The built environment, and its use and care of resources, plays a central role in the sustainability and resiliency of our life on this planet. While climate change impacts many areas, water is foremost among the resources that humans must learn to use less of and care better for.
With climate change resulting in hotter weather and more energetic storms, existing municipal stormwater infrastructure is being overwhelmed. The Real Time Control Building #3 is part of the City of Edmonton’s expanded urban ecosystem strategy; a vital component in the reduction of untreated run-off and sewage flowing into the North Saskatchewan River.
Situated on the corner of 84th Street NW and Jasper Avenue, just east of the downtown core on the northern bank of the North Saskatchewan River, the project is an example of investment in both the design of the plant enclosure and site of the RTC#3, and by doing so celebrates the importance of municipal infrastructure and recognizes the role infrastructure buildings have in shaping the built fabric of the city.
The engineering of the facility recognizes the dynamic loading of urban storm and wastewater and represents state-of-the-art handling and treatment of urban water. Correspondingly, the architecture makes apparent the engineering occurring below ground, as the form of the main shaft is notionally extruded to create the circular enclosure for plant equipment; and secondary shafts, along with in-take and out-take tunnels, are telegraphed through to the surface, imbuing the site with an interpretive strategy and signaling that RTC#3 is part of a larger, complex system.
The building envelope is comprised of structural steel and stud framing, a 10’ cavity and an outer skin of angled glass blocks - a familiar cladding material used in a new way. While diagonal application raised technical challenges, such as fabricating zig-zag control joints, the result is a simple, luminous veil over the inner workings of the building. The cavity between the glass block facade and the inner structure acts as a thermal plenum where air, by the combined means of stack effect and mechanical ventilation, is drawn through louvres located at the base of the facade and vented at the roof edge.
The building sits on a tarmac surface accommodating service vehicles and lay down areas for the buildings’ removable roof. The site’s surface water drains to a gutter surrounding the building’s perimeter where it is then recirculated into the main shaft. The building also houses gas monitoring and ventilation equipment, gate actuators, a generator room, noise control mechanisms, a motor control centre, a washroom and base building mechanical rooms.
The RTC#3 represents a model for civil and architectural projects to lead the way in both performance profile. Instead of treating infrastructure as something that exists invisibly in the background, the design generates broad attention, curiosity and interest. It asks us to learn about its essential role in supporting a sustainable urban environment and raises public awareness of the human effect on our ecosystem.
Material Used :
1. Sand blasted low iron glass block - Seves Glass Block
