Fairmont Royal York Decarbonisation Project
Toronto, Ontario
BEST PROJECT
Sent by: PCL Constructors Canada Inc.
Owner: KingSett Capital
Main design company: Architects Hariri Pontarini
Construction Manager: PCL Constructors Canada Inc.
Structural Engineer: Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd.
Consultant specializing in energy: Continual Energy Inc.
MEP Engineer: The Mitchell Association
MEP contractor: Plan Group
It took some serious coordination and some quick thinking to turn a 95-year-old Toronto landmark hotel into a showcase for sustainability while fully occupied, but the team at the Fairmont Royal York made it happen.
Five years of initial planning followed by carefully orchestrated staging allowed the project team to install modern, efficient heat pumps and replace the 28-story hotel’s aging diesel-fueled steam systems without major interruptions for guests. Pre-planning and 3D modeling allowed pipe fitters to upgrade and replace old components while minimizing downtime.
Photo courtesy of PCL Construction
Working in such an old structure brought some unexpected challenges. The data as constructed missed some crucial HVAC details, and a warm winter shortened the time the team could take the hotel’s cooling systems offline. But extensive use of programming software and laser scanning allows the team to track progress and adjust as needed.
A bit of ingenuity was still required at the time, as when removing a piece of ducting revealed it to be a supply air duct for the hotel’s ballroom.
Photo courtesy of PCL Construction
The team members didn’t have time to fabricate a new piece of ductwork before a wedding was scheduled within 48 hours, so they quickly came up with a solution: deploy a reducer and three smaller spiral ducts to restore airflow to the hotel’s ballroom in just hours. to spare
With the upgrades made, the hotel expects an 80% annual drop in carbon emissions and more than 35% savings in utility costs in just the first year. The project has been certified by the Canada Green Building Council as meeting their Zero Carbon Building Performance Standard.
“As evidenced in this project, if a 95-year-old heritage asset can be decarbonized to achieve energy efficiency goals that reduce annual carbon emissions by 80%, the possibilities are endless,” said Marc Pascoli, vice president PCL Canada Constructors senior in a statement.
