The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the largest public transit agency in Canada and third largest in North America, serving a daily ridership of over 1.7 million. With its ongoing commitment to improving transit service for a growing ridership demand, it determined that a new bus maintenance facility was needed.
Bus facility excels in energy efficiency and engaging design
The new McNicoll Bus Garage, Toronto, increases capacity at its bus maintenance facilities as well as lead to operational efficiencies. This will in turn help improve customer experience. This 312,100-square-foot facility maintains and stores 250 vehicles, and is equipped to support longer, articulated buses.
The new facility has been designed to exceed the Toronto Green Standard, which promotes sustainable site and building design by requiring 5% onsite energy generation. The garage features rooftop solar panels, a green roof and a system to recycle bus wash water.
TTC identified two main goals for the facility: an engaging design that was sensitive to the community, and a facility demonstrating energy efficiency. Both these goals were achieved through the use of metal cladding on the majority of the building façade.
SOLARWALL COLLECTOR SYSTEM
The bus facility’s exterior design was driven largely by the SolarWall collector system from Conserval Engineering Inc., Toronto, on the south and west exterior walls. Black metal cladding with the same profile was used on the east side to create a consistent exterior design.
Strasman Architects designed the facility to achieve TTC’s requirements using a composition of precast concrete panels, curtainwall glazing, and metal. “Transpired SolarWall and siding creating a dynamic and articulated exterior building composition that achieves the requirement for 5% renewable energy,” says Shawn Strasman, principal, Strasman Architects, Toronto. “The SolarWall commands a striking visual presence on the prominent public street façades. Its black color, inherently bold, is complemented with a striking balance of strip windows with a red metal accent band, rising to form a large canopy at the south to create a continuous natural street edge that aligns with the adjacent senior’s residence across the street.” “The SolarWall system offered the design team a way to achieve significant energy conservation and generation at the facility that was low maintenance and integrated with the building envelope,”
says Elizabeth Strasman, principal, Strasman Architects. “Solar air heating systems are the only renewable energy system comprised solely of metal, which allowed it to be styled, shaped and designed according to the architectural language of the project. Its ability to achieve heat ventilation air in industrial buildings and reduce carbon emissions was an additional benefit in increasing the sustainability of the facility.”
The SolarWall collector used a 24-gauge metal corrugated absorber. A silicone modified polyester (SMP) coating was used to further the architectural design of the building. In this application, the Solar- Wall system is expected to displace approximately 4,300 tons of carbon over the system’s 40-year life span. For the TTC, the fact that it resembled a traditional metal cladding system also made the company want to apply this specific renewable energy technology.
2020 Metal Architecture Design Award judge Rick Harlan Schneider, AIA, APA, LEED, principal at ISTUDIO Architects, Washington D.C., commented that while the wall looks utterly mundane and industrial, “it’s actually doing a lot work.” “It’s about heating that space up and then causing the super-heated space to move air,” he adds. “It’s a fascinating use of a system and product that most folks should know more about.” Awards judge Stephen Van Dyck, AIA, LEED AP, partner at LMN Architects, Seattle, agrees that more people need to learn more about this technology. “The product is interesting and the application is super interesting,” he adds.