Minto Communities GTA is awarded EnerQuality Award

Minto’s Air Tightness Testing Pilot Project, completed at their 88 Cumberland property, sets a new standard for sustainability in Ontario

Toronto, ON (October 7, 2020) – Adding to an already successful awards season, Minto Communities GTA has been recognized with a 2020 EnerQuality Award in the Building Innovation category for a forward-thinking Air Tightness Testing Pilot project at their Yorkville high-rise Minto Yorkville Park. Undertaking this pilot project, Minto Communities GTA is the first developer in Ontario to complete a baseline measurement for high-rise air leakage, with plans to incorporate findings from the testing process into future projects. While air tightness testing for high-rise buildings is not practiced or mandatory in Ontario or the GTA, it offers a range of benefits to residents and building performance such as energy consumption levels.

Minto Communities GTA, already a leader in green building, was recently recognized with an EnerQuality Award for Building Innovation for their Air Tightness Testing Pilot project completed at their Minto Yorkville Park high-rise. This test which measures air leakage, is one of the first completed in the GTA. Photo credit: Minto Communities GTA 

“It is an honour to be recognized by the 2020 EnerQuality Awards for Building Innovation for our Air Tightness Testing Pilot project,” says Agnieszka Wloch, Vice President Development, Minto Communities GTA. “We’re really proud we completed some of the first air tightness testing for high-rises in the GTA, and we look forward to continuing to push the envelope and leading the charge when it comes to green building.”

Through this process, the building’s barrier where thick plastic is installed to prevent leakage is tested for its effectiveness. Together, Minto Communities GTA in partnership with experts from RDH Building Science completed guarded air tightness testing, which involves isolating individual floors and capturing air leakage through the building enclosure only. 

The test floor and the floors above and below are pressurized and depressurized identically throughout the process. 

“Testing the air tightness of a building is an important metric because it helps us understand its longevity over the years as it’s used, as well as the comfort of residents in their homes,” says David Robins, Division President, Minto Communities GTA. “We decided to do our air tightness testing at Minto Yorkville Park during construction, which allows us to make improvements while we’re still completing our work. We were really pleased to see results well below standard rates in regulated municipalities, showing us our build quality and material selection meet our own high expectations.” 

Minto Yorkville Park is a luxury 25 storey high-rise tower recently completed in the heart of the Yorkville community. Though this was the first time Minto Communities GTA has completed air tightness testing, Minto Yorkville Park performed extremely well, meeting current standards in Washington State where air leakage is regulated.