Bridgepoint Hospital Toronto Case Study

Bridgepoint is a world leading project located in Toronto, Canada as the first hospital model (health and research centre) built to provide care for patients in complex conditions as well as for those going through a recovery process.

Intrinsically, hospitals are buildings not recognised by its efficiency, as generally, they require in average more resources (such as water and energy) to run than any other commercial building. This imposes a challenge to designers and engineers to balance sustainability and comfort.

The analysis of sustainability on this project is done based on a the triple bottom line approach. This approach to sustainability seeks to cover the most relevant variables around sustainability and what it means to communities from the economic, environmental and social point of view. The triple bottom line has been also used to analyse sustainability in different scales and can be adopted in different circumstances to evaluate performance.

Source Bridgepoint Hospital Offical Website http://www.bridgepointhealth.ca/en/what-we-do/Hospital-design-and-health-outcomes.asp

Environmental

• The project adopted a smart irrigation system that allows to use the right amount of water based on local weather conditions, as well as the integration of native local plants that intends to keep a more natural landscaping and emphasises on the protection of local species.

• Around 85% of the building materials would have ended up in landfill but instead were used in the construction process. This meant the reduction on waste and a reduction of costs during the construction process.

• This building was designed with a high-performing exterior that includes white paint in its roof to reduce the island heat effect during summer and improves its isolation to reduce heat loss during winter.

• Based on modelling, it is expected to save up 29% of energy consumption. The hospital has implemented technology such as high-performance heat recovery systems, air conditioning and boilers that help reduce the internal energy consumption as use resources in a more efficient way.

Social

• The innovative concept of this building is that its focus is on supporting healing, being an inspiration to promote innovation.

• This project has been financed by the Canadian government. It seeks that tax money collected is re-invested in the local community for its own benefit.

• There is been a strong educational aspect implemented in this project that aims to get the community involved on the understanding of sustainability and what strategies have been implemented to achieve it.

• This educational strategy seeks that the local community increases awareness is the complexity of a changing environment among its challenges and hopes that some strategies can be applied in their own way of living.

• There is research that shows that natural daylight and comforting views help with patient recovery as well as contributes to increase the performance of staff .

Economic

• Based on modelling calculations, it is expected to be save 42% of energy running costs through its efficient lighting design, advanced technology (such as high-performance boilers, ventilation recovery among others).

• Approximately a reduction of 35% of water costs due to a very efficient plumbing system.

Aspects to consider improvement

• Besides this case study is a showcase of state-of-the-art in terms of technology, the initial investment was very high and the maintenance cost could increase potentially over time as some technologies used are relatively new and could imply unexpected extra running costs.

• The hospital was designed considering the local weather conditions to maximise its performance and provide a very good experience to the patients and staff members, however not much attention was paid to the changing climate conditions. This is a critical variable when considering that patients are a vulnerable population and as climate conditions change, the hospital should be able to adapt and provide the same standards of comfort.

• There was no much focus on locally sourced materials and technology that could have contributed to reducing the carbon footprint related to transportation for example.

References

Bridget Point Health Care. (2017, July 28th). Bridget Point Health Care. Retrieved from http://www.bridgepointhealth.ca/en/index.asp

Canada Building Council. (2017, July 28th). Bridgepoint Hospital . Retrieved from Canada Building Council Every Building Greener: http://www.cagbc.org/Archives/EN/CaGBC_Green_Building_Case_Studies/Bridgepoint_Niagara.aspx

Timothy F. Slaper, T. J. (2011). The Triple Bottom Line: What Is It and How Does It Work? IBR Indiana Business Review  Indiana University Kelley School of Business, Indiana Business Research Center, http://www.ibrc.indiana.edu/ibr/2011/spring/article2.html.