High Performing Buildings - Winter 2008 - (Page 48)

CASE STUDY MOUNTAIN EQUIPMENT CO–OP ® (MEC) Montreal’s Retail Example B Y F R É D É R I C G E N E S T, E N G . , M E M B E R A S H R A E , A N D R O L A N D C H A R N E U X , E N G . , F E L L O W A S H R A E ountain Equipment Co-op® (MEC) sells outdoor gear and clothing to its 2.5 million members who are participants in wilderness-oriented recreation, such as hiking and mountaineering. The Canadian retail cooperative builds stores that represent its membership’s concern for the environment. It also tries to improve each store over its predecessor by using sustainable design and materials. 48 HIGH PERFORMING BUILDINGS Winter 2008 An example is the cooperative’s store in Montreal that opened in May 2003. This 45,000 ft² building features a large, two-story, open-space retail area. It includes storage areas (8,500 ft²), ofﬁces spaces (2,800 ft²), and space rented to a small coffee shop (1,300 ft²). The design incorporates features matching U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED® for New Construction (NC) 2.0 Gold rating (though it is not actually certiﬁed) while obtaining Canada’s C-2000 certiﬁcation (a ﬁrst in the province of Quebec). According to Canada’s Commercial Building Incentive Program (CBIP), the building was the second most efﬁcient in all of Canada at the time of construction. The building also received the 2005 ASHRAE Award of Engineering Excellence, which has been awarded only three times in the last 27 years.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of High Performing Buildings - Winter 2008

High Performance Buildings - Winter 2008
Passing On the Gift: Heifer International Headquarters
Head of the Class: University of Florida’s Rinker Hall
How Far Can You Go? Pearl River Tower
The Proof Is Performance: How Does 4 Times Square Measure Up?
Lighting the Way: Two Guilford County Schools
Montreal’s Retail Example: Mountain Equipment Co-op® (MEC)

High Performing Buildings - Winter 2008