Introba BC Region K-12 Education Brochure

Introducing Introba

The World’s Leading Deep Green Engineering and Consulting Firm

The Introba Story

Introba was created from a desire to enhance how people, places, and communities connect. In 2022, to meet the increasing universal demand for sustainable, resilient engineering, two leaders in their respective industries became one. Integral Group, a worldwide network of deep green engineers and consultants, and Ross & Baruzzini, a technology, consulting, and

engineering firm, combined to deliver the world-class engineering and innovation needed to transform the built environment. With unmatched technical depth on a global scale, Introba creates living systems that solve the most complex building and infrastructure challenges. Our systems elevate communities, protect the health of our planet, and evolve to meet the demands of the future.

Designing Living Systems, Transforming Built Environments

Introba considers the built environment holistically, not just in its component parts. Critical changes to global infrastructure, material supply chains, and government and corporate policies all play a role in Introba’s transformative design and consulting work. They recognize that business-as-usual engineering will not future-proof against the impact on our planet’s resources or ensure human safety and comfort. Introba has a deep culture of creative engineering aligned with

Solutions Overview

• Existing Building Condition Assessment

• Climate & Sustainability

• Energy Audits

• IDRIVE - Instant Feedback Energy Modeling

• Energy Retrofits

• LEED Consulting & Execution

environmental and technological challenges facing their clients, projects, and society. Through their network of strategically integrated practice areas, Introba seeks to remedy inefficiencies, capitalize on shared opportunities, and find practical solutions to create adaptable, efficient, flexible, equitable, cost-effective, and resilient environments today and for future generations.

• Certification & Assurance

• Design Analytics

• Operating Performance

• Planning & Strategy

• Mechanical Engineering

• Electrical Engineering

• Plumbing Engineering

• Fire Protection Engineering

• Technology Systems

• Lighting & Daylighting

• Commissioning & Performance

• Covid-19 Specialty Services

• District Energy Systems

• Life Cycle Assessments

• Integrated Controls

ST. CONRAD CATHOLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

PHOTO CREDIT: TOM ARBAN

OAKLAND UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT DOWNTOWN EDUCATIONAL COMPLEX

PHOTO CREDIT: SVA ARCHITECTS

BISHOP O’DOWD HIGH SCHOOL CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

PHTO CREDIT: DAVID WAKELY

UC LOS ANGELES MO OSTIN BASKETBALL CENTER

PHOTO CREDIT: ERIC STAUDENMAIER

HAYWARD HIGH SCHOOL

PHOTO CREDIT: CSDA DESIGN

Our Advice and Insight

Introba is one of the leading firms to design energy efficient public and private educational facilities.

Colleges, universities, and primary education institutions require resilient and adaptable systems that provide long-term value. Whether designing a new campus geo-exchange system or performing an energy audit of an outdated classroom building, we improve the comfort and health of occupants within the built environment while sustaining and enhancing our natural environment. Introba’s sustainable designs have proven to significantly reduce our operating and maintenance costs for our educational clients. As your responsible partner, we are dedicated to finding the most innovative and appropriate solutions that improve the quality of life and provide exceptional value to faculty, staff, and students.

Our designs embody whole system thinking, where the interconnectedness of all elements is the guiding principal. Saving energy and improving indoor air quality are important design goals, and when they are achieved, buildings also become more attractive, comfortable, and conducive to social interaction, increased productivity, collaboration, and innovation. Furthermore, the building can serve as a teaching tool, where sustainable elements are demonstrated and exposed so that the occupants or children in this case, can experience the design and environmental implications firsthand.

The making of a green school building goes far beyond the benefit of saving money for the school, and it’s the non-energy benefits that often times outweigh the energy benefits. By demonstrating to future generations that green buildings that use half the energy or are fully energy self-sufficient are attainable, we can inspire them to implement sustainability into their thinking and in their lives.

We provide a full range of building and district systems engineering, analysis and sustainability consulting services, delivered by staff widely regarded as innovative leaders in their fields. Our work spans the globe, delivered from offices in Canada, Australia, Europe and the United States. Our projects are located in over 30 countries - more than 100 are net zero energy buildings. We are proud to be founding signatories of the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment.

CLIMATE

Accelerating critical change in sustainable building practices.

We combine our deep knowledge of sustainable building engineering systems with design expertise to develop green solutions for educational facilities and the communities that surround them.

• Net Zero Energy + Net Zero Carbon Design

• All Elecric + Decarbonization

• PassiveHaus

• Carbon Assessment / Lifecycle Cost Assessment

• Energy Retrofits

HACKBRIDGE NEW PRIMARY SCHOOL

PHOTO CREDIT: @JACK HOBHOUSE, ARCHITYPE

RESILIENCE

Providing access to fresh air and reliable power, light and water.

