The Butterfly

Title: The Butterfly

Award Category: Building Enclosure

Project Address/Location

1033 Nelson Street , Vancouver BC, Canada
400
Vancouver, British Columbia V6E 1J1
Canada

Submitted By: Josh Chambers

Company Info

RDH Building Science Inc.

4333 Still Creek Drive
suite 400
Burnaby, British Columbia v5c6s6
Canada

6043569322

[email protected]

Project Description and Background: The Butterfly Project: Building Enclosure, Structural, and Mechanical: Mitigating Condensation for an Iconic Structural Glass & Precast Concrete Natatorium Façade using Advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) High-performance all-glass enclosures are familiar, indoor pools are ubiquitous, but all-glass point supported pool facades supported on Iconic precast structure without visible HVAC ducting are unthinkable. The lessons learned and solutions developed from this project have led to several rules of thumb that have governed modern natatorium design. As the building enclosure consultant on The Butterfly, pool enclosure design, we used advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling integrated with building enclosure design to mitigate the risk of condensation and comfort issues. Other aspects of the design – including point supported glazing, precast structural elements, and concealed HVAC systems of a high-performance natatorium enclosure. The Butterfly project is a valuable resource to professionals looking to design for high-humidity occupancies with large glazing ratios.

Scope: Consultant (RDH) was used as the building envelope professional to review the Butterfly high-rise, heritage building retained adjacent to the new building, and to provide enclosure, structural facade engineering services for the pool enclosure.

Solution: Investigating condensation and constructability issues within the pool room led to unique membrane detailing, structural modifications, and HVAC solutions.

Value: Being able to use building science principles to make the Architect's vision a reality was possible with enclosure consulting involvement early in the design process. Working closely with the project team during construction to resolve a variety of structural, mechanical and enclosure issues was made possible with our team's ability to recognize how building science principles can make the pool enclosure work as originally designed.

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