Project Profile

Markham Stouffville Hospital Expansion

Project
Markham Stouffville Hospital is located in a residential area of Markham in York Region. The annexed Markham Stouffville Hospital Expansion building was constructed adjacent to the existing building in order to provide sufficient community care for the almost 400,000 residents of Markham, Stouffville and Uxbridge.

Client
Mulvey & Banani International Inc. (MBII) and mechanical consulting engineering partner The Mitchell Partnership (TMP) were responsible for ensuring an energy-efficient and sustainable building design. Green Reason was engaged by MBII’s sustainability division to take on the LEED consulting portion of the project.

Green Reason’s Role
Green Reason was engaged as LEED consultant during the later phases of construction. To overcome the challenge of joining a project in the later stages, Green Reason immediately embarked on a comprehensive review of the design and all LEED documentation. With many of the design phase LEED credits largely undocumented as well as ongoing construction credits, Green Reason’s role was to work with the team to ensure all credit requirements were met, required documentation was completed, and the project’s target of LEED Silver certification was achieved.

What Was Done
The new building houses the emergency department, ICU, operating rooms, inpatient rooms, maternity area, and outpatient clinic. Markham Stouffville Hospital promotes environmental sustainability as well as a culture of wellness. A LEED Silver certified building contributes to improving the health and well-being of patients and staff as well as support corporate green leadership.

The following was accomplished:

  • Secure bike storage areas, and shower and change facilities for staff cyclists are included in the building.
  • Use of nearby public transit routes is encouraged, carpooling is being promoted and preferred parking spaces have been designated for carpool participants.
  • The white roof membrane and green roof areas reflect heat rather than absorbing it, which will help reduce urban island heat effect.
  • Exterior lighting is designed to minimize light pollution onto neighbouring properties and reduce the impact on the night sky.
  • Minimizing light pollution helps maintain an undisturbed habitat for nocturnal animals and migrating birds.
  • To decrease the use of virgin resources materials with recycled content were selected: approximately 16% of the total project material budget used materials with recycled content.
  • Regional materials were also selected for the project. Approximately 31% of the total project material budget purchased materials that were manufactured and harvested within 800 km of the project or within 2,400km if shipped was by rail or water.
  • At the end of the construction phase, over 90% of construction waste was diverted from the landfill due to the recycling of project waste materials including concrete, metal, wood and drywall.
  • To achieve a water use reduction of 40%, low-flow fixtures were installed.
  • There is no permanent irrigation system; instead, drought-resistant grass was selected for landscaping on the property.
  • An energy model predicts 39% less energy due to the implementation of energy-efficient technologies such as automatic lighting controls, and efficient heating and cooling equipment.
  • The building envelope was designed to increase thermal resistance, resulting in R-values of R-22 for the exterior walls and R-30 for the roof.
  • After construction and before occupancy, MERV 13 filters were installed on all outdoor air HVAC units. Permanent entryway systems also help reduce contaminants in the indoor environment.
  • All adhesives and sealants used on the project were low-VOC.
  • Carpet systems are certified Green Label Plus products under the Carpet & Rug Institute’s Green Label testing for low-emitting materials.
  • All work station furniture and related furniture such as filing and seating were purchased as GreenGuard certified products.
  • Achieved exemplary performance of water efficiency and regional materials through their prioritization of sustainable design and construction materials purchasing.
  • The project also implemented a Green Housekeeping program. This is a challenging but important program in a hospital environment to balance the protection of staff and patients from airborne and surface pathogens with preserving high indoor air quality and sustainable purchasing.

Results Speak for Themselves
Markham Stouffville Hospital was awarded LEED Canada Silver certification for New Construction by the CaGBC.

The Professional Engineers of Ontario have chosen the Markham Stouffville Hospital expansion as its redevelopment project of the year for 2014. The project’s design excellence and focus on delivering a health and wellness environment were key to its success.

What They Are Saying
“This is the type of hospital the community needs,” Janet Beed, CEO, MSH