LEEDing the Way

When the 300,000 square foot facility opens, it will become the largest building in Windsor-Essex to achieve gold status through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system and the university’s second facility to receive such a designation. The Medical Education Building, which opened in 2008, was the first.

“The university plays a leadership role by showing by example what can take place,” said professor Veronika Mogyorody, academic architectural advisor to the CEI and the Medical Education Building. “If we keep building LEED certified buildings it will act as an example for others in the community to follow suit.”

LEED is a third-party certification program for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. It promotes sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas: site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. LEED buildings are designed to lower operating costs; reduce waste; conserve energy and water; be healthier for occupants; reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and demonstrate commitment to environmental stewardship and social responsibility.

Like the Medical Education Building, the CEI will include a “living wall” made of a variety of plants to act as a bio-filter and naturally purify the building’s air. It will also feature:
An atrium and a dramatic amount of natural lighting and low-energy lighting systems to reduce energy consumption
Locally made and recycled materials

• A green roof to collect and filter rain water to provide gray water
• A zone-controlled heating, ventilation and air conditioning system to reduce energy consumption
• An air delivery system that uses the thermal mass of the building to reduce peak loads and air volumes, while reducing mechanical equipment and air ducting
• Sensors to continually monitor air quality, heating, lighting and cooling systems using specially designed software integrated into the workings of the structure.
• The facility will also act as a “living laboratory” that will feature exposed structure and monitored systems to showcase environmentally friendly construction concepts and engineering principles for students.

“I think the building is a learning tool,” said Alan Fraser of B+H Architects. “The students in the building can see how it works. So the students won’t just be learning in the building, they’ll be learning from the building.”

Engineering students are already champing at the bit to get into their new home, excited by the fact that the building will earn a LEED designation.

“It shows how we’re moving into a new environmentally friendly engineering idea,” said Brandon Baioff, a third-year student and president of the Engineering Student Society. “This building sends us a message that not only do you have to design something well, you have to design it to be eco-friendly.”
 

Architect Alan Fraser discusses environmental aspects of the Centre for Engineering Innovation in a video co-produced by the Centre for Teaching and Learning and the Office of Puiblic Affairs and Communications.