Sector: Institutional/Public Sector
Canadian Museum Construction Corp.
National Art Gallery of Canada
We are very proud of our contribution to Canada’s National Gallery, one of the country’s landmark institutions.
This project consisted of two buildings: the Gallery building of 549,000 ft2 and an administration building of ~54,000 ft2. The Gallery building houses Canada’s national art collection in state-of-the-art environmental conditions, with close control of temperature, humidity and high efficiency air filtration.
Each gallery has individual control of its environment, and high levels of humidity are maintained year round. Air with low of humidity levels is supplied to public circulation areas, such as the colonnade, galleria and Great Hall, to prevent migration of humidity from the art display galleries. Such migration could cause condensation on the large areas of exterior glass that enclose the building during the cold Ottawa winters.
In addition to the public galleries, administration offices and cafeteria, there are restoration workshops, authenticity and verification laboratories, paint and varnish shops, photograph storage, and fine art storage areas. A 200-car underground parking garage and loading dock were also incorporated.
The low-rise design of this gallery involved stairways and ramps as features, which eased the requirements for passenger elevators. Freight requirements, on the other hand, required large units for the movement of exhibits, with the doors of these elevators measuring up to 12’8” wide by 12’0” high.
SERVICES
Mechanical Engineering | Vertical Transportation
PROJECT FEATURES
Size: 550,000 ft2 | Status: Completed 1989
LOCATION
Ottawa, Ontario
KEY SCOPE ELEMENTS
High-efficiency air filtration with careful consideration to temperature & humidity | Individual gallery environmental control | Support spaces | Laboratories | Fine art storage areas | Large freight elevators for exhibit movement
Government of Canada
Fenbrook Medium Security Institution
This medium security institution is comprised of thirteen buildings with a capacity to house 400 residents, and provisions to incorporate another 100-bed unit.
The 260,000 ft2 facility includes: four residences, gatehouse, chapel, family visiting centre, a facility to accommodate industrial work, a building to house resident programs, a detention/segregation/health care centre, an administrative base cogeneration facility and a correspondence/visiting building.
HH Angus was responsible for the full mechanical and electrical design, as well as the site services package. Our scope of work included: sewers, wastewater pumping, stormwater collection, water mains, fire protection system, pumping and mains, central cogeneration and district heating plant, central emergency power generation, normal and emergency power distribution, communications distribution and site lighting.
The institution is located on an environmentally sensitive site, adjacent to a smaller minimum security institution. HH Angus undertook detailed studies to ensure that the impact of the facility on the surroundings would be as minimal as possible. One of the results this study was the realization that the planned on-site water supply and sewage disposal was not compatible with the commitment to environmental concerns. To address this, six kilometres of sewage and water mains were extended to the nearby town of Gravenhurst.
We also conducted a load-displacement cogeneration feasibility study as part of this project. The study concluded that cogeneration would be a worthwhile addition for this facility. The system consisted of:
- an 850 kW natural gas-fired reciprocating engine with engine coolant and exhaust gas heat recovery, coupled to a district heating system
- two dual fuel flex tube hot water boilers to provide supplementary heat
- variable speed secondary pumps to distribute hot water to the thirteen site buildings through a pre-insulated buried steel piping system.
SERVICES
Mechanical Engineering | Electrical Engineering
PROJECT FEATURES
Size: 260,000 ft2 | Status: Completed 1998
LOCATION
Gravenhurst, Ontario
KEY SCOPE ELEMENTS
Environmentally-sensitive site | M&E design included sewers, wastewater pumping, storm water collection | 6 km of sewage and water mains extended | Load-displacement cogeneration feasibility study was also conducted
Protecting the Environment
Thanks to a pro-active approach by HH Angus, this institution benefitted from cost-effective and environmentally sensitive methods of servicing the facility.
— Image courtesy of Bondfield