Located in downtown Yellowknife, the ten-storey, 5,575 square metre Bellanca Building has Government of Canada offices and ground floor commercial space. Williams Engineering Canada (WEC) was hired in the fall of 2006 to assess the condition of the building envelope.
The owner was concerned about the annual fuel consumption compared to other buildings of similar size and usage, reports of drafty workspaces, ice build-up on the cladding exterior and water penetration during rainfall. We provided a visual investigation and a thermal scan, which revealed that the building was suffering from deficiencies in the air seal, insulation and moisture sealant, in addition to a missing weather barrier on the upper floors. Significant heat and air loss and water infiltration were causing the problems noted by the tenants and owners.
Once the investigation was complete, our engineers began preparing designs to completely overhaul the building envelope without disturbing the interior. The existing cladding and insulation were removed, and new spray-in foam insulation was added, along with new sheathing, rigid insulation, a drainage plan and new cladding. The result was an insulation factor increase from R-7 to R-30 and 40% less annual heating fuel consumption.
This project was awarded the 2008 Northwest Territories and Nunavut Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists (NAPEGG) Award of Environmental Excellence for Building Science engineering services. This award was presented in recognition of efforts to incorporate innovative design concepts to improve the energy efficiency of the Bellanca Building.
The Bellanca Building project also won the 2007 Arctic Energy Alliance Award in the category of Commercial Energy Efficiency.
