Saving Energy: A Window of Opportunity

A recent upgrade at the David Suzuki Foundation (DSF) building in Vancouver, British Columbia included a 3M™ Window Film solution to achieve the organization’s objectives of reducing energy consumption, reducing its ecological footprint and improving comfort.

While windows allow natural daylight inside office buildings and homes, they also allow excess heat in during the summer and heat loss during the winter. The results are higher energy costs and discomfort to occupants due to hot and cold spots within the building.

3M Window Film Saves Energy and Landfill at a Victoria, BC Brownfield

The Province of British Columbia needed a state of the art building to facilitate the growth of Victoria’s thriving technology sector (VITP). The former Glendale Lodge Facility was a prime location, but had been largely vacant in years and in need of a major renovation.

There were obvious economic and environmental benefits for developing the former Glendale Lodge facility. The use of existing windows saved on virgin material costs as well as diverted a large percentage of materials from landfills.

PROBLEM
A 13-story office complex in Vancouver, British Columbia, features floor-to-ceiling windows on its entire southern face. And while those windows are an aesthetic asset, until recently, they were a liability to the comfort of the occupants in the building once the sun rose over the horizon.


According to the building's property manager, the office complex was originally constructed with windows that offered only minimal solar protection. So once the sun's rays reached the windows in the morning, the temperature would climb quickly.

PROBLEM
No business wants to suffer a break-in and interrupt their day-to-day operations but for a pharmacy, the implications of a “smash and grab” can have far reaching consequences to the public…since prescription drugs usually end up on the streets.  This was the dilemma for the Health Centre Pharmacy of the Oshawa Clinics. This past summer, their front window was smashed and thieves made off with prescription drugs.

“We knew we had to move quickly to protect the contents of the building so this wouldn’t happen again,” explains Keith White, Facility Manager, Oshawa Clinics.  An alarm system with security cameras was installed but once again, thieves were able to smash through the front window.  Glass shards were sprayed into the product and everywhere, disrupting their business.  It became clear that even with the alarm, the intruders could still grab prescription drugs.  Therefore, another solution was needed.

PROBLEM
The National Gallery is a visual arts museum of international stature. It houses Canada’s collection of historic and contemporary art within a creative building consisting of many windows and skylights to cast natural daylight upon the nation’s treasures.

With the United States Embassy less than 300 meters away, the Gallery is placed in a high security risk area. Propelled by the forces of a terrorist bomb, flying glass fragments were just one of the wicked elements that attributed to 220 deaths and approximately 4,000 injuries when terrorist bombs exploded at U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania two years ago.

Both RCMP and Ottawa-Carleton Regional Police recommended the implementation of a “comprehensive window protection system” for exposed areas of glass. In addition to the technical security demands there were also concerns about maintaining the aesthetic impact of the Gallery.