After an epic failure, 18 storeys of double-pane glass are being replaced in a hotel-condominium tower in downtown Vancouver at an estimated cost of $7 million.
“The [original] manufacturer designed with good intentions trying to increase energy efficiency,” explained Brian Hobbs, principle and senior building science specialist at RDH Building Engineering. “The IGUs [insulated glass units] failed due to an unconventional, untested design.”
Built in 2001 and the third tallest tower in Vancouver, One Wall Centre on Burrard Street has 30 hotel floors on the lower level and 18 floors of condominiums above. The windows being replaced were part of a compromise between the City of Vancouver and the developer, Wall Financial Corp. The city insisted on light-coloured windows being used on the upper condominium section of the highrise, rather than the dark windows used in the lower hotel portion of the tower. This resulted in Vancouver’s only “two-tone” tower.
But four years after construction was complete, condominium tenants began complaining of excessive heat in their units and of fogging and condensation on their windows. The original contractor had returned to the site for remedial repairs on the entire building on two occasions. Some windows were also replaced.
“But the owners wanted the windows fixed for good,” Hobbs said.
RDH was called in to investigate the fogging of the sealed units to determine the source and the extent of the problem. It was decided that about 1,500 glass units would need to be replaced, some of them weighing more than 200 kilograms. It is the largest reglazing project in Vancouver’s history.
The city has agreed that the darker glazing can be used for the replacement windows.
The work requires the building of a unique “ring” platform around the 48-storey tower. The custom-made, electric-powered platform moves down the tower as the windows are replaced. The method has never been used before, as most window replacements require scaffolding and netting around the entire building.
Work was expected to complete this summer, eight years after it began. •
Western Investor (www.westerninvestor.com) is a division of Business In Vancouver Media Group. Published monthly, it focuses on commercial real estate in Western Canada.
