Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects

The Jackson-Triggs Winery is a two storey 43,000 square foot wine production and retail facility located in Southern Ontario.  The integrated project team set out to design a building that minimized CO2 emissions, had conservative building systems, and was agrarian in nature.

The production spaces are organized to use gravity flow in the wine-making process, and storage spaces are located in the cave-like basement, where the heat sink effect of the surrounding earth maintains a stable, cool and humid environment.  Direct solar heat gain is minimized and cooling requirements are reduced from the shading provided by a 5 meter roof overhang on the south, west, and east facades.   

Natural ventilation is maximized in all building sections through the use of operable windows during shoulder (spring and fall) seasons to reduce the reliance on building heating and cooling systems.  A displacement ventilation system is used for office, boardroom and lounge areas where high ceilings allow stratification, subsequent energy reductions and improvement in indoor air quality.  Daylighting is maximized in order to optimize energy efficiency through reduced reliance on artificial illumination systems and cooling loads.  The building's radiant floor heating system uses concrete mass for storage and a thermal flywheel effect.