March 17, 2008

Waywell Development’s Radius project incorporates sustainable technology

John Gracey

RCD Digital Media Reporter

Sustainable development is arriving in Victoria. Waywell Development’s Radius project incorporates sustainable technology in an effort to reduce the development’s ecological footprint. This is a tall order given the scale of the project.

Radius is a $165 million project that includes 111 condominiums in two buildings of seven and 14 storeys, a commercial section of 16,000 square feet, a private university campus for University Canada West, a 14-storey office tower and a child-care centre for 36 children.

The list of sustainability features is substantial. The entire project will incorporate a geo-exchange heating and cooling system that shares surplus energy between the commercial and residential buildings. This means that in the summer months, rather than returning excess heat from the commercial building into the ground, the system will pass it on to the residential buildings to fulfill heating needs, such as pre-heating hot water.

The building also features a rainwater recovery system that will be used irrigate many of the project’s extensive green spaces such as the community garden, urban orchard and landscaped rooftops. Residential units will incorporate non-toxic and sustainable harvested materials.

Going a step further, Waywell minimized the amount of materials sent to the landfill through the recycling and reuse of materials where possible. Old growth Douglas fir trusses will be reused for the restaurant portion. And materials such as glass, drywall, concrete, wood and steel that cannot be reused will be recycled.

Waywell partner Doahn Vale sums it up this way: “In the development world today, we have the responsibility to build better buildings – better for people, better for the environment – and with Radius that’s precisely what we’re doing.”

Such innovation does not come easy. Planners at the City of Victoria grappled with some of the regulatory issues involved with the design. Christine Lintot, principal architect with Merrick Architecture, explains the city “was challenged with the scale and magnitude of the project.” She added the design process was two years in the making.

Construction for the project began in June 2007 and completion is scheduled for late 2009 or early 2010. Radius is targeted for LEED certification. Ellis-Don is the general contractor in partnership with Kinetic Construction.

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