New Microsoft headquarters has multi-purpose underfloor plenum

Microsoft Canada officially opened its new corporate headquarters in Mississauga, west of Toronto, on March 27.
The building, at 1950 Meadowvale Road, has floor-to-ceiling glass walls lending much natural light inside. It is four-stories high and 170,000 square feet (15,800 square metres) in area. Capable of holding 630 people, the building is owned by Penreal Capital Management and developed by Bentall. It includes an 18,000 s.f. presentation centre, a health club, cafeteria and landscaped courtyards on its ground floor. The computer giant occupies the top two floors, including a regional data centre, laboratories, offices and an open area.
Not surprisingly, the building incorporates some advanced technical features, one of which is called a “building technology platform” which integrates air distribution, cabling and electrical wiring within an underfloor plenum. The system is said to provide higher air quality and reduced mechanical costs. And because the ceiling plenum size is reduced to only 18″ (from the usual 2’6″ to 3’6″) there were overall savings in construction materials.
The project involved a number of local consulting engineers working with Dermot J. Sweeny Architects and Adamson Associates Architects in joint venture. For the base building the consultants included: Stephenson Engineering (Saundra Cullen) structural, Mulvey & Banani International (Joe Berardi) electrical, The Mitchell Partnership (Bob Shute) mechanical and Marshall Macklin Monaghan (Tom Rotella) civil. For the Microsoft interiors consultants were Carinci Burt Rogers Engineering (Fred Carinci) electrical, Keen engineering (Mark Mitchell) mechanical, and Ehvert Technology Services (Vellow Ehvert) IT systems.