Town of Oakville awarded silver for sustainable design

Tue, 23 Dec 2014

QEPCCC receives LEED Silver certification from Canada Green Building Council

At Council last night, Mayor Rob Burton presented a LEED Silver certification plaque received from the Canada Green Building Council for Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre (QEPCCC) on Bridge Road.

The building is the third town facility to achieve a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. The town received a LEED Silver certification for the new Transit building earlier this year and a LEED Gold certification for the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex in 2012.

“Achieving LEED Silver certification for QEPCCC confirms and recognizes the importance this Council and our town places on sustainable, energy efficient building,” Mayor Rob Burton said.

The Canada Green Building Council, which encourages and facilitates the development of sustainable buildings in Canada, evaluates projects according to six LEED categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor air quality, and innovation and design.

“The town approaches every new facility design with LEED objectives in mind and the redesign of an existing building did not affect our strategy at all,” said Shelly Switzer, director of facilities and construction management for the Town of Oakville. “This LEED certification showcases how we were able to improve the overall performance and sustainability of QEPCCC through renovation, construction and design operations.”

The QEPCCC facility received LEED credits for site selection, alternative transportation, reduced site disturbance, light pollution reduction, water-efficient landscaping, water use reduction, optimizing energy performance and ozone protection.

“This one-of-a-kind, multi-use facility is one of the largest venues in Canada to house such a diverse collection of artistic, cultural and active living program opportunities, and cultural organizations,” said Nina de Vaal, director or Recreation and Culture. “Receiving this LEED certification ensures that the thousands of residents who visit QEPCCC daily will do so for many years to come.”

The building has several significant features including:

  • Maintained 90 percent of the existing building structure and shell.
  • Reused 50 percent of the interior non-structural elements (walls, furniture, floor covering, doors and ceiling).
  • Potable water consumption reduced by 45 percent by using high-efficiency water fixtures.
  • Use of energy-efficient bulbs and Building Automation System with occupancy sensors.
  • Use of native and drought tolerant plants to eliminate a permanent irrigation system.
  • Incorporating features that increase the building’s overall energy performance.
  • Spaces for 48 bicycle storage spots, and 16 showers on-site.
  • The facility will implement a Green Education Program and Green Housekeeping Program, using certified green products and cleaning processes to facilitate a high quality and healthy indoor environment.

The $27 million facility located at 2302 Bridge Road was constructed with $7.4 million in federal and provincial government funding. The building was designed by Perkins Will Architecture and built by Aquicon Construction Ltd., and took 16 months to complete. The more than 144,000 square-feet building opened in 2012 and includes an aquatics centre, two gymnasia, a youth centre, older adult centre, dance studios, recording studio, fine arts studios, a wood working shop, a pottery studio, a rehearsal hall, black box theatre, gallery, museum space and administration offices.

Through the Livable Oakville Official Plan and the town’s Sustainable Building Design guidelines, which came into effect in 2009, new town buildings over 500 square metres in building area are required to be designed and built to achieve LEED Silver certification. Green building design and construction adheres to Council’s strategic goals of enhancing the town’s natural, cultural, social and economic environments.

Visit the Livable Oakville page for more information on the official plan.