The 220 Wall Street PIC Office Building is located within Saskatoon's historic Warehouse District, and is seeking LEED Gold Certification. As young Saskatoon was booming, this district was seen as the city’s hub, and was responsible for supplying various goods throughout Canada. The area saw great decline during the war years, and is now being reclaimed. The PIC Group’s goal for the new building is “efficient differentiation”: incorporating a unique, mixed use design while modeling environmental responsibility. The project team has incorporated a number of sustainable design elements to enhance the building’s efficiency and marketability. With a LEED Gold target, the PIC Office Building will be a landmark in Saskatoon’s Warehouse District. Because this project is an infill development in the developed downtown core, there are unique opportunities to successfully achieve LEED credits in a variety of categories. First, the building’s central location allows it to be in close proximity to amenities, transit routes, and bike lanes, contributing to the development density of the site. To encourage active/alternate modes of transportation, the building will house a hybrid vehicle plug in, dedicated carpool parking stalls, as well as covered bicycle racks, lockers and shower amenities for cyclists. With 100% covered parking, the site acts to reduce heat islands through the elimination of exposed asphalt. The site’s heat island effect is further reduced through the combined efforts of a vegetated roof and a white roof. In addition, office occupants will have the opportunity to enjoy the green roof feature with a roof top deck and exercise component. With increased ventilation, low-emitting materials and controllability of systems, the project team has taken steps to ensure that air quality performance is maximized. To further increase air quality, all windows are operable, providing fresh air to each occupied space throughout the building. The PIC Group was focused on creating an environment that fosters creativity, collaboration, and productivity for staff and other building occupants. To achieve this goal, the team referred to LEED’s daylight and views credits, creating open spaces with an abundance of natural light and access to views of Saskatoon’s downtown. The building, in addition to providing a healthy environment, will meet a number of reductions through its structural design and selected systems. Mechanically, the proposed heating system will use a variable flow circulated glycol system heated with a high efficiency gas fired boiler. Structurally, the concrete, steel and brick structure is designed to provide thermal mass, providing a resistance against temperature fluctuations. This will reduce the pressure on heating and cooling systems, and provide a reduction in energy use. Electrically, the building will feature occupancy sensors for lighting throughout the building. The influx of natural light is intended to further reduce the use of unnecessary lighting throughout the day. In terms of water reduction strategies, low flow fixtures will be employed, along with hands free, solar powered faucets.(summary imported from CAGBC database. remove this message if edited) READ MORE