York Region Administrative Centre

Window assessment and replacement at the York Region Administrative Centre. The assessment was completed in anticipation of a phased insulating glazing unit (IGU) replacement program. Our work includes drawing reviews, field investigations, exploratory openings at window locations, infrared thermographic scan, and thermal modelling of the existing window assembly as well as various replacement options. This scope of work was completed in 2019.

In early 2020, we commenced design and contract administration services for IGU replacement covering approximately 40,000 sf of glazing over a 3-year period. Design challenge was to determine and quantify the most cost-effective window retrofit and IGU upgrades and also improve energy efficiency for the next 30 years, while maintaining the appearance of existing glazing.

• Cost Effective Retrofit: York Region is under a mandate to reduce carbon emissions as a part of the region’s goal to have carbon neutral buildings by 2050. Detailed analysis was completed on various retrofits including full window replacement. A cost effective solution was designed and selected that met the region’s budget while improving the window performance by 20% and keeping the existing window frames to avoid a bigger more costly disruption to the building.
• Project Procurement: York Region has a unique procurement process where design documents are reviewed in detail by legal counsel with specific feedback on technical documents requiring multiple resubmissions. Engineering Link coordinated closely with York Region’s representatives to ensure that even initial submissions followed the guidelines established by the client. This resulted in accelerating the design schedule by 3 weeks.

Consulting Contract