Our approach to building design ensures that many sites are capable of functioning during disasters, to continue to serve students, teachers, critical functions and the community without disruption.

• Energy Storage

• Passive Design

• Water Systems

HEALTH

Generating awareness of how the built environment affects our well-being.

COVID-19 has reminded everyone of the connection between our indoor environment and our health.

Adapting to new and evolving guidelines for health and wellness in schools requires an integrated assessment of space planning, building operations and mechanical systems.

• Outdoor Learning Spaces

• HVAC Audit

• Flexible Spaces

• Living Building Materials

• Natural Ventilation

INNOVATION

Finding the best design solutions for changing environments.

We design systems that are constantly evolving, and we work hard to anticipate the needs of students and teachers by preparing for the future of the built environment.

• Distance Learning

• Enhanced Security Systems

• Integrated Design

WOODSIDE PRIORY SCHOOL STREAM BUILDING PHOTO CREDIT: PETER ALFRED HESS

HANDSWORTH SECONDARY SCHOOL PHOTO CREDIT: ED WHITE PHOTOGRAPHICS

SAMUEL

Experience

École Salish Secondary School

Surrey, BC

Completed in 2018, the new state-of-the art school supports 1,500 students from grades 8 to 12. Introba provided mechanical consulting services to this school, which is in Clayton area of the Surrey School District. École Salish Secondary School had a construction value of approximately $58 million. The building mechanical design, for this built to LEED gold standard school, features Air to Water Source Heat pumps , Energy Recovery Systems, Variable Air flow Systems, Measurement and Verification etc.

Eric Hamber Secondary School

Vancouver, BC

Eric Hamber Secondary School, located in the South Cambie neighbourhood of Vancouver, will be receiving the largest seismic upgrade project to date in the city’s history. As part of the BC Government’s Provincial Seismic Mitigation Program, the BC Government is spending $80 million to replace the school entirely, originally built in 1962. The replacement will involve approximately 15,000 m2 of a state-ofthe-art learning environment for 1,700 students from grades 8 – 12. In addition, a 1,500 m2 childcare facility for 69 children ages zero to four is being proposed. Funded by the City of Vancouver, the facility size will exceed that of the approved size for schools. A new gymnasium will be constructed as well. The new school will occupy the site of the existing school’s running track and playfield at the northwest side of the property. The existing school will remain operational during construction and will then function as a swing space for other seismic school projects, after which it will be demolished. The replacement will be built to LEED Gold standards, which often includes low-toxic building materials, natural light, exceptional air ventilation, energy conversation, habitat protection and reduced construction waste. Completion is anticipated for June 2023. Introba will provide mechanical, electrical and sustainability consulting services for this project.

PHOTO CREDIT: KMBR ARCHITECTS PLANNERS

PHOTO CREDIT: COLBORNE ARCHITECTURAL GROUP

École Bilingue Elementary

Vancouver, BC

Introba provided mechanical engineering consulting services to this project, which involves two distinct jobs. The existing L’Ecole Bilingue Elementary school located at Alder Street and 14th Avenue in Vancouver, BC required full replacement with a project construction budget of $12.5million with full completion achieved in 2017. The new L’Ecole Bilingue is to be designed and constructed in accordance with the Vancouver School Board technical standards and achieved LEED Gold certification. A new 4,093 sq. m school was constructed on approximately the same site to serve 425 students in grades 1-7 and 60 full-day kindergarten students. Since the new school is to be constructed on a site occupied by the original school building, a separate project was involved to create a swing-space facility at South Hill consisting of 27 portables with a relocation and upgrade/installation budget of $3million. The South Hill space was constructed to facilitate as a swing space for future school replacements with an expected 15 year of use.

St. Augustine Replacement School

Vancouver, BC

Introba provided mechanical consulting services for the design of a new threestorey, 34,639 ft2 replacement school. The new replacement school is the first phase of development; a future second phase will include the replacement of the gymnasium structure. The mechanical system consists of high efficiency boilers serving in-slab radiant heating with demand control displacement ventilation. A high level of detailed coordination was conducted with the team to integrate mechanical elements such as displacement ventilation using architectural millwork and walls, and passive cooling using high-level operable windows and skylights.

