Author/Contributor: The Atmospheric Fund, WSP
Alberta Context: This report was written in Ontario, and its contributions to advancing prefabricated overcladding solutions are focused on addressing a national challenge of building decarbonization, providing a replicable procurement model, and discussing common barriers and solutions that could be relevant for deep retrofit initiatives in any Canadian province, including Alberta.
Summary:
The Atmospheric Fund (TAF) and WSP kicked off a project to accelerate deep retrofits of existing buildings, particularly multi-unit residential buildings, by using prefabricated overcladding systems. The project’s goals were to research the currently available prefabricated solutions in North America, stimulate market innovation and interest, and identify manufacturers, fabricators, and contractors capable of providing high-performance prefabricated overcladding systems for deep retrofits.
This two-phase project, which included a market study, revealed limited Canadian adoption of prefabricated overcladding, despite its success in Europe. Barriers include unclear market demand, building condition challenges, and limited manufacturing and funding. A Request for Supplier Qualifications (RFSQ) was developed, prequalifying three systems for retrofits, with a focus on social housing, commissioning and developing an RFSQ process. Future efforts will focus on market outreach, technical specifications, and stakeholder collaboration to promote the adoption and use of the system.
Read the full report here.
