PROJECTS

Red River College Princess Street Campus, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Canadian Entry in the International Green Building Challenge, 2002
RAIC 2006 Sustainability Award
A CANMET C-2000/CBIP Project
$33 Million

This 220,000 square-foot redevelopment is a state-of-the-art business, multimedia and information technology learning centre. It is also one of the highest-scoring projects that Canada has ever put forward in the rigorous Green Building Challenge process, a prestigious international event held every two years and involving 24 countries in 2002.

For the 2002 Canadian submissions, the national committee selected three projects from 20 applicants – Red River College was one of these (another of our projects, the Mayo School, was also selected). These projects were then evaluated under GBTool as part of the Challenge, and both of our entries scored high compared to previous Canadian Challenge projects.

Red River College was completed before the advent of LEED® in Canada. The environmental performance of this project would put it at the level of LEED Gold or Platinum.

At the time, the C-2000 Program for Advanced Commercial Buildings was Canada’s premier building environmental performance standard. Red River was, by far, the largest and most complex C-2000 project ever constructed and certified. The C-2000 framework and performance criteria were designed for office buildings. One of our challenges was to adapt these for Red River, which we were allowed to do by the program authorities due to our extensive C-2000 experience and sustainable design knowledge. The project met or exceeded all required performance criteria, including 45% energy savings relative to the C-2000/CBIP Reference.

Another key accomplishment was meeting all project objectives, including budget, within a fast-track project management model.

The project involved new construction, renovation of existing construction, and historic preservation, while maintaining a strong commitment to sustainable design. One of the keys to bringing these factors together was careful deconstruction and material recovery from the existing structures, as well as preservation and rehabilitation of important historical facades. This was the largest Canadian project to date involving extensive material re-use. This was complemented with judicious and minimalist use of material throughout.

Other notable characteristics of the project include highly flexible HVAC and lighting systems to accommodate variable occupancy. The HVAC system provides superior occupant comfort as well as exceptional energy performance. HVAC efficiency is accomplished by compartmentalization of space conditioning and ventilation, with demands met on an area-specific independent basis. Ventilation is CO2 controlled and represents the first successful large-scale use of this strategy in Canada. A condensing boiler plant, high efficiency chiller, and unique chilled water distribution round out the system.

The project also has a 34 kW building-integrated photovoltaic system – the largest of its kind at the time of installation.

We provided design facilitation and conceptual engineering, addressing all aspects of energy, environmental and functional performance of the architectural and building systems.

Corbett Cibinel Architects
Photos (top): Gerry Kopelow
Photos (bottom): Gord Shymko