Hesquiaht School
An excellent example of sustainable design in action for the entire community, this project is on track to achieve LEED Gold Certification.
Designed for the Hesquiaht First Nations community, this school is located on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The significance of this project lies in the fact Refuge Cove has a UNESCO designation as a World Biosphere Reserve. The federal government also supports the community and ‘promotes solutions to reconcile the conservation of bio-diversity with sustainable use’.
Cobalt provided mechanical engineering services for the design of this First Nations school. The biggest design challenge proved to be the lack of connection to the grid for the entire Hesquiaht community. The preferred design solutions required the minimum amount of energy and offered lower operating costs and limited maintenance needs.
The local climate has relatively small temperature variations with strong, consistent south-easterly winds year round. Factoring in these conditions, the architectural form of the building was designed to mimic an air foil. It was oriented to effectively harness the prevailing winds, resulting in a natural, wind-driven displacement ventilation system without supplementary mechanical fans.
Low-intensity radiant heating slabs were a key design feature to optimize thermal mass. The system is heated by heat-pumps with energy drawn from a retention pond via a geoexchange system. Sustainable strategies included the use of short structural pieces and lumber milled on-site to minimize transportation impacts. This project serves as an excellent example of the power of collaboration with a strong green initiative.
