U of Winnipeg goes for gold with green building design

The University of Winnipeg is gunning for a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold certification with its new Science Complex and Richardson College for the Environment.

The lab, which is scheduled for completion in March 2011, is expected to be one of the most energy efficient lab in North America.

When completed the building will house laboratory facilities, classes and offices. The lab uses an advanced heat recovery wheel to retain 80 per cent of heat loss, and a staged air exchange system ensures circulation only when the labs are in use.

The university is also planning for their upcoming Buhler Centre for Business and McFeetors Hall residence to be LEED silver, still a significant ranking in terms of energy efficiency, said Alana Lajoie-O’Malley, director of the U of W Campus Sustainability Office said in a statement.

“As [sites] of innovative thinking, research and education, universities have a responsibility to model sustainable practices,” she said. The University of Winnipeg Community Renewal Corporation (UWCRC) is in charge of the project, which will cost the university about $60 million, in addition to $18 million in federal government funding and $25 million from the province.