Decarbonization and energy efficiency materialize with real-world context in a newly launched immersive studio that’s now freely open to building operators, skilled trades, students and others interested in sustainable technologies and high-performance building systems. The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Canada is sponsoring the space and four facilitated learning modules that harness virtual reality simulations, digital twins and 3D case studies to help participants visualize and get a hands-on feel for integrated, cleantech applications and systems.

EPiCS — an acronym for the Enspire Potential Immersive Cleantech Studio — is an element of BOMA Canada’s Enspire program. Funded through the Canadian government’s deep retrofit accelerator initiative, the program is intended to cultivate knowledge, skills, professional and business networks needed for widescale reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on a pressing timeline. The studio, located in Toronto’s King West district bordering the downtown core, allows learners to step into multimedia scenarios that replicate the interconnectedness of building systems and sustainability features via visualizations of electrical/mechanical rooms, control panels, HVAC delivery networks, building envelope assemblies, etc.

“One of the biggest challenges in decarbonizing buildings isn’t just the technology, it’s ensuring that the people have the skills to use it effectively,” Susan Allen, president and chief executive officer of BOMA Toronto, observed during a recent event to introduce the studio’s purpose and services. “EPiCS directly addresses this gap. This is exactly the kind of capacity building our industry needs.”

“Immersive technology can help people better understand how building systems work together in practical environments,” concurred Dean Karakasis, executive director of BOMA Ottawa. “Reading about a building automation system in a manual is one thing. Experiencing it in an interactive environment is something completely different. This kind of learning helps make complex technologies more understandable, more accessible and, ultimately, more useable for the people operating our buildings.”

The EPiCS menu offers four distinct learning streams, focusing on:

• existing building commissioning;
• building performance;
• retrofit planning; or
• skilled trades for cleantech and green construction projects.

Sessions are divided into roughly 30-minute components, beginning with a general overview, then going in for a deeper dive followed by a participant-focused interactive module or workforce development module. Information is presented through an interactive touch-wall format with pop-out multimedia content on separate screens. Groups of up to roughly 10 can be accommodated, and the complexity of the content can be geared to each user group.

Building owners/managers, skilled trades and technicians, emerging and mid-career retrofit professionals or career candidates exploring cleantech pursuits are all encouraged to register for the free sessions. As well, EPiCS program managers can adapt supplied data for projects teams that want to meet in the space to review and brainstorm over visualizations of their own (or their clients’) assets. Toronto-based post-secondary institutions including Toronto Metropolitan University, University of Toronto and Humber College are also considering working the studio’s capabilities into their curriculum options.

BOMA Enspire program administrators are expecting at least 1,000 learners to pass through EPiCS over the coming 10 months before the pilot shuts down in late March 2027. That will be in sync with the scheduled wrap-up of deep retrofit accelerator programs.

Thus far, funding has flowed through to more than 22,000 buildings across Canada through two completed tranches of BOMA Enspire:

• the quick-start audit initiative, which provided up to $10,000 to cover up to 100 per cent of the costs of conducting an ASHRAE-level audit in qualifying Class B and C commercial buildings; and
• the building performance excellence (BPE) excellence initiative, which provided up $125,000 per building to cover up to 80 per cent of the costs of optimizing energy performance or laying the groundwork for a deep retrofit in qualifying Class B and C commercial buildings.

A third program, the Retrofit Ready initiative, rolled out earlier this spring. It provides 60 to 80 per cent of the costs of professional and technical services required for preparation and/or implementation of deep retrofits. Incentives are targeted to Class B and C commercial buildings and public sector facilities, excluding buildings that are part of the federal government’s portfolio.

“Programs like EPiCS carry genuine value as we strive for low-carbon operations and the need to attract new talent to our industry,” asserted Neil Lacheur, chair of BOMA Canada and vice president, real estate management services, for Avison Young in Canada. “As part of BOMA Enspire’s capacity building strategy, EPiCS supports education and accelerates clean tech adoption in the built environment. It also affords us with the opportunity to learn and to inform future initiatives.”