Three Ontario structures receive CaGBC Green Building Excellence Awards

Ontario Construction Report staff writer

Three Ontario buildings received 2019 Canadian Green Building Council (CaGBC) Green Building Excellence Awards at the organization’s at the group’s annual conference in Vancouver last Wednesday.

The Western Union Engineering Building in London won the Green Building Excellence – New Construction Award, while 4711 Yonge (Marisa Construction Ltd. and Menkes Property Management Services Ltd.) won the award for Green Building Excellence – Existing Building. A Hamilton retrofit won the Green Building Excellence – Outstanding Home – recognition

The 2019 Leadership and Green Building Excellence Awards recognize individuals and organizations that demonstrate outstanding industry leadership and who have made significant contributions to the CaGBC’s mission and goals in advancing green building in Canada, CaGBC says in a statement.
“Every year we are recognizing those individuals that are making a difference and affecting/leading change in Canada’s green building industry,” said CaGBC president and CEO Thomas Mueller.

‘This year’s award winners are indicative of the passion, commitment and innovation that drives our industry to keeping moving forward in delivering change on the ground. This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Daniel Pearl, embodies those traits. Both as a practicing architect and an educator, he has influenced sustainable design and delivered ground breaking projects for decades.”

The winners of the 2019 CaGBC Leadership Awards are:

CaGBC Lifetime Achievement Award

Winner: Daniel Pearl, co-founder L’OEUF (l’Office de l’Éclectisme Urbain et Fonctionnel)
Daniel Pearl, a trail-blazer and innovator in sustainable and environmental architecture, has been hailed as Montreal’s number one eco-architect. Focused on sustainable architecture, urban housing, residential and commercial renovation, his integrated approach to design has helped shape the industry, creating demand for green buildings, and a legacy of new talent inspired by his work.

CaGBC Inspired Educator Award

Winner: Cheryl Fryers, Professor, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Architectural Technologies
For over 15 years, Cheryl Fryers has taught about sustainability and regenerative design. Her Master’s thesis, “Gamification for Environmental Change,” explored whether gamification could help people adopt sustainable behaviours by introducing her students to an app that rewarded them for defined actions like recycling or taking public transit. Her students describe her as a mentor and an inspiration, instilling in them a passion for sustainability, green buildings and biophilia.

Government Leadership Award

Winner: Public Services and Procurