Carding House: Sustainability from Concept to Completion

Combining comfort, stylish design and a commitment to sustainability in its planning and execution, Carding House is a five-storey mixed-use development in Oakville, Ontario, offering a range of condominiums. It features nine ground-floor commercial units, 157 condo suites, and a two-level underground garage with 51 EV charging stations. Special care was taken during the project design and tendering process to ensure that the building reduced its operational and embodied carbon emissions.

Carding House represents a significant step forward in reducing operational carbon emissions by as much as 29% annually when compared to Ontario Building Code requirements. It achieves this by using a geothermal system and ground source heat pumps for the building’s heating and cooling, a testament to the development’s commitment to sustainability.

Carding House also achieved an embodied carbon intensity (A1-A5) of 305 kgCO2e/m², which is 16% less than Mattamy’s historical average embodied carbon (360 kgCO₂e/m²). Measures taken to reduce embodied carbon in the project included:

• Low-carbon concrete was used, as compared to Ontario’s Average Concrete Environmental Product Declaration Values.
• The rebar used to reinforce the concrete was manufactured using electric-arc furnace technology.
• The upper floors of the development were constructed using a combination of hollow-core slabs, prefinished Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems, cold-formed steel walls and cast-in-place concrete.

All these factors contribute to a reduced carbon footprint, both as Carding House was being built and during its long operating life.