"environment for the disabled and elderly"

Buildings have a profound impact on our natural environment, economy, health and productivity. In North America, the built environment accounts for approximately one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions, energy, water and material consumption and generates similiar proportions of pollution. Indoor air quality is regarded as one of the top environmental health risks today, affecting the well-being, productivity and performance of many people. As concerns increase about sustainability in building design and operation, there is a need to develop a framework for assessing and quantifying buildings so that questions such as, “What is sustainable design?” and “How green is this project?” can be addressed. In response to this, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system was developed to provide such a framework for North America. This document explores how the use of steel structures and components can contribute to achieving a LEED certificate for a building.

The construction industry is a vital part of the growth and success of a country. It is responsible for building the physical infrastructure that provides transportation and facilities for citizens, businesses, industries and institutions. Construction has a major influence on the economic wealth, societal well¬being and sustainability of the built environment. The Canadian construction industry employs more than 1.2 million people. In 2010 it accounted for 6% of Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP), with a total value of 73.8 billion dollars. From 2000 to 2010, the GDP from construction increased 42.7% whereas GDP for all industries increased 20.2%.(1) Construction also has a profound impact on our natural environment. In North America, the built environment accounts for approximately one third of all the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as well as energy, water and materials consumption. Given the increased awareness of “green” construction, there is growing interest in using steel because of the major recycled content and recyclability attributes it provides to architects, engineers and specifiers in the construction industry. The steel industry, through the Canadian Sheet Steel Building Institute is committed to providing steel solutions that promote the use of sustainable materials in construction applications. This fact sheet provides an overview of the two main methods used to produce steel, and describes the recycled content of the steels used to manufacture building products such as roofing, cladding, decking, structural and non-structural framing and the many other construction products used in the industry. Once iron ore is extracted and refined into steel, its life never ends. This makes steel an ideal material to deploy in sustainable strategies for the construction industry. Today’s steel is produced using two technologies both of which require “old” (recycled scrap) steel to make “new” steel. The combination of these technologies enables Canadian steel mills the flexibility to produce a variety of steel grades for a wide range of product applications

As far as extreme environments go, Wisconsin has some of the most dramatic in North America. During the winter months, temperatures regularly dip well below freezing, and in the summer months the temperatures can reach up to 90 degrees Fahrenheit with significant humidity levels for extended periods of time. Given these dramatic weather conditions, the materials chosen for the building envelope should not only protect building occupants from the elements, but ensure their comfort as well.

Located at the foot of the Cascade mountain range in Chilliwack, the brand-new Molson – Coors was inaugurated in 2019. It has the capacity to produce 300 million litres of beer a year. The brewery is equipped with advanced technologies for operational efficiency, and it is considered Molson’s most modern facility.The plant was designed with optimised equipment layouts that help reduce beer loss and wastage. Hygienic industrial drainage is a major component of the design and ACO drainage was selected for its proven performance.Benefits of ACO StainlessEasy to clean hygienic designStainless steel is highly resistant to corrosionHigh hydraulic efficiency for fast removal of surface waterACO’s experience in drainage for food processing environments

Four Key Components Constitute Prefinished Sheet Steel Prefinished sheet steel for construction consists of four major components: the sheet steel itself, a metallic (zinc or aluminum-zinc alloy) coating, chemical pre-treatment and primer, and a top coat. Each performs an important role in providing designers with a high quality, aesthetic, cost competitive and corrosion-resistant material. The backbone of the system is sheet steel, an ideal material for covering large surface areas because of its economy and high strength-toweight ratio. Protection against the demanding Canadian environment is provided by the metallic coating, one of the most effective methods of protecting bare steel from corrosion. Both zinc and aluminum-zinc alloy provide a tough, non-porous coating

This new 120,000 square foot, state-of-the-art convening center features a 1,000-seat auditorium that is large enough to host the entire MBA class. The glass atrium floods the multi-purpose lobby with natural light, as well as provides a visual connection between the interior of the building and the outdoor environment. To maximize transparency, SAFTI FIRST® met with the architects during the design phase to create a large, 2-hour, glass wall that separates the lobby from the auditorium while providing a visual connection between them. Since this 2-hour glass wall also serves as the entrance to the auditorium, deciding on a 90-minute door system was of upmost important. SAFTI FIRST®’s in-house engineering department provided design assistance, system details, engineering calculations and support from the planning phase all the way to the submittal process.

Introduction Prefinished sheet steel building products, such as wall and roof cladding, liner sheet, flashing, and associated items, have experienced an enviable growth record during the past twenty years or so. Coil coated prefinished sheet steel in a variety of colours and paint systems has greatly enhanced the appearance of thousands of industrial, commercial, institutional, recreational, residential and farm buildings, providing an economical, durable and attractive alternative to traditional materials. As with all materials, a little care and maintenance pays off handsomely in terms of longevity and repair costs. The recommendations which follow have been learned at first hand and represent the collective industry experience with thin-film paint systems applied to metallic coated sheet steel by the coil coating process. In this publication the term “thin-film paint system” refers to a modified silicone polyester or a fluorocarbon type having a coating thickness about 25µm. When the guidelines listed below have been observed, thin-film paint systems have been used successfully for all types of environments other than severe industrial atmospheres which require special consideration. The guidelines are not intended for barrier coatings, laminates, and new formulations which have different characteristics than the thin-film paint systems on which these guidelines are predicated. 

It’s a fact that buildings consume two thirds of all the electricity produced in North America and one third of all the energy produced in North America. While it is recognized that cooling and heating costs can be reduced by adding insulation under the roof surface, there is a diminishing return on the strategy of increasing insulation to conserve energy costs. This is where “cool roofing” can play a role in further reducing the energy consumed, and in minimizing the Heat Island effect created in the big urban cities. Cool roofing relies on the properties of reflectivity and emissivity of the roofing material. Reflectivity Reflectivity is the ability of the roof to reflect solar radiation back into the atmosphere. Its primary measure is solar reflectance - the proportion of the total solar radiation that is reflected back to the atmosphere. Any solar radiation that is not reflected is absorbed into the building envelope, requiring further energy to cool the building; or partially convected into the atmosphere increasing the ambient air temperature in the surrounding environment (Heat Island effect). The measure of reflectivity is the Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) which takes into account the properties of the material as well as the cooling effect of wind passing over the roof. The SRI for a low slope roof will be 0 for standard black (reflectance 0.05, emittance 0.90) and 100 for standard white (reflectance 0.80, emittance 0.90).