Ventilation system for largest Passive House project on Vancouver Island
As the dust was starting to settle after the pandemic, Lewis Sheet Metal (LSM) was teaming up with Strathcona Mechanical to install a comprehensive HVAC system in the much-anticipated student housing and dining project at the University of Victoria. With two buildings and over 32,000 m2 of gross floor area, this was the largest Building Information Modelling and Passive House certified project that LSM has completed to date. For the university, it marked the largest capital initiative since its establishment in 1963.
With 12 large stainless steel range hoods plus a dining area in building one, this was also the largest commercial kitchen system completed by LSM. To accommodate this high-traffic communal area while meeting Passive House and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) V4 Gold standards, we installed a kitchen exhaust ecology unit and hydronic make-up air system.
Working in conjunction, the exhaust unit controls odour while removing smoke and grease particles from the air being drawn through range hoods. It then captures the heat that would normally be lost and returns it to the fresh air that’s entering the building through a hydronic make-up air unit. Highly effective and energy efficient, this is often considered the perfect commercial kitchen solution.
Shown clockwise: (1) Lewis Sheet Metal team members use a robotic total station, or laser telemetry tool, to locate virtual mechanical systems in buildings one and two to then create 3D models of the precast anchors in the suspended slab (2) hangers are installed at points identified by total station (3) ductwork installed (4) LSM team atop UVic building two upon completion
JOINT VENTURE, JOINT EFFORT
This portion of the EllisDon Kinetic joint venture project was the product of a culmination of efforts between the LSM team and many industry partners, including our subsidiary company Lewis Construction Survey, Strathcona Mechanical, Houle Electric, Aarc-West and E.H. Price, as our key supplier. For more information about the project and standards met, you can visit the UVic website.
Lewis Sheet Metal achieved substantial completion of the ventilation systems in the UVic student housing and dining buildings in August of 2023.
