Grant: Applied Research Tools and Instruments Grants

The proposal to construct an Air, Water and Structural Test Chamber for Evaluating Wall Systems and Components for Buildings at Red River College's (RRC) main campus in Winnipeg will complement and enhance the College's capacity to conduct applied research and provide training in the area of building envelope performance. The most active areas of applied research by RRC's Sustainable Infrastructure Technology Research Group (SITRG) over the past two years have been building envelopes and new building materials. SITRG's recent study of the airtightness characteristics of a wide range of commercial and institutional buildings across Manitoba has revealed that there continues to be lack of knowledge of air/water leakage behavior of building assemblies and individual construction details. Recent code developments, including Manitoba's intention to adopt the National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings and implementation of airtightness requirements for commercial buildings in the National Building Code of Canada, will increase the demand to for design details that work in practice, are durable, cost-effective and reduce energy use. With new building materials and products constantly entering the Manitoba market, accompanied by unfamiliar design details and skilled labour shortages, confirming that all components in a building envelope work together as a system prior to their use in the field underscores the need for a local testing and training facility. RRC's proposed test chamber will allow building envelope details, windows and doors to be evaluated for airtightness, water penetration and structural testing prior to their use in actual construction. This will accelerate the adoption of new and innovative materials, products and assemblies for projects in Manitoba. Training activities for building professionals and students enabled by RRC's new test chamber will also increase the use of best practices for design and construction.