Location: Hamilton, ON
Client: Indwell
Year of Completion: 2018
Architect of Record: Invizij Architects
This mixed-use housing project included the transformation of a notoriously run-down tavern, banquet hall, and rooming house in Hamilton’s East End into a supportive housing community with 57 affordable studio apartments. Ground floor non-residential space meets a wide range of programmatic needs including a commercial restaurant kitchen, community meeting rooms, Indwell staff office and program spaces, and two retail tenants (convenience store and pharmacy).
One of the largest and most complex Passive House retrofit projects in Canada, Parkdale Landing was designed to the EnerPHit target, a rigorous, voluntary standard for energy efficiency that reduced the building’s energy footprint by more than 50%. The colourful corrugated metal cladding wrapping the building reflects the industrial environment of East Hamilton and creates renewed visual interest at this busy urban intersection.
Renovations were energy modelled using PHPP (Passive House Planning Package) software. Features include 6” of exterior sprayfoam insulation with a low global warming potential, fiberglass cladding girts, and Passive House-certified windows with triple glazing. The window openings were significantly enlarged to allow for greater solar gain into the units, and shaded in the summer with horizontal sunshades.
An additional 8” of under slab insulation under and around the rebuilt portion of the basement helps maintain an even temperature, along with 10” insulation on the roof. The building was designed to eliminate all possible thermal bridging and achieve exceptional airtightness.
As a result, the mechanical system was significantly downsized to two 3,800 CFM HRVs with enough heating and cooling capacity to be the HVAC source for the apartment units. The total heating load of the building is modelled at a very low 20 kWh /m2 per year, or roughly $40/year for each apartment.
Parkdale Landing not only provides high quality housing, it represents much more. The owners of the redevelopment note that: “For us, the underlying values are hope, dignity, and love. When we extend that to our tenants, they thrive. When we extend that to our neighborhood, it thrives. When we can extend that to our environment, we know we are having a positive impact on every community we’re a part of and we’re really proud of that.”
