Stantec Architecture has received a Green Design award from the City of Toronto’s inaugural Green Toronto Awards Environmental Awards of Excellence for the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus Student Centre.
The three-storey, 48,000-square-foot building is located in the heart of the campus, and houses offices for the student union, student clubs, associations, and the student media centre, plus the university’s office of student affairs, the centre for health, equity office, a multi-faith prayer space, lounges, pub, food outlets, retail stores and services, a games room and study area.
"We are proud of the sustainable solutions we provided for the University of Toronto Student Centre and to be acknowledged by the City of Toronto," stated Stantec Architecture’s Stephen Phillips, Principal-in-Charge of the project. "It is our hope that more educational institutions follow the U of T’s lead and begin to incorporate environmental sustainability features into their campuses."
Environmental sustainability was established as a clear goal for the Student Centre since the inception of the project. The building and its systems have been designed to reduce energy consumption, water consumption, and impact on the environment, as well as achieving a high level of occupant comfort, and to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental design) silver criteria. In addition, the construction process itself emphasized "green" procedures.
Eighteen tons of steel were "harvested" from the demolished gallery at the Royal Ontario Museum, cut to size and re-erected as part of the new building structure for the Student Centre. The reuse of this material saved CO2 emissions equivalent to driving around the world 16 times.
The Green Toronto Awards were awarded on Monday, May 2 and were hosted by Mayor David Miller and Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone.