i + D - March/April 2020 - 37

Commercial Commitments - By Robert Nieminen
The Rayside Labossière
office was one of the
first small-scale private
buildings to earn LEED
certification in Canada.
(Image: Saul Rosales/
Rayside Labossière)

Rayside Labossière Architects Office |
Montreal, Quebec
Many design firms also have taken the lead in sustainable design by creating their
own offices to higher standards and seeking continual improvement not only for their
facilities but also by making an impact in the community at large. Rayside Labossière
Architects in Montreal is no exception. The firm was founded upon the idea of
community involvement and addressing social objectives like homelessness and mental
health, for example, that naturally extended into environmental stewardship as well.
"That was really the idea, to create a firm that in a way operated like a nonprofit and
in which almost all of the profits are reinvested in what we call a social development,"
recalls Ron Rayside, architect and senior partner at Rayside Labossière Architects. "The
environmental issues came along in a way afterwards as really complementary to that
[main objective]."
When it came time in 2005 to design Rayside Labossière's own offices as part of a
mixed-use, urban infill project in a traditionally poor area of the city, Rayside says their
attitude and approach to the design of the building was undergirded by the concept that
it's part of the fabric of the community. As such, the firm wanted it to become a kind of
living laboratory of sustainable design.

"When we built it, we asked, 'Why don't we do this exemplary kind of building from an
environmental point of view and with a lot of accent on energy conservation," Rayside
recalls. "And we said, 'Why not try and make this a real experimental project?'"
The building was among the first small-scale, private buildings to earn LEED certification
in Canada and also was an early adopter of geothermal energy, water-saving design
solutions, and one of the first in the city to feature a vegetable rooftop garden. Given the
time in which it was built, Rayside says they achieved a very high-performance facility with
energy savings of 55 percent to comparable buildings.
Not content to rest on its laurels, however, Rayside Labossière recently decided to ramp
up its LEED investment to obtain net zero carbon certification in 2019 as part of Canada's
Zero Carbon Building Standard (ZCB). The ZCB standard provides a path for both new
and existing buildings to reach zero carbon, according to the Canada Green Building
Council (CAGBC). The firm is utilizing hydroelectric sources of power and will install a
series of photovoltaic panels to complement its clean energy portfolio and help achieve
its goal of net zero carbon. Rayside Labossière is also seeking to update its LEED status
to Platinum through a renovation and is participating in the Living Building Challenge
Petal certification because the firm believes it's the right thing to do.
"I think architects have to participate in this debate [about climate change] by doing
projects that reflect those kinds of values," Rayside says. "Both architects individually
and their professional associations should take public positions because you can't want
to improve the environment, improve your neighborhood, and improve your street and be
outside of that debate and just hide behind your drawings or your projects. I don't think
that's a good thing to do. Architects are in a position to encourage their clients to set a
good example, with their own buildings, if they have that kind of privilege."

ROBERT NIEMINEN
is a freelance writer and regular contributor to
retrofit and Retail Environments magazine,
as well as the editor-at-large of interiors+sources.

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