GREENLIFE BUILDING

Description:

The GreenLife Business Centre in Milton, Ontario near Toronto is set to become the first net-positive energy building in Canada. It will produce 168,000 kilowatts per hour annually, and will need just 100,000 kilowatts per hour to operate. Insulated concrete forms, motion sensors, daylight-harvesting, and geothermal equipment are key features. Designed by Radek Kozlowski Architect, it is scheduled to be completed at the end of this year. [1]

Since sustainable development was defined by the Brundtland Commission’s report Our Common Future in 1987, tens if not hundreds of thousands of “green” buildings and communities–of various shades and types–have been built around the world. Green buildings and sustainable communities are not going away. In fact, many of the leaders in the industry appear to be narrowing their sights on a new set of goals: buildings and communities that aim for either no negative impact–or a positive impact–on planetary ecosystems.

It used to be that simply having a LEED-certified building or another of the certification systems in existence around the world was enough to claim the mantle of industry leadership. This is clearly no longer the case. With the GreenLife Business Centre, Canada’s first net-energy-positive office building breaking ground in Milton, Ontario last February–no doubt spurred by Ontario’s Feed-In Tariff program (FIT) that encourages onsite production of renewable energy–there is evidence that the bar of sustainable design is being raised. [2]

References:

[1]      “Canada’s First Net-Positive Building under Construction in MILTON, ONTARIO.” Building Design + Construction, August 31, 2014. https://www.bdcnetwork.com/canada%E2%80%99s-first-net-positive-building-under-construction-milton-ontario.

[2]      “Buildings That Give Back.” Canadian Architect, October 31, 2011. https://www.canadianarchitect.com/buildings-that-give-back/.

Additional information:

Hanes, Tracy. “GreenLife Project Is FIRST ‘Net ZERO’ Building in Canada.” thestar.com, June 15, 2012. https://www.thestar.com/life/homes/2012/06/15/greenlife_project_is_first_net_zero_building_in_canada.html.

“How a Commercial Building Will Produce More Energy than It Uses.” Daily Commercial News, December 5, 2017. https://canada.constructconnect.com/dcn/news/others/2012/8/How-a-Milton-Ontario-commercial-building-will-produce-more-energy-than-it-uses-DCN051339W.

White, Shelley. “Is Canada Getting Left behind When It Comes to GREEN BUILDINGS?” The Globe and Mail, September 19, 2011. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/property-report/is-canada-getting-left-behind-when-it-comes-to-green-buildings/article554792/.

Architecture, Award, City, Completed Projects, Functional, Net-positive, ON, ONT, Ontario, Permanent, Private, Urban