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Case Study

West Village District Energy Centre

Year Completed

2019

About This Project

Opened in June 2019, the West Village District Energy Centre is the first of three district energy centres planned for Surrey’s City Centre neighbourhood. The facility is operated by Surrey City Energy, Surrey’s municipality-owned district energy system, and it supplies local, connected buildings with heat and hot water via a subterranean network of pipes.

The pipes run on a closed loop, carrying hot water to and from heat exchangers at each connected. The water is heated by boilers fuelled, in part, by natural gas produced at Surrey’s Biofuel Facility, where organic waste is turned into sustainable fuel. Additionally, through 400 boreholes, the system connects to a geothermal field 200 feet below the surface.

While most energy facilities maintain a pragmatic appearance, one of stacks, cladding, and concrete, the West Village District Energy Centre lies low, built 5 metres below grade, surrounded by trees, lawns, and picnic tables. The building’s three stacks are capped by installation art, titled Blankets, which depicts the three states of energy: stored, waiting, and in use.

Scope of services

The greenspace and artwork certainly help allay the centre’s otherwise industrial look, but noise from the facility’s boilers, exhaust systems, and mechanical services had potential to disrupt the area’s soundscape. Thus, a few careful acoustical treatments were necessary to ensure the building’s discreet presence in the neighbourhood.

Working with project architects, FRANCL, BKL consulted on noise and vibration for this project. The BKL team reviewed architectural and mechanical plans, and assessed the potential impacts for facility noise on nearby homes. BKL created a 3-D noise model that incorporated sound power data from the boilers, exhaust fans, air conditioning units, gas regulators, the transformer and emergency backup generator, as well as results from baseline noise measurements carried out in the area by BKL acousticians. The model considered current residences as well as future buildings.

After analyzing results from its study, BKL provided detailed recommendations to control noise from boiler exhaust stacks and ventilation intakes. The team also suggested design elements to improve acoustics in the office spaces, and upgrade the exteriors of the boiler room—including walls, windows, and the roof—and emergency backup generator room.

Moreover, BKL consulted on vibration isolation of mechanical and electrical equipment, and provided recommendations to control vibration from water pumps, boilers, and the main transformer.

Project benefits

By tapping into renewable sources like biofuel and geothermal heat, the West Village District Energy Centre improves energy efficiency and reduces emissions, while providing consistent, competitively priced heat and hot water to connected buildings. By constructing the centre below grade in a new park, the design team sought to limit the structure’s skyline presence. BKL’s analysis and advice helped support these efforts, and ensured the energy centre would likewise fit the neighbourhood’s acoustical environment.

The People Behind Our Work

Our Technical Leads

  • Headshot of Mark Bliss
    Mark Bliss

    P.Eng., INCE

    President

    Headshot of Mark Bliss

    Mark Bliss, P.Eng., INCE

    President

    Mark Bliss is a professional engineer and member of the Institute of Noise Control Engineering (INCE), with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of British Columbia. He has practiced as an acoustical consultant since 2003.

    Mark specializes in environmental noise and vibration assessment, with extensive experience evaluating transportation, industrial, construction, entertainment, commercial and other noise impacts. He has worked with all levels of government on noise policy and planning, and has appeared as an expert witness before the British Columbia Supreme Court and at municipal council hearings.

    His work includes field measurement, noise modelling, mitigation assessment and detailed reporting, using national and international standards and specialized software such as Cadna/A. He has prepared Environmental Assessment Certificate applications to BCEAA, CEAA and IFC requirements, and has conducted third-party reviews and training in noise and vibration measurement and assessment.

    Mark also has extensive experience in building acoustics, working on new construction and renovations to address environmental and mechanical noise, improve speech intelligibility and room acoustics, and achieve effective airborne and impact sound isolation. His work draws on CSA, ISO, ASTM, ANSI, WHO, Health Canada and other recognized standards and guidelines.

  • Headshot of Gary Mak
    Gary Mak

    P.Eng., PMP

    Technical Director, Environmental Noise and Vibration

    Headshot of Gary Mak

    Gary Mak, P.Eng., PMP

    Technical Director, Environmental Noise and Vibration

    Gary Mak graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and joined BKL the same year. Gary has since worked in the areas of environmental noise assessments, mechanical/industrial noise control, and architectural acoustics.