PHOTO CREDIT: ACTON OSTRY ARCHITECTS

PHOTO CREDIT: COLBORNE ARCHITECTURAL GROUP

Experience

Argyle Secondary School

Vancouver, BC

Introba provided mechanical consulting services to this school, which is located on Frederick Road in the north central area of the District of North Vancouver. Argyle Secondary School provides education space for secondary students in one of the six catchment areas in North Vancouver. The project houses 1,200 to 1,500 students and had a construction value of approximately $58 million. The building mechanical design features Water Source Heat pumps with Dry Fluid Coolers, Energy Recovery Ventilators, High Mass radiant heaters, displacement ventilation.

Garibaldi Secondary School Addition

Maple Ridge, BC

Introba provided electrical and plumbing, HVAC and fire protection design for the two-story addition to the existing school building and retrofitted the existing mechanical systems to suit the envelope remediation, seismic upgrade and interior renovation within the existing school. A geothermal heating system was provided to service the new addition. The building utilized radiant heating and displacement ventilation. Introba is currently expanding the geothermal system to provide heating and chilled water to the existing school.

PHOTO CREDIT: © ED WHITE PHOTOGRAPHICS 2022

Hesquiaht School

Refuge Cove, BC

Designed for the Hesquiaht First Nation community, this new school is located on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Designated as a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, the project site in Refuge Cove played a significant role in design considerations. The federal government also supports the community and ‘promotes solutions to reconcile the conservation of bio-diversity with sustainable use’. Introba was retained as the mechanical consultant for this project. The local climate has relatively small temperature variations with strong, consistent southeasterly winds year round. Factoring in these conditions, the architectural form of the building was designed to mimic an air foil. It was oriented to effectively harness the prevailing winds, resulting in a natural, wind-driven displacement ventilation system without supplementary mechanical fans. Low-intensity radiant heating slabs were a key design feature to optimize thermal mass. Heat pumps provide energy drawn from a retention pond via a geo-exchange system. Additional sustainable strategies include the use of short structural pieces and lumber milled on-site to minimize transportation impacts.

Gibsons Elementary School

Gibsons, BC

Introba provided mechanical and energy modeling services for this designbuild LEED Gold target school that replaced the former school on the site. The school includes a Strong Start, two full day kindergarten classes and 12 regular classrooms for 300 elementary students in grades 1 to 7. It also has a neighbourhood learning centre which includes a childcare facility with early childhood development, health and wellness screening office, community kitchen and intergenerational multipurpose room.

Experience

Glen Elementary School

Coquitlam, BC

Shaping the minds of the younger generation, Glen Elementary School in Coquitlam, BC, offers English and French Immersion programs. Welcoming diversity and partnering with the community, the school is committed to creating a healthy learning environment for youth. Introba was retained to provide mechanical and electrical consulting services for this $11M project. The new school building will span 43,000 ft2 consisting of 15 classrooms for general instruction, two kindergarten classrooms, library and media support, a gymnasium and a multi-purpose area, administrative spaces and ancillary spaces.

The objective was to provide the new school building with a simple, durable, economical, and energy efficient mechanical system. The mechanical systems include radiant floor heating with mixed mode ventilation, designed for the highest possible sustainable performance. Mixed mode (partially natural and partially mechanical) heat recovery ventilation involves trickle vents providing fresh air into the individual classroom which is mechanically exhausted by water to air heat pumps. The energy from the exhausted air will go back into the radiant floor heating system. This option is simple to operate, has low maintenance requirements, and effective space heating for superior comfort.

Nak’al Bun Elementary School

Fort St. James, BC

The former elementary school had reached capacity for the Nak’azdli First Nations community and was in need of expansion. The project consisted of a re-use & integration of an existing gymnasium with 20,000 ft2 of new school expansion. Introba provided mechanical consulting engineering services for the new school that provides teaching space for a K-7 school program, seven staff members and 149 students. In addition, a community kitchen and upgrades to the existing gymnasium will encourage health, fitness and an overall enhanced learning environment. To meet the community’s long term needs, concentrated sustainable design features were implemented. Following an integrated design approach, the design team recommended the optimal solution that fits within the constraints of the location and budget. The highly innovative building design included optimized passive design in combination with wind-driven natural ventilation via multidirectional “wind tower” passive ventilation air intake. It also features displacement ventilation air delivery. Heating is provided by highly energy efficient geoexchange heat source supported by local wind and soil conditions.

