Dogwood Lodge Complex Residential CaDogre Facility

Source: · WILLIAMS ENGINEERING CANADA · | October 9, 2020

Source: Williams Engineering Canada

With the ageing population growing and the government’s commitment to improving support and access to long-term care for seniors, this new six-storey, 150-bed care home is a welcomed development to Vancouver’s healthcare community. The new Dogwood Lodge long-term care home is being modelled after a traditional home. Each of the storeys will consist of two “homes” to house residents with similar care needs. The residents are to have their own private bedrooms and washrooms while sharing living, dining, kitchen, patio and social spaces. Each of these “homes” will house up to 14 people. The facility will also include two “homes” that are specialized. One will care for individuals with dementia, and the other will care for people with tracheotomy and/or ventilator needs.

Williams Engineering (WEC) designed the building’s ventilation system using principles from CSA Z317.2 and ASHRAE 170, using increased ventilation rates and high filtration levels to maintain excellent indoor air quality. Ventilation systems will be equipped with energy recovery and provided with partial mechanical cooling to resident rooms. Common areas will be heated and air-conditioned by the use of Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) heat pumps, and all resident rooms heated using separately zoned hot water heating coils. A central digital control system will manage the building’s mechanical systems for maximum energy savings. The mechanical and plumbing components are carefully specified to match the requirements of Vancouver Coast Health (VCH), including requirements for water and energy savings, bariatric use, accessibility needs, and hygiene. The Mechanical systems underwent continuous value engineering to seek lower-cost alternatives to VCH specific requirements and certain portions of CSA Z317, while still complying with VCH objectives. This project is targeting LEED® Gold Certification.