On-Site Water
The Fogo Island Inn, on Fogo Island off the northeast shore of Newfoundland, combines 29 guest rooms, restaurants, an art gallery, a community center and a library. Rivercourt provided conceptual design and commissioning of the drinking water treatment system. The Fogo Island Inn has gained worldwide attention and was named one of Architectural Digest's “Ten Daring New Buildings Around The World”.
A busy greenhouse located in the Niagara region supplying plants and flowers to Southern Ontario needed a new septic system. Rivercourt helped fine-tune the occupancy and design flow assumptions resulting in a substantial reduction of the daily design flow. They proposed an AWS, a subsurface, vertical flow constructed wetland, oversaw the Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) process, a Ministry of the Environment requirement, and certified the installation upon its completion in 2022.
Camp Crossroads is an all-season 300-acre camp located NW of Gravenhurst, Ontario. Rivercourt designed its new drinking water and wastewater treatment systems. The drinking water source was switched from the lake to a GUDI well. The upgraded wastewater treatment system, now less energy intensive, uses a constructed wetland to pretreat the effluent before it flows to a dispersal bed. Both systems are cost effective, sustainable and ensure regulatory compliance under an ECA from the MECP.
Rivercourt has designed over 30 winery treatment systems in the Niagara Region of Ontario, generally involving agri-tourism components, including wine tasting, event spaces and weddings. The high-strength winery washwater is treated by engineered systems such as the Aqua Wetland System, which may be combined with other septic system approaches to achieve Level IV effluent quality (<10 mg/L CBOD5 and TSS).
Niagara Custom Crush Studio is a state-of-the-art production facility which makes, bottles and labels wine for other wineries. The winery needed to maximize land for agricultural production and reduce lot coverage for on-farm diversified use. Rivercourt designed a Waterloo Biofilter and Type A dispersal bed advanced treatment system for the winery’s sanitary sewage which minimized the footprint to leave room for expansion of their process washwater management system.
Sustainable Design
De-Ba-Jeh-Mu-Jig Theater Company, an aboriginal theater group based in Manitowaning, Ontario, was donated a historic general store building for use a rehearsal space. Rivercourt provided mechanical engineering and sustainability consulting for the retrofit and expansion of the exiting building in an energy-efficient and sustainable manner that was in keeping with the group’s holistic culture.
The Mohawks First Nation of the Bay of Quinte retained Rivercourt to design and engineer an eco-village with a 100% renewable energy supply and communal, ecological water treatment. The plan is to construct 40 family housing units, a multi-unit residential building and a community center over the next 5 years on Band property in Shannonville, ON.
Members of Wahgoshig First Nation (WFN), live in a village originated in the 1980’s near Matheson, Ontario. As participants in the IESO Aboriginal Community Energy Plan program, WFN sought experts in energy planning to help them determine the community’s current and future energy needs and priorities. Rivercourt assisted WFN with securing funding and completing a community energy plan, undertaking a feasibility study for a community-based renewable electricity and thermal generation system.
The Ketchum Residence, located 60 kilometres northwest of Toronto, is off-grid and functions on 100% renewable energy. Rivercourt designed the private home in response to the clients’ desire for an ecologically responsible house in a country setting. This residence was completed in 1997 and was awarded the North Eastern Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) Award.
This residential project involved the design of a high performance envelope retrofit, ceiling radiant heating and cooling, and a new and innovative heat pump system, coupled to geothermal and solar electric and thermal hybrid panels. Rivercourt provided the thermal envelope and HVAC system consulting, energy modelling, and mechanical engineering. This project received The Canada Green Building Council Award in 2015.
The Belusa Residence in Caledon, Ontario is a project was driven by the client’s interest in sustainability and state-of-the-art technology. Rivercourt provided consultation on the building envelope as well as preparing full mechanical drawings and specifications for permit and construction.
The Humber River Regional Hospital was built as a cutting edge structure combining the latest technology with green, energy efficient design. Rivercourt provided sustainable strategies as well as concept design for mechanical and electrical systems. Designed with high-efficiency features and to meet LEED-NC Silver and Toronto Green Standards, the structure is expected to demonstrate a payback of less than 7 years.
Being developed on the eastern part of Toronto’s waterfront as a sustainable community with residential & commercial, parks & other public amenities. Rivercourt wrote a Sustainable Opportunities report working with the design team on the urban design receiving: Toronto Construction Association Best of the Best Award, Canadian Society of Landscape Architects' Regional Honour, Boston Society of Architects’ Millo Von Moltke Award for Urban Design & Living City Award for healthy rivers & shorelines.
The Boyne River Ecology Center was built on the Niagara Escarpment as a low environmental impact educational facility for The Toronto Board of Education's School of Natural Sciences. Rivercourt provided a design for sustainability and both mechanical and engineering plans for this internationally renowned facility which received The North East Sustainable Energy Award.