Imagine an educational facility that is as much a teacher as the instructors standing at the front of its classrooms; a building powered by the resources of its surrounding environment; a building as full of potential as the students learning inside. That building is Penticton’s Okanagan College Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Technologies and Renewable Energy Conservation, a world-class educational facility that will train British Columbia’s next generation of tradesmen in green construction.
Okanagan College’s Centre of Excellence, which will mark its grand opening this fall, is designed to the standards of the Living Building Challenge, the most rigorous sustainability program on the planet. The challenge requires projects to meet a stringent list of qualifications, including net-zero energy and water consumption, and address critical environmental, social and economic factors. Successful Living Building Challenge projects are only certified if they prove they meet program requirements after 12 months of continued operations and full occupancy. At 6,780 square meters, the Centre of Excellence is currently one of the largest buildings to pursue Living Building certification.
Innovative sustainability components throughout the building add up to make the Centre of Excellence one of the greenest educational facilities in the world. These include net-zero energy and water consumption made possible through features such as an in-floor radiant heating and cooling system, using an on-site water source drawn from 61 meters below the building; the largest array of photovoltaic solar panels in Western Canada; and composite concrete/wood panels in the gymnasium that contain piping for heating and cooling and are the first of their kind in North America. Nearly 100% of the wood in the building is B.C.-sourced, including local pine from beetle-infested forests in the Okanagan.
The Centre’s planned educational programming includes Sustainable Construction Management Technology, Carpentry, Applied Ecology and Conservation, and Green Building Design and Construction, as well as the research and development of alternative and renewable energy sources. BD+C
Related Stories
| Feb 8, 2012
World’s tallest solar PV-installation
The solar array is at the elevation of 737 feet, making the building the tallest in the world with a solar PV-installation on its roof.
| Feb 2, 2012
Call for Entries: 2012 Building Team Awards. Deadline March 2, 2012
Winning projects will be featured in the May issue of BD+C.
| Jan 31, 2012
28th Annual Reconstruction Awards: Modern day reconstruction plays out
A savvy Building Team reconstructs a Boston landmark into a multiuse masterpiece for Suffolk University.
| Jan 30, 2012
Hollister Construction Services to renovate 30 Montgomery Street in Jersey City, N.J.
Owner Onyx Equities hires firm to oversee comprehensive upgrades of office building.
| Jan 27, 2012
Smith Seckman Reid opens two new offices
Smith Seckman Reid, Inc. (SSR), an engineering design and facility consulting firm, has opened two new offices, one in Chicago, the other in Washington, D.C.
| Jan 24, 2012
New iPad app ready for prime time
Siemens’ versatile application connects users to APOGEE BAS control and monitoring functions via wireless network connectivity. The application directly interacts with BACnet/IP and Siemens APOGEE P2 field panels.
| Jan 24, 2012
U of M installs new lighting at Crisler Player Development Center
Energy efficient lighting installed at PDC reduce costs and improves player performance.
| Jan 12, 2012
3M takes part in Better Buildings Challenge
As a partner in the challenge, 3M has committed to reduce energy use by 25% in 78 of its plants, encompassing nearly 38 million-sf of building space.
| Jan 8, 2012
TCA releases The Construction of Tilt-Up
The newest publication from the TCA is the second in a planned trilogy of resources covering the architecture, engineering and construction of Tilt-Up
| Jan 3, 2012
New Chicago hospital prepared for pandemic, CBR terror threat
At a cost of $654 million, the 14-story, 830,000-sf medical center, designed by a Perkins+Will team led by design principal Ralph Johnson, FAIA, LEED AP, is distinguished in its ability to handle disasters.
