The Jim Pattison Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Technologies and Renewable Energy Conservation is one of the most innovative and advanced sustainable facilities in the world. This facility incorporates conservation systems that advance the goals of one of the most rigorous sustainable building standards. The building is a living lab and part of the teaching curriculum, making it the perfect facility for tradespeople, site managers and construction workers who want to become skilled in sustainable building practices. 

The building achieved LEED® Platinum certification in addition to pursuing the Living Building Challenge (LBC). To meet LBC standards, we worked collaboratively with trade partners to eliminate Red List building materials from construction. Red List materials include added asbestos, lead and formaldehyde.  The team conducted fastidious research to find suitable materials and products, including locally sourced pine beetle – kill wood, which reduced transport costs and respected the project’s strict budget.  

The team used a combination of engineered wood and concrete wall panels in the gymnasium to accommodate a radiant heating and cooling system. Normally, radiant heating and cooling is only used for flooring; however, the wood athletic floor in the gym eliminated this possibility. This is the first time this technology was used in wall panels in North America. 

The building actively adapts to the environment around it to ensure it remains as efficient as possible. This can be seen in the building’s natural ventilation and cooling system. Windows feature a green-light/red-light system that indicate when occupants can open windows to maximize cooling.    

To avoid the use of energy from nonrenewable resources, the building has the largest array of photovoltaic solar panels in Western Canada. Solar energy provides domestic hot water as well as supplemental building heat. 

A fully integrated project delivery model ensured we were there from the start to help with costing and constructability and help the college achieve its ambitious vision for the building.