Architecture and engineering

On this page

• Introduction to Architecture and Engineering Services at Public Services and Procurement Canada
• Technical documents
  • Technical reference for Office Building Design
  • Doing Business with Public Works and Government Services Canada—Documentation and Deliverables Manual
  • MD15161: Control of Legionella in Mechanical Systems
  • MD1500: Mechanical and Environmental Standards for Office Buildings
• Enquiries
• Associated documents

Introduction to Architecture and Engineering Services at Public Services and Procurement Canada

Architecture and Engineering Services (AES) forms a critical part of the project team on real property projects. The AES team is comprised of subject matter experts including professional architects, engineers, and technologists, who are federal Technical Authorities responsible and accountable for design quality assurance, technical compliance, oversight and safeguards to ensure safe and technically accurate completion of real property projects and ongoing asset-integrity.

Technical documents

To support project delivery, technical references, manuals, and standards have been developed relating to architecture and engineering to help ensure consistently high quality project delivery.

Technical Reference for Office Building Design ^{Footnote 1}

This document describes both the general approach to the design of Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) custodial office buildings, and the technical aspects that apply to each major discipline involved in the design.

The purpose of this document is to establish baseline building design and technical requirements for office buildings in order to ensure:

• office buildings are built to a high level of quality that meet operational needs
• office building requirements are clearly defined and applied consistently by private sector service providers and PSPC staff
• the design and construction of office buildings contributes to meeting Government and PSPC sustainability targets
• design excellence
• sound stewardship of our federal identify; and
• the design and construction of office buildings presents best value to the crown.

Doing Business with Public Works and Government Services Canada—Documentation and Deliverables Manual ^{Footnote 1}

This document provides architectural and engineering (A&E) consultants with the requirements for producing deliverables for Public Services Procurement Canada projects in order to ensure a well-documented design process, and facilitate review by PSPC staff.

This document shall apply to design-bid-build projects undertaken by PSPC on its own behalf as well as for other government departments (OGDs). It is applicable to all regions of PSPC and can be supplemented with regional addendum.

MD 15161-2013: Control of Legionella in Mechanical Systems ^{Footnote 1}

Outlines the requirements for the design, maintenance and operation of mechanical systems in PSPC buildings to minimize the occurrence of Legionella. Recent outbreaks of the disease have highlighted the need for effective control measures. In most cases, the source of the outbreak has been traced to the building's mechanical systems. Cooling towers have been implicated in some cases while, in others, the outbreak has been attributed to the potable water systems. As MD 15161-2013 points out, proper operation and maintenance of the mechanical systems with regular disinfection procedures is the key to Legionella control.

MD 15000-2012: Mechanical Environmental Standards for Office Buildings ^{Footnote 1}

MD 15000-2012 is a standard which provides the minimum mechanical design and operating requirements related to mechanical environmental conditions in PSPC federal office buildings. It sets out the minimum mechanical requirements for temperature, relative humidity, ventilation, and acoustics. This standard is intended for use in new and existing Crown-owned federal office buildings; it does not apply to leased buildings.

Enquiries

Technical enquiries about the documentation may be directed to: tpsgc.sngp-npms.pwgsc@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca.

Associated documents

Specifications

• National Master Specifications

Laws and regulations

• Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations
• Canada Labor Code Part II
• Department of Public Works and Government Services Act

Treasury Board policies

• Accessibility Standard for Real Property
• Fire Protection Standard
• Policy on Management of Real Property
• Common Services Policy

Date modified:

2019-11-06