk aversion within construction, real
estate and client organizations have impeded market
adoption. However, increasing concerns about our
energy infrastructure and growing green house gas
emissions are creating pressures on property owners to
adopt more energy efficient lighting technologies.
Simultaneously, new core sunlighting technologies are
appearing in the market that address limitations of prior
technologies, and promise to make this class of lighting
both increasingly cost effective and more attractive than
conventional lighting.
One such system is known as the ”solar canopy”.
The solar canopy was developed by the Structured
Surface Physics Lab (SSPL) at the University of British
Columbia. It comprises two major components: a
concentrator that is mounted on south facing building
facades to collect sunlight, and a light guide that directs
sunlight from the concentrator into the interior spaces
of a building. An array of mirrors mounted in the
concentrator tracks the movement of the sun through
the sky to optimize the amount of available light in the
system, then focuses that light into a narrow beam that
is directed into the light guide. The light guide is lined
with a special reflective film to maximize the distance
light can be channeled into the building. Light bounces
through the guideway, deep into the building space.
Openings in the light guide allow light to escape wherever
illumination is required. Sensors spaced regularly along
the length of the light guide measure the amount of

sunlight reaching the interior. Whenever the amount of
sunlight drops below a particular threshold,
supplementary electric lights inside the guideway turn
on to compensate. The current system design is able to
convey sunlight up to 60‚Äô (18.28m) into the interior
core of a building. The system can be accommodated
easily within the space of a conventional suspended
ceiling structure, such that, from the occupant‚Äôs
perspective, there is no difference between a traditional
office ceiling with electric lighting and one with core
sunlighting.
Funding from Sustainable Technologies
Development Canada (STDC) enabled SSPL to conduct
field testing of the solar canopy at two sites in Vancouver,
Canada. Initial studies have validated the feasibility of
the technology for delivering interior illumination in
commercial office spaces, and have shown that within
particular latitudes:
”the solar canopy has the potential to reduce
energy for standard commercial building lighting by at
least 25%, replace electric lighting 75% of the time each
day that the sun shines within six core daylight hours,
reduce peak electrical power demand when it is needed
(that is, midday on sunny days) and provide high quality
illumination with excellent colour rendering properties.
As a result of the energy savings, the implementation of
this technology will result in a significant reduction in
greenhouse gas emissions.” (Whitehead, 2010, pg. 1)
The success of this early research led to the

commercialization of the system through a spin-off
company called SunCentral Incorporated.
Despite the growing enthusiasm for the solar
canopy and other products like it, significant knowledge
gaps, education, regulatory and market development
challenges remain. For example, core sunlighting systems
introduce openings and voids in the building perimeter
walls, ceiling spaces, and interior architectural elements.
The impact of these openings on heat transfer, moisture
accumulation, sound transmission, and fire safety in
building assemblies has yet to be examined in detail, for
different climate conditions. There have been no third
party, comparative analyses of performance and total
life-cycle costs for core sunlighting systems against each
other, nor against conventional electric lighting.
Architects, contractors and building owners may be
reticent to adopt core sunlighting without detailed
examinations of the potential impact of these systems
on the building‚Äôs longevity, an assessment of long
term operational risks, and data to quantify the relative
economic benefits of core sunlighting. Putting core
sunlighting to use on a broad scale will entail educating
design professionals, training builders and secondary
service providers about the optics, construction and
operation of these systems. Software tools will need to
be developed to design, analyze and maintain economical
lighting designs. New legislation and supporting
standards will need to be created to govern the design
and implementation of core sunlighting in different

regions, and to maximize the social and economic
benefits.
Though partial, the challenges enumerated are
beyond the ability of individual companies or research
groups to address. Recognizing this, SSPL together with
the California Lighting Technology Centre (CLTC) at the
University of California at Davis, the School of Natural
Sciences and Engineering at the University of California
at Merced, and the Department of Architectural Science
at Ryerson University have formed a collaboration called
Core Sunlighting Solutions (CSS). With funding from a
Canada-California Strategic Innovation Partnership
(CCSIP) grant awarded to SSPL and CLTC, the Core
Sunlighting Solutions group will develop a multi-year
business plan aimed at moving core sunlighting from
research and development into the broader market.
That process was initiated in 2010 with a series
of meetings that brought together leading industry and
academic figures to assess the state of the art and
impediments to commercialization. From those meetings,
the group adopted the following strategic vision:
”By 2030, in most commercial buildings in major
cities in the world, electric lights are turned off and
buildings are illuminated with sunlight whenever the
sun shines, substantially reducing energy consumption
and dramatically improving lighting quality since most
people prefer daylight to electric lights.” (CLTC, 2010)
An international association is being formed to
bring together academic, industry and government
organizations to help realize this vision. Academic and

industry experts will be invited to take on research and
leadership roles within the organization. Simultaneously,
the group is working to identify sites across the Asia
Pacific region where demonstration installations of the
solar canopy and other core sunlighting technologies
can be installed. These countries are home to some of the
most rapidly growing economies and populations in the
world. Core sunlighting offers the rare opportunity to
make use of an abundant resource that can improve
efficiency, economic competitiveness, stability and
quality of life for the citizens of those nations.
REFERENCES
California Lighting Technologies Center. (2010). Core

Sunlighting Strategies Workshop. Retrieved from
http://cltc.ucdavis.edu/content/view/622/378/
on March 24, 2011.
HydroOne. (2003). ”Electricity Demand in Ontario.”
Retrieved from http://www.oeb.gov.on.ca/
documents/directive_dsm_HydroOne211103.pdf
March 14, 2011.
Natural Resources Canada, Office of Energy Efficiency.
(2009). ”Commercial/Institutional Secondary
Energy Use by Energy Source, End-Use and Activity
Type (2004-2008).” Retrieved from http://
oee.nrcan.gc.ca/corporate/statistics/neud/dpa/
tableshandbook2/on March 20, 2011.
Toronto Regional Research Alliance. (September, 2009).

“Solar Energy in the Toronto Region.” Retrieved
from http://www.trra.ca/en/sectors/resources/
SolarEnergyintheToronto RegionDec2009.pdf on
March 14, 2011.
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy Building Technologies Program.
(September, 2002). “U.S. Lighting Market
Characterization. Volume I: National Lighting
Inventory and Energy Consumption Estimate.”
Retrieved from http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/
buildings/publications/pdfs/ssl/lmc_vol1_final.pdf
on March 14, 2011.
U.S. Department of Energy. (2003). Building Energy Data
Book. Retrieved from http://
buildingsdatabook.eren.doe.gov/docs/1.2.3.pdf on
March 20, 2011.
U.S. Energy Information Administration. (2006).
International Energy Annual (IEA) - Long-Term
Historial International Energy Statistics. Retrieved
from http://www.eia.doe.gov/iea/ on March 14,
2011.
Whitehead, L., Upward, A., Friedel, P., Cox, G. & Mossman,
M. (2010). Using Core Sunlighting to Improve
Illumination Quality and Increase Energy Efficiency
of Commercial Buildings. In proceedings of the
ASME 4th International Conference on Energy
Sustainability, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
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Explorations in
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Explorations in
Okanagan Institute

Resource Positive Envelope Design: Explorations in Architectural Innovation

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Resource Positive Envelope Design

The most powerful legacy of the Edited by Douglas MacLeod

Resource Positive Envelope Design

Edited by Douglas MacLeod

Published by the Okanagan Institute

Copyright © 2011 the authors.

Produced and published by the Okanagan Institute

The type used in this publication is Officina Sans from

Andrew Hay and Robert Parlane

The Connective Thread

and Appliances Task Force of the Asia Pacific Partnership;

to participate in the inaugural meeting of the Sustainable

with the government of British Columbia were a major

observed, this may indicate a problem at an exterior wall

PARAMETERS TYPICALLY MONITORED

Wireless sensors monitor parameters such as

"MONITORING" SYSTEMS VERSUS

Direct Digital Control ("DDC") systems provide

HOW WIRELESS MONITORING OPERATES

Miniature Sensors are designed to monitor

remote building locations where the Internet may not be

from the last hour, day, week, month, 3 months, 6

The ability to monitor specific parameters such

real time when a roof leak has occurred, send an alert to

WIRELESS MONITORING AND BUILDING

Building owners can protect their investment

WIRELESS MONITORING AND THE

Monitoring building envelopes can identify

ingress. It is conceivable for a leak through a failed

Brian Lee, P.Eng. is a professional engineer with

Our Buildings Can

THE EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM

The heating and cooling of buildings accounts for

There is no question that the economic and

RESOURCE POSITIVE ARCHITECTURE

We can now produce net zero buildings that

Regenerative or Resource Positive Design is

Resource positive architecture, however, demands a sea

approach there is no such thing as garbage. Everything

ACHIEVING RESOURCE POSITIVE

All of the components for moving beyond net zero

Including metering and monitoring, there are

With a total savings of 105%, a building would be

1. Metering and Monitoring

2. Passive Solar Design

costs to the overall construction of the building. Moreo-

3. Change our Behaviours Still More

4. Energy Efficient Lighting

5. Energy Smart Appliances

unambiguous rating systems that clearly identify products

7. Alternative Energy Sources

DUMB IS BETTER THAN SMART

These seven steps to resource positive emphasize

change the thermostat, and that the light switches are

BEYOND ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Energy efficiency in the operation of buildings is

credits could be sold under existing ‘cap and trade’

A QUADRUPLE BOTTOM LINE

The complexity and magnitude of creating better

This economic regeneration is critical. Every month

We also need to add another E to the Triple Bottom

In 2011, construction is expected to be a $7.5 US

sents an enormous market potential for countries and

THE REAL COST OF BUILDINGS