Building Better: Building Performance Must Go Beyond the Minimum

During a segment on TVA’s À vos affaires, David Aubert, President and CEO of Isothermic, welcomed journalist Audrey Gagnon to the company’s facilities to discuss an issue that extends well beyond manufacturing windows and doors: how to construct buildings that are better adapted to our climate, energy needs and the realities of today’s construction industry.

Canada’s building industry is undergoing a major transformation. Energy efficiency, construction costs, labour availability, material durability and faster project delivery are forcing the industry to rethink established ways of building.

At Isothermic, this transformation is driven by a simple conviction: meeting building codes and standards is essential, but they should be viewed as a starting point rather than the goal.

In other words, we refuse to let minimum requirements define the future of our buildings.

Higher-performance windows for higher-performance buildings

Windows play a critical role in the performance of the building envelope.

Beyond aesthetics, a high-performance window can help reduce energy loss, improve air and water tightness, and increase occupant comfort. Depending on the system and the project, it can also contribute to better acoustic performance and the building’s overall durability.

In a climate like Quebec’s and Canada’s, this level of performance becomes particularly important.

But building better does not simply mean choosing the window with the highest performance rating.

It means selecting the right system, at the right level of performance, for the right building.

That is why Isothermic develops and manufactures a range of PVC, hybrid and aluminum solutions in Quebec for residential, multi-residential, commercial and institutional projects.

This approach allows each solution to be adapted to the architecture, climate, required dimensions, energy-performance targets and specific objectives of the project.

Passive House: taking performance further

This determination to go beyond minimum requirements has also led Isothermic to develop significant expertise in high energy performance and Passive House standards.

Nearly fifteen Isothermic products now meet requirements or standards associated with Passive House.

But the value extends beyond certification itself.

Developing windows and doors capable of meeting such demanding performance levels pushes engineering, manufacturing and quality control further — and the expertise gained can then benefit other products and projects across the company.

The question, therefore, is not whether every building should be Passive House.

The real question is: how much can we improve a building’s performance when we stop treating minimum code requirements as the target?

Prefabrication to build better and faster

Building performance, however, is not determined solely by the components used.

It also depends on how the building is constructed.

This is precisely what led Isothermic to develop PACE Wall, its prefabricated wall system designed in particular for multi-residential construction.

The principle is to transfer part of the work traditionally performed on the construction site into a factory-controlled environment.

Building-envelope components can therefore be manufactured under controlled conditions, with greater repeatability and precision, and then delivered to the job site for installation.

This approach addresses several of the challenges facing the construction industry today: labour shortages, schedule pressures, quality control and the need to enclose buildings faster.

With PACE Wall, Isothermic is no longer focused solely on manufacturing a high-performance window.

The company approaches the building envelope as a complete system.

Made in Quebec for the buildings we build here

This evolution is also rooted in a commitment to maintaining and developing local manufacturing expertise.

Isothermic manufactures windows, doors and building-envelope solutions in Canada for a wide range of markets and building types.

As the company has grown, it has invested in its facilities, equipment, automation, engineering and new manufacturing technologies to expand the solutions it can provide to architects, developers, contractors and building owners.

This manufacturing capacity also enables Isothermic to take on increasingly complex projects, from large architectural openings to façades and prefabricated building systems.

The objective remains the same: to design and manufacture solutions here that are adapted to the conditions in which our buildings will need to perform for decades to come.

The future of buildings should not be defined by the minimum

At Isothermic, we believe manufacturers can play a greater role: developing today the solutions that will help buildings perform better tomorrow.

High-performance windows.

Raw-material traceability.

Systems designed to meet Passive House standards.

A holistic approach to the building envelope.

Prefabrication to improve quality and accelerate construction.

And Quebec-based manufacturing capabilities that continue to evolve.

Ultimately, the question is not simply what a building must minimally achieve to comply with code.

The question is what it could achieve if we chose to aim higher.

Minimum has never been an ambition.