CONCRETE ONTARIO — The Wellington East Business Centre is a four-storey, 7,432-square-metre commercial condominium building at Wellington Street East and Highway 404 in Aurora, Ont. It is using a unique concrete panel system. Unlike the standard 50-millimetre-thick panels, the above grade ICF forms are comprised of 100-millimetre-thick expanded polystyrene insulation panels on both sides. ICFs are like LEGO that can be put together easily by hand.
The developer/builder is Howland Green and the centre is its second beyond net-zero energy standard building. The first was Cachet Woods, its Markham headquarters. “It happens by taking a somewhat of holistic approach to all aspects of the development from start to finish and thereafter,” he says. “By abandoning the norm, you open up new ideas and, other than arguments with consultants and plans examiners in levels of governments, it becomes more of a science experiment than a risk.”
This is, in fact, the ninth commercial building built by Howland Green, a full scope developer covering every facet of the business from land acquisition to conceptual design to development and building and then construction and ultimately managing the condos. Unlike the standard 50-millimetre-thick panels, the above grade forms are comprised of 100-millimetre-thick expanded polystyrene insulation panels on both sides. Elite Building Group was the installer.
Development of the XR35 forms began in 2018 and then they were delivered to Howland Green’s Cachet Woods project the following year, he says.