PHOTO CREDIT: ERIC

Additional K-12 Project Sampling

• Sir James Douglas Elementary School (Vancouver, BC)

• University Hill Secondary School, Renovation and Addition (Vancouver, BC)

• General Wolfe Elementary (Vancouver, BC)

• Ecole De Rose Elementary (Vancouver, BC)

• Sir Sanford Fleming Elementary School Replacement (Vancouver, BC)

• Lord Tennyson Elementary (Vancouver, BC)

• St. Augustine Replacement School (Vancouver, BC)

• Notre Dame Secondary School (Vancouver, BC)

• L’Ecole Bilingue Replacement School/South Hill Swing Space Projects (Vancouver, BC)

• St. George’s School (Vancouver, BC)

• Samuel Brighouse Elementary School (Richmond, BC)

• Cook Elementary (Richmond, BC)

• L’Ecole Salish Secondary School (Surrey, BC)

• Minnekhada Middle School (Coquitlam, BC)

• Millard Secondary School (Coquitlam, BC)

• Burke Mountain Secondary School (Coquitam, BC)

• St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School (North Vancouver, BC)

• Handsworth Secondary School (North Vancouver, BC)

• Argyle Secondary School (North Vancouver, BC)

• Windsor Secondary School (North Vancouver, BC)

• Langley Secondary School (Langley, BC)

• Thomas Haney Secondary School (Maple Ridge, BC)

• Ecole Victor Brodeur (Esquimalt, BC)

K-12 Leadership

Our network of sector leads provide innovated design that crosses borders.

Introba’s leadership shares a commitment to innovation, ecological design, engineering excellence and nurturing the next generation of professionals in our field.

Our team are experienced in working in a highly collaborative environment developing integrated design solutions. Introba’s design experience ranges from portable classrooms to comprehensive school modernizations and new campuses, public and private.

Introba is one of the leading firms in the country in the design of energy efficient and sustainable MEP systems for school buildings. We combine our deep knowledge of sustainable MEP systems and energy efficiency with school design expertise to develop cutting edge green school solutions. We have provided services on over 400 elementary and secondary school projects.

Stephanie Hammar Education Sector Lead Principal, Kelowna

Stephanie brings over 18 years of experience working in the building services industry specializing in the integration of mechanical systems design through an interdisciplinary process. She has worked on a variety of building types including schools, museums, office towers, residential and commercial. She is specialized in both the institutional and aviation sector and has been working closely with YVR over many years. She utilizes her depth of knowledge within the institutional sector to engage stakeholders to collectively find solutions to meet departmental needs.

Mladen Markovic Principal, Vancouver

Mladen brings over 20 years of experience to Introba. Formerly the President and Chief Mechanical Engineer of J.M. Bean & Co. Ltd., he brings an innovative approach to mechanical system designs in educational, recreational, institutional, industrial, commercial, and residential sectors. Education projects include Heritage Woods Secondary School in Port Moody, which was the first ever LEED (Silver) Certified new-construction public education facility in BC—an innovative project began in 2001, long before the Province’s mandate for LEED Certification for new public buildings came into effect.

Andy Chong Vice President, Institutional –Victoria Office Leader

Andy joined Introba in 2007 and in 2014, was responsible for the startup of Introba’s Victoria Design Studio. He is now the principal overseeing the mechanical team for projects on Vancouver Island. With particular expertise in hydronic, air- and groundsource heat pumps, and district energy systems, Andy also brings a proficient background in energy modeling to his project teams.

He understands the unique complexities of institutional, commercial, and industrial clients while demonstrating a passion for a big picture approach to sustainable mechanical design.

Ivan Lee Principal, Vancouver

Ivan brings over 30 years of industry experience with considerable knowledge in the design of lighting, power systems, life safety, and communications systems for a variety of building types including schools, healthcare, offices and laboratories. Ivan is also a member of the EGBC Consulting Practice Committee.

Ivan’s approach to design is futurefocused and backward compatible, designing electrical systems that focus on the total life cycle cost rather than initial or maintenance costs alone and looking to balance requirements of budget, time and quality.

The Introba Brand

At Introba, we work to inspire change and empower changemakers.

MISSION:

To be the top quality Deep Green engineering and consulting firm with global reach.

VISION:

A global alliance transforming our world by designing solutions that enhance how people, places and communities connect.

Our Brand Pillars

APPROACHABLE PEOPLE

We are a diverse and highly qualified team who focus on understanding our clients’ unique objectives and context while collaborating with them to provide seamless project delivery and a tailored approach to meeting their specific needs.

PROVEN CAPABILITIES

We apply multidisciplinary capabilities, technical excellence, and a lifecycle approach to deliver creative, resilient, and effective solutions for our clients’ toughest challenges.

GLOBAL EXPERIENCE

From innovative multi-modal designs and complex transportation projects to iconic bridges and buildings, our global portfolio spans the range of sectors in advanced mobility infrastructure, smart buildings, and sustainable water solutions.

Designing Living Systems. Transforming Built Environments.