Through its Strategic Plan and conservational initiatives, the City of St. Catharines has identified environmental responsibility as a primary long-term goal for the municipality. With this in mind, Vallee’s design of St. Catharines Fire Station No. 2 has considered and incorporated strategies that strive to achieve CaGBC Zero Carbon Building Standard v3.

These strategies include superior building envelope insulation levels, thermal bridge reduction, optimization and automation of mechanical and electrical systems, appropriate placement of windows and doors to maximize heating season solar gains, minimization or elimination of fossil fuel burning equipment, innovative heating and cooling system design with focus on heat recovery and renewable energy sources, energy modeling and building commissioning, Low Impact Development (LID), and product assessment based on longevity, recyclable content, waste reduction and improved indoor air quality.

At the City’s request, Vallee has incorporated a historical look into the new station’s design to compliment the traditional residential area in which it sits. The façade of this new building and its warm heritage look will be a very welcome change from the old fire station that is currently on the site and a dramatic improvement to the streetscape for the City and area residents.