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Branksome Hall is an independent school for girls from Junior Kindergarten through to Grade 12. Located in the heart of Toronto, they are a fully authorized IB (International Baccalaureate) world school with 900 students, all of which benefit from both the IB curriculum and the requirements of the Ontario Ministry of Education. Their mission, in partnership with the International Baccalaureate Organization, is to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.1
The newest addition to their 13-acre campus is the Athletics & Wellness Centre, scheduled to open in early 2015. Made possible through the Branksome Becomes Campaign, the new building houses a number of exciting features, most notably 2 pools, a rowing centre, a dining court with seating for 300 and a fitness centre with state-of-the-art cardio and strength-training equipment.
During the design and construction of the project, CFMS outlined the mechanical and electrical commissioning requirements for the project, co-ordinated with the Contractors to ensure a complete and updated schedule for critical dates and milestones, performed installation reviews and witnessed mechanical equipment start-ups. As construction comes to a close, CFMS will be on site to conduct performance verifications of the equipment through the upcoming winter heating season. The same will be done in 2015 during the cooling season, which I am sure we will all be looking forward to once it makes its debut.
The importance of the post-construction stage in regards to commissioning is an often overlooked aspect of the construction life-cycle. During our seasonal performance evaluations, CFMS is able to review the functionality of the building’s mechanical systems in real time, with the building running at full capacity and being utilized for its intended purpose. As close as one can get to ideal conditions during the design stage, fine-tuning equipment based on real world performance data is what makes a good system great and ultimately saves owners money, both in maintenance and in monthly operating costs.
The new Athletics & Wellness Centre will be opening its doors soon, and we at CFMS look forward to seeing this beautiful building when it’s completed. For more information on the Centre, visit http://www.branksome.on.ca/branksomebecomes/Pages/Home.aspx. For information on Branksome Hall, visit http://www.branksome.on.ca/Pages/default.aspx.
References:
International Baccalaureate Organization. What is an IB education? www.ibo.org
Retrieved October 10th, 2014, from http://www.ibo.org/myib/digitaltoolkit/files/brochures/whatisanibeducation-EN.pdf