    Gary’s experience in architectural acoustics includes hospitals, educational facilities, performance spaces, offices, and operations buildings. His contributions to these projects include reviewing project acoustical requirements and building designs for partition sound isolation, room acoustics, mechanical noise control, and environmental noise control. For performance venues, Gary has experience working with more advanced techniques and parameters to assess and improve acoustical conditions for performers and audiences.

    Performing noise and vibration impact assessments for transportation, construction, industrial, and commercial projects, Gary has established baseline noise conditions, predicted future noise environments, rated noise impacts, and determined mitigation measures to meet project criteria. In particular, he has worked on mines, terminals, rail, transit centres, district energy centres, and other industrial and transportation projects.

    Gary is proficient in performing noise and vibration measurements with a variety of specialized equipment for investigations, bylaw assessments, room acoustics, and Sound Transmission Class (STC), and Impact Insulation Class (IIC) testing. He is also very familiar with using acoustical software including Cadna/A, Samurai, Insul, EASERA, and ODEON for impact analysis and design.

  • Headshot of Brigette Martin
    Brigette Martin

    P.Eng., WELL AP

    Technical Director, Sound and Vibration Measurements

    Headshot of Brigette Martin

    Brigette Martin, P.Eng., WELL AP

    Technical Director, Sound and Vibration Measurements

    Brigette Martin graduated from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 2009. Before joining BKL in 2015, Brigette worked as an acoustic consultant on various building and environmental projects throughout New Zealand and Australia.

    Brigette has extensive experience with environmental noise including assessing noise impacts and designing noise mitigation for gas compressor and pump stations, power generation sites, port terminals, and transformers sites; modelling construction noise, and developing construction noise abatement and management plans; designing noise controls and preparing noise management plans for mines and quarries; and monitoring benchmark noise, developing 3-D noise models, and designing noise walls for road infrastructure projects.

    In the area of building acoustics, Brigette has been involved in numerous projects and has consulted on sound insulation and mechanical services design, as well as controlling external noise intrusion and reverberation noise levels, and optimizing speech clarity for critical spaces.

    Over her career, Brigette has gained experience with a wide range of technical equipment and software including Insul, SoundPLAN, Cadna/A, SONarchitect, Brüel & Kjær analyzers, and numerous other sound level meters.

    Brigette has also developed and presented training courses for using acoustical software and sound level meters for acoustical engineers and clients throughout New Zealand and Australia.

  • Headshot of Trevor Cheng
    Trevor Cheng

    P.Eng., MIOA

    Managing Specialist Acoustical Consultant

    Headshot of Trevor Cheng

    Trevor Cheng, P.Eng., MIOA

    Managing Specialist Acoustical Consultant

    Trevor Cheng holds a bachelor of applied science (engineering physics) from University of British Columbia and joined BKL in January 2016, with experience in environmental and architectural acoustics, as well as condition monitoring, and machine vibration analysis and diagnostics.

    With BKL, Trevor has primarily been involved in transportation, commercial, industrial, and infrastructure projects. His work experience includes measuring baseline noise conditions, predicting future noise environments, assessing noise impact, and offering mitigation measures where appropriate.

    Trevor also has experience in architectural acoustics, working on hospitals, performance spaces, and multipurpose buildings. He is proficient in measuring noise insulation performance, reviewing building designs, and predicting noise levels from HVAC equipment.

    Prior to joining BKL, Trevor worked in London, UK, on a wide variety of projects ranging from large-scale architectural renovations to major airport improvement works. He has unique experience in measuring and assessing noise and vibration in buildings from underground rail sources.

    He also has experience using sound level meters by Brüel & Kjær, Norsonic, and Larson Davis, and software tools such as Cadna/A. He is familiar with ASTC/AIIC testing and using acoustic software including Insul, SONarchitect, and EASE for indoor noise predictions.

    Trevor is a member of the Institute of Acoustics (IOA) in the UK.