The Vento is the first phase of a two-phase redevelopment that is part of the City of Calgary’s revitalization of the Bridges neighborhood near downtown.Vento is a three-story building with ground-floor retail beneath a unique residential community. The second floor supports a communal landscaped courtyard bounded by individual front-door entrances into 22 split-level apartments. This feature creates excellent daylighting within the suites, as well as a garden atmosphere and real connection to the outdoors on the ground floor.

Vento has been submitted to the Canada Green Building Council for LEED certification. Certification is pending. The total number of credits applied for ensure a high LEED Gold rating, with the possibility of LEED Platinum.

Some of the green design features, in addition to the passive solar and daylighting characteristics of the architecture, include:

• Heat recovery ventilation to reduce energy consumption on unconditioned ventilation air;
• Direct ducting of fresh air to each individual dwelling;
• Green landscaping on the rooftop common area;
• Condensing boilers and high- efficiency chillers;
• Stormwater treatment and re-use;
• In-floor radiant heating;
• High-performance windows with low-e, double glazing and warm-edge spacers;
• Interor finishes and other materials specifically chosen for their low-emitting and/or rapidly renewable or recycled content.

Vento is the first of a series of green buildings that Windmill is bringing to the market in Canada. Additional LEED Gold projects are underway in Calgary and Ottawa (including a high-rise with a passive solar wall for conditioning incoming ventilation air), and a 15-acre LEED Platinum development is under construction in Victoria, British Columbia.

Windmill is a development group committed to urban revitalization, brownfield redevelopment and green buildings, measuring performance using the Triple Bottom Line of economic, social and environmental sustainability.

The Vento is an example of the company's desire to wed design excellence with building performance for the benefit of purchasers and tenants, the surrounding community, and the health and wellbeing of the planet.

THE VENTO

SUBMITTED BY: THE WINDMILL DEVELOPMENT GROUP
LOCATION: CALGARY, ALBERTA (CANADA)
SIZE: 36,726 SQUARE FEET
COMPLETED: MAY 2006
LEED PLATINUM/GOLD PENDING

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE VENTO PROJECT TEAM

THE WINDMILL DEVELOPMENT GROUP
BUSBY PERKINS + WILL, ARCHITECT
KEEN ENGINEERING (NOW STANTEC), MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS
READ JONES KRISTOFFERSON, STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
RIPARIA, LANDSCAPE DESIGNER
PENNER & ASSOCIATES, INTERIOR DESIGNERS

PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS

MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL HOME (CONDOMINIUM AND APARTMENT) FINALISTS

Plaza Apartments

Sustainable strategies were integrated into the building design in an effort to set a new standard for environmental sensitivity in affordable housing.
Submitted by: Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects
Location: San Francisco
Size: 65,000 square feet
Completed: Spring 2006

53 Standish Street

A traditional, three-unit shingled building was transformed to have a more contemporary exterior and sustainable attributes.
Submitted by: Aedi Development & Construction
Location: Cambridge, Mass.
Size: 4,100 square feet
Completed: February 2006

Pine Ridge

An urban infill project on the site of an abandoned hotel that contains a mix of market-rate units and community-housing deed restricted units.
Submitted by: Living Architecture
Location: Ketchum, Idaho
Size: 56,712 square feet
Completed: April 2006

Brunswick-Holborn & Columbia Wood Apartments

Includes 10 residential buildings — comprising 98 units of low-income housing, a community computer center, and management offices — completed for just under $125 per square foot.
Submitted by: Mostue & Associates Architects, Inc.
Location: Boston
Size: 113,000 square feet
Completed: January 2007

Starland Lofts

Incorporates innovative materials and techniques into a design that sensitively responds to its historic context.
Submitted by: Lominack Kolman Smith Architects
Location: Savannah, Ga.
Size: 24,000 square feet
Completed: Summer 2006

Honorable Mention:

The New Holland
(Melotte-Morse-Leonatti, Ltd.)