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
Building Technology | May 9, 2017
Movers + Shapers: Innovation Superchargers
Wexford Science & Technology’s ‘knowledge communities’ provide the real estate spark to ignite budding S+T startups.
Great Solutions | May 5, 2017
No nails necessary: Framing system comes together with steel zip ties and screws
Clemson University’s School of Architecture develops a patent-pending construction method that is gaining attention for its potential use in rapid, low-tech sustainable housing.
Building Technology | May 5, 2017
Tips for designing and building with bathroom pods
Advancements in building technology and ongoing concerns about labor shortages make prefabrication options such as bathrooms pods primed for an awakening.
Building Technology | Apr 21, 2017
AIA selects 2016 Upjohn Research Initiative Projects
Grants awarded to initiatives that study various aspects of design within the built environment.
Building Technology | Mar 9, 2017
Prefabrication's predicament: It's much harder than it looks
Many of the nation’s largest contractors, including Gilbane, Mortensen, Skanska, and Turner, have been utilizing prefab techniques on select projects for a decade or more.
Great Solutions | Mar 8, 2017
Pop-out balcony is a breath of fresh air for stuffy hotel rooms and apartments
In less than one minute, Bloomframe transforms from an insulated picture window to an open balcony.
Building Materials | Feb 15, 2017
New metamaterial cools roofs without any energy consumption
The material is barely thicker than aluminum foil and can be economically manufactured for large-scale residential and commercial applications.
Building Technology | Feb 13, 2017
Denver’s ‘smart neighborhood’ will be packed with futuristic technology
The neighborhood will become a test lab for innovative technology.
Virtual Reality | Feb 1, 2017
Tour ancient buildings and cities as they were when new with Lithodomos VR
An Australian archeological startup is bringing the ancient world to a VR headset near you.
Building Technology | Jan 30, 2017
Machine learning could help buildings notify occupants about critical systems failures before they happen
Data from sensors built into HVAC units paired with a machine learning algorithm predicted 76 out of 124 real faults for an Italian hospital.