HAMILTON, ON

Ken Soble Tower – Passive House Retrofit (EnerPHit)

As part of their redevelopment plan for the Ken Soble Tower in Hamilton’s West Harbour, City Housing of Hamilton evaluated several possible retrofit solutions.

RESIDENTIAL

Entuitive studied the feasibility of a Passive House EnerPHit retrofit at this 18-storey residence.

Our team reviewed the building envelope and structural components and determined remedial and retrofit work required to meet Passive House criteria and City Housing’s new programming requirements.

Our team also created an air leakage testing plan, which included guarded floor blower door tests to verify air tightness as construction progressed, and a final whole building air leakage test to achieve Passive House certification. We reviewed shop drawings and conducted site reviews during the construction phase.

The Ken Soble Tower is one of the largest EnerPHit projects in the world.

During the design phase, Entuitive was responsible for designing building envelope details that performed at Passive House levels, while considering tight budget limitations and an aggressive timeline to meet funding requirements. Fibreglass window frames were proposed as a cost-saving measure, and Entuitive obtained a code variance from the City to allow this innovative approach for one of the first times in Ontario.

Entuitive extensively modelled envelope clear field and thermal bridge conditions, working iteratively with the Passive House Consultant to develop details that met rigorous standards, and providing substantial supporting documents for Passive House Certifier reviews.