Williams Engineering Canada Inc. (WEC) worked with Bosa Properties Inc. / BlueSky Properties and Chris Dikeakos Architects on this mixed use commercial – residential rental development located in Victoria, British Columbia. BlueSky Victoria consists of a six storey, and a four storey wood framed with concrete podium of residential rental housing with commercial retail units on the ground floor and 2 levels of underground parkade. Five percent of the residential rental units have been designated as affordable housing. There is a community meeting room available for the community and event use for the tenants. The buildings boast roof top garden areas for those with green thumbs and a dog wash station for the pet friendly.
WEC supplied mechanical design services for this project which included heating, ventilation, plumbing and fire protection. The residential suites are heated by electric baseboard and the ventilation is provided by in-suite energy recovery ventilators with distributed supply air to each room. The commercial space is heated and air conditioned by distributed water source heat pumps connected to a common hydronic loop, boilers, and fluid cooler. Domestic hot water heat is generated from the waste heat of the commercial space as a form of heat recovery. Exterior building louvers are provided as a base building installation for ventilation requirements in the commercial areas. Corridor pressurization is provided on each floor by a roof top air handling unit utilizing a gas fire indirect heat exchanger to provide tempered air. Domestic hot water to all residential units is provided by a central boiler & storage tank system. Domestic hot water recirculation systems are provided to maintain water temperatures. Plumbing is designed for all residential fixtures, roof and site drainage requirements. Plumbing rough-in services are designed for the commercial spaces for the future connection by tenants. A performance specification sprinkler system & fire pump is designed to meet NFPA-13 requirements.
BlueSky Victoria was designed and built targeting to achieve LEED Silver Certification. WEC believes in customizing new and existing buildings to meet sustainable standards and is excited that the mixed use rental building will fill a growing demand for energy efficient housing in Victoria, BC.
