OAA Building – Net-zero Carbon Retrofit
The Ontario Association of Architects began a project to retro-fit their own headquarters in Toronto to make it Net-zero Carbon in March 2014. As a member of the Sustainable Built Environments Committee of the OAA, Coolearth principle Sheena Sharp has been involved in conceptualizing the need for the project, as well as guiding it’s direction which aims to be carbon neutral by 2018.
The project has a budget of $1.8 million dollars and will result in cost savings of $85,000/year resulting in a 20 year payback on the investment. As the President of the OAA Toon Dreessen says: “The next generation of architects will be left with a building that has low operating costs, helping them in future financial planning.” But beyond that the project will act as a demonstration of how to do net-zero retrofits in Ontario which is sorely needed. This is because over 70% of the existing buildings will still be in use by 2050, and in order to meet the climate change objectives many existing buildings will need to be similarly retrofitted.
Read more about the OAA Net-zero Retrofit Project here.