Experience Kitsilano Secondary School Replacement

Vancouver, BC

Introba provided mechanical and electrical services to this 201,000 ft2, $55 million design-bid-build replacement secondary school, which was built in phases to maintain operations throughout the entire development process. This project involved partial demolition of the existing facility and interim facility to ensure ongoing operation of the facility during construction. The project also included a new gymnasium and auditorium design. The design included all the intricate interim connections, future connections and old connections to ensure all electrical systems, including power, communication, public address, fire alarm, etc., are maintained throughout the connections. Design utilized daylighting and is being built to LEED Gold. The lighting design employed a balance of natural and artificial lighting with integrated lighting control system to improve energy efficiency. Emergency generators were installed to provide back up power to life safety and non-life safety leeds. PA network and security extensive communication infrastructure was implemented to accommodate new technology in the education system.

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.

Vancouver, BC

James Douglas Elementary School was designed to replace the old heritage school located at 7550 Victoria Drive. Vancouver School Board required highly sustainable design standards while adhering to a tight budget with public funds. The new development represents an impressive educational building that showcases cutting-edge design elements for students, teachers and parents.

Introba was selected to provide mechanical and sustainability consulting services for this state-of-the-art project. The Introba team displayed innovation through the design of a complete rainwater harvesting system and non-potable water system, as well as a geo-exchange heat pump plant. Low temperature radiant floor heating and demand ventilation console units were designed based on European Demand Ventilation Units. One of the biggest challenges of this project was designing the new building on the same site as the old one, with the school staying in full operation. Maintaining safe and complete access to the facility was critical during the entire construction period. Low energy consumption systems with high comfort levels were essential for this project, and James Douglas will be one of the lowest energy intensity elementary schools operated by the Vancouver School Board to date.

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.