National Bank of Canada Head Office
Client: Immobilière Banque Nationale inc.
Project description
National Bank’s new head office, an iconic 40-storey, 100,000 m² tower in the heart of downtown Montreal, is a model of performance, sustainability and comfort. With room for up to 7,000 employees, the building offers collaborative workspaces along with a business centre, call centre, bank branch, a daycare centre, cafeteria, gym, 400 bike parking spots and charging stations for electric vehicles.
The building’s architecture emphasizes transparency and natural light with its triple-glazed glass enveloped, a green roof, a winter garden, and sweeping green spaces. All technical and architectural aspects were thought out to improve the comfort of the building’s occupants while reducing its environmental footprint.
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Characteristics and Impacts
Thanks to the measures implemented:
- 31% reduction in energy consumption
- 96% reduction in GHG emissions
- 34% reduction in potable water use
The building achieved LEED v4 Gold and WELL v2 Silver certification, confirming its status as a flagship sustainable development project.
- Magnetic “super heat pumps”: more commonly known as high-efficiency magnetic bearing centrifugal chillers with heat recovery, these units provide cooling and 90% of heating needs by reinjecting heat into the energy loop. Additional heating is provided by renewable natural gas (RNG) boilers.
- High-efficiency heat recovery units: to preheat outside air and reduce floor system loads.
- Optimized ventilation systems: five units per floor, zoned for enhanced performance.
- Ceiling radiant heating: proven computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model to enhance comfort and spatial flexibility.
- Intelligent controls: multi-criteria sensors, motorized blinds, automatic adjustment of temperature and brightness in real time.
- Electrical efficiency: two 4000 kVA 25 kV/600 V transformer substations equipped with a continuous power consumption monitoring stem, enabling corrective action to be recommended in real time.
- LED lighting: adaptive LED lighting.
- Security and resilience: fire pumps in series, 1000 kW generators, security systems integrated into the bank’s infrastructure, Bluetooth-connected badges for access and geolocation.
- Ecological management: Solucycle robot for compostable waste, rainwater management, low-flow plumbing fixtures.