IBM Canada Headquarters

  • Client

    IBM Canada Limited 

  • Region

    Central Canada

  • City

    Toronto

  • Year Completed

    1991

  • Size

    850,000 sq. ft. Office Space                                                                                                                       

  • Sector

    Buildings

  • Sub-Sector

    Commercial Office

The Story

This project consisted of 850,000 SF of state-of-the-art office space and a 750,000 SF parking garage. The project is, in effect, eight buildings, ranging in height from eight-storeys to four-storeys, connected by a central services core. A major element of the facility is the advanced mechanical system, which included a comprehensive energy management system. The air-cooling system is centered on a large ice storage unit, which accumulates ice overnight, utilizing off-peak electricity rates. The facility has a particularly large cooling requirement because of the necessity to maintain a cool environment for the extensive computer installations. The winter heating system utilizes a combination of heat recovery systems involving a variety of heat exchangers, which recover excess heat generated by the computer operations.