Cobalt projects win BC Hydro awards

Two projects by Cobalt Engineering of Vancouver have won 2008 BC Hydro Power Smart Excellence Awards. Cobalt Engineering was the mechanical and electrical engineer on both projects.
One award went to the Discovery Parks Trust Building 12 under construction in Burnaby, B.C. The building won in the category of the Innovation in Sustainable Building Design, having technologies such as variable flow technology (VFT) that offers simultaneous heating and cooling and total heat recovery. The building will include an interactive kiosk to demonstrate the building’s features to tenants and visitors. It is being designed to meet LEED Gold as a minimum under the Core and Shell program.
The second award-winner is the Kwantlen Polytechnic College, Buildings A, C and D in Surrey, B.C. Now complete, the complex won in the Excellence in Energy Management category. Building A, for example, was expanded by an additional 56,170 square feet, yet still uses the same energy as the original building. Systems incorporate include natural wind driven ventilation, radiant slab heating and cooling with earth energy, and solar hot water systems. The complex’s energy consumption is 72% below Canada’s Model National Energy Code.