EllisDon:Nova Scotia Community College

Circle of knowledge┬áEllisDon is constructing a state-of-the-art LEED Gold-certified building for Nova Scotia Community College that will educate students in the building trades. Grab your composition pad and come along with April Terreri to learn more. Some might describe the construction of the Centre for the Built Environment (CBE) at Nova Scotia Community College in Dartmouth, near Halifax, as a veritable learning lab.  EllisDon is constructing the new facility, which will open for students in fall 2010 and will incorporate some of the latest sustainable technology available in the construction industry. EllisDon is the third-largest general contractor in Canada, with offices and projects throughout the world. The company was voted the best company to work for in Canada for the past two years, and it has been consistently voted one of the 50 best-managed companies in Canada.The facility will serve as a focal point around which the Nova Scotia construction industry can develop leading-edge environmental knowledge and sustainable practices. ÔÇ£This project was designed to offer a living construction experience for the students,ÔÇØ explains Dan Vac, senior project manager for this project, which is being handled by the Atlantic division of EllisDon in Halifax.Construction of the CBE will offer a virtual learning lab to students, and its design will maximize the use of renewable and alternative energy sources, says Vac. A few of the environmental features include solar thermal panels, a geothermal system to provide about 50 percent of the facilityÔÇÖs heating requirements, solar wall cladding and interior biowalls with floor-to-ceiling plants to provide naturally filtered air.A solar wall will convert solar energy to heat for producing hot water, says Vac. ÔÇ£We will also use a variety of wind turbines to produce energy. We installed a geothermal field with 36 bore holes throughout the field so we can use this energy source for the building. Students will be able to see first-hand how it performs.ÔÇØ Further points are being earned toward LEED Gold certification in the way construction debris is being sorted and managed, and recycled aluminum is being used for some of the windows systems.This project will provide students opportunities to watch as the various technologies are installed, continues Vac. ÔÇ£Instead of merely reading about the innovations we are building into the CBE, students will have the opportunity to see them applied and in action. For example, today is a cloudy day, so not much energy is being produced by the solar panels, but our wind turbines are compensating. Students have that hands-on experience. As a civil engineer, I know this project offers a rare opportunity to teach students how all this works. They can then apply this first-hand knowledge to projects they will work on when they become working professionals.ÔÇØThe new building will feature large operable doors and walls that will create flexible work spaces, allowing the various trades to collaborate on projects. The CBE will offer 13 programs, including electrical engineering, HVAC, fabrication, carpentry, design and innovation, and microelectronics.The CBE construction project is the second phase following the construction of the main campus building, where pre-cast exterior panels were used. Unfortunately such panels could not be used for the second phase, to match the adjacent first phase building, since the pre-cast supplier was too busy supplying other construction projects and could not meet the schedule. As an alternative, the company decided to use tilt-up panels cast onsite. ÔÇ£Architecturally the buildings will look exactly the same,ÔÇØ Vac explains.Vac expects the building to be watertight by mid-June. ÔÇ£We just finished winter here in Nova Scotia, which was very harsh, and now weÔÇÖre dealing with the rainy season. Having the building watertight will be a significant milestone,ÔÇØ he says, as it will allow trades such as drywall installers to proceed with their work, keeping the schedule on track for early completion of the project.He notes that the project experienced detours such as losing its project manager last February, delays installing and erecting the tilt-up panels and some steel erection challenges. ÔÇ£But now weÔÇÖre all working as a unified team, the project is right on schedule, and weÔÇÖre moving toward completion at a faster pace, much to the ownerÔÇÖs satisfaction,ÔÇØ Vac says.Students visit the construction site constantly in guided groups. ÔÇ£We had to establish stringent rules on when they can come and where they can go so construction can continue without distraction and safety can be always maintained. Safety is always on our minds in everything we do here. One group of students is filming the whole construction process so it can be shared with future students. All the construction documents, such as hand notes, as builds, etc, are being saved so students can get to examine the entire experience.ÔÇØContrary to the health of the industry in the US, the construction industry in Nova Scotia and the rest of Canada is very active, reports Vac, who recently got relocated to Halifax from Orlando, Florida, where commercial construction-related activities are pretty much dead. ÔÇ£The amount of activity in Nova Scotia is surprising, and weÔÇÖre finding that some designers are actually declining providing services because theyÔÇÖre overwhelmed with work.ÔÇØUnderstanding this, Vac and his team had to do some quick thinking about how to take advantage of the pool of subcontractors they would need for the project. ÔÇ£In order to recover some of the time we lost during the fall, we decided to enclose and heat some additional work areas to get them done ahead of what would be the normal winter work schedule. This allowed us to be on the front end of the HVAC and some other work, which would have been done a bit later in the season.ÔÇØ The strategy paid off, as the subcontractors were not too busy at the time, allowing them to dedicate most of their resources to this project. After 23 years in the construction field since receiving his civil engineering degree, Vac says he is part of something very innovative with this project. ÔÇ£I have continued to keep abreast of the advances in the field, but this has been a huge learning experience for me. The knowledge IÔÇÖm gaining will allow me to mentor colleagues for the future who will become involved in these kinds of projects, utilizing a variety of alternative energy sources like we are using. The college will be an important asset to the community because it will prepare students to become professionals in their chosen fields in the active Canadian construction industry.ÔÇØ ÔÇô Editorial research by Greg Petzold┬á