Sisters of St. Joseph New Residence

A LEED® Gold Certified Building

Why We Consciously Chose to Construct a Green Building

The “original fire” or deep intuition that initiated the Sisters of St. Joseph in Le Puy, Francein 1650 envisioned a community of women seeking oneness with God, others and all creation. The early writings encourage us to recognize our relationship with the “dear neighbour”, with particular attention given to the “neighbour” who, because of injustice and systemic exclusion has been
marginalized. Today, we see ourselves as part of the neighbourhood of the world.

We recognize that earth, this tiny blue-green planet is also our neighbour. We believe that we are called to make choices to turn away from habits that destroy rather than nurture this relationship.

In building our new home, we made very conscious choices to decrease the negative impact we have on earth. We see this sense of mutual relationship with earth as at the heart of our spirituality of oneness.

LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Canada-NC 1.0 is a rating system which assesses the environmental sustainability of building designs. Although developed in the U.S., a Canadian version is now in place. Using the LEED point-based rating system, 70 points can be earned in five categories:

1) Sustainable Site
2) Water Efficiency
3) Energy Efficiency
4) Materials and Resources
5) Indoor Environmental Quality

The “Green-ness” of a building design is based on specific points accumulated in the five categories:

1) Platinum: 52+ points
2) Gold: 39-51 points
3) Silver: 33-38 points
4) Certified: 26-32 points

Our goal was to achieve GOLD status by targeting 40+ points.

Five LEED® Categories and Our Strategies to Attain Points

Sustainable Site (14 possible points)

The site selected for our residence is private property and our plan was to protect and restore open space within the site. The meadowland west of the building will be sustained in an ecologically sensitive manner using gardens, natural spaces, walking paths and indigenous plants. The site landscape design calls for replacement trees and shrubs as well as indigenous and perennial drought resistant plants. Two trees have been planted for each tree removed during site development.

• Storm water run-off is minimized by a storm water retention pond in the front parking circle.
  
  
• A white reflective membrane on the roof and a green roof for the chapel reduces heat attracted by these surface areas, thereby reducing the heat island effect and reducing building cooling requirements in the summer.
  
  
• Through a partnership with Scouts Canada, we were able to create a minimum number of parking spaces on site. Our staff now uses their parking lot during the week. A section of surface grass on the site has special porous paving installed so that grass is not destroyed when used to accommodate overflow parking.
  
  
• “Night sky pollution” is reduced by using full cut-off exterior light fixtures.
  
  
• During construction, silt fences were maintained around the property to prevent soil run-off. Stabilized construction entrances and filter wrapped catch basins were provided to minimize dust infiltrating public spaces and sewer mains.

• The landscape design uses drought resistant/native vegetation. This eliminates the need for permanent irrigation which means that no potable water is used for landscaping.

• Potable water use is reduced up to 50% through a conservation strategy using rainwater collected from the roof and captured in a cistern located underground at the back of the site. The collected “grey” rainwater is used to flush toilets and water gardens as necessary.
  
  
• Low-flow water faucets, shower heads and dual-flush toilets contribute to a significant reduction in potable indoor water use. (One can use a 3 litre flush or a 6 litre flush on dual flush toilets.)

•  Levels of wall insulation were increased by using insulated concrete form technology and increased roof insulation improves overall energy efficiency.
  
  
• Windows are double glazed argon filled with low-e coating.
  
  
• The use of a ground source heat pump system improves overall building energy efficiency. This involved drilling 63 bore-holes 300 feet deep (100 feet clay and 200 feet granite) in front of the building to source the geo-thermal effects of the earth’s temperature of 35-55 degrees. The “ground loop” consists of water in the polyethylene piping installed in the vertical holes which is pumped through a heat pump system which eventually allows heat (or cold) to exchange and heat (or cool) rooms in the building.
  
  
• Central heat recovery or ERVs are used to ventilate the spaces and recover energy from exhaust air and to preheat the outside air.
  
  
• Occupancy and daylight sensors help to control lighting levels.
  
  
• Metering equipment was installed to continually monitor lighting systems, mechanical systems, and water usage to ensure operation and energy savings are as intended.
  
  
• A commissioning agent reviewed the design and construction documents to verify proper equipment installation and performance and to verify training with building personnel.
  
  
• We purchase 50% of our electricity from Bullfrog Power, a green energy retailer which sources electricity exclusively from wind and low impart water sources.

• Habitat for Humanity recycled materials from the demolition of the 2 houses on our property prior to site development. Additional materials were diverted to other reuse destinations. No materials from the demolition went to land-fill sites.
  
  
• During construction, an accessible area was dedicated to the separation, collection and storage of materials for recycling.
  
  
• TRY Recycling was used during construction to divert a minimum of 75% of construction waste from landfill sites.
  
  
• Building materials were used that contain high recycled content such as specific/specialty lines of drywall, insulation, rebar, concrete, steel, carpet, linoleum, etc.
  
  
• When possible, materials manufactured locally (within 800 km) were used for construction.

• During construction workers covered duct work and protected the ventilation system with plastic covering, protected porous materials from moisture absorption, practiced regular housekeeping and scheduled construction activities to minimize impact of pollutants on workers.
  

• Adhesives, sealants, paints, coatings and carpets were selected based on their low Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) content. VOCs are chemical compounds that contribute to air pollution. They detrimentally affect human health, and react with sunlight producing ground level ozone (which damages organisms and plant growth).
  
  
• Interior pollutants were controlled by installing entryway grates, separate exhaust systems and superior filters in HVAC equipment to control pollutants.
  
  
• Increased day-lighting is provided by large windows, installed to allow a direct line of sight to the outdoors for a majority of the regularly occupied spaces within the facility.
  
  
• Operable windows, as well as lighting and temperature controls for individual occupants, improves occupant comfort and saves energy.
  

• A model for “Green housekeeping” has been implemented.
  
  
• An educational component featuring highlights of our green building was implemented in the fall of 2007. Guided tours are available.

Innovations (5 possible points)

• Green building education
  
  
• Green housekeeping
  
  
• Meadow restoration and conservation of floodplain lands
  
  
• Exceptional water conservation
  
  
• Use of LEED® accredited professional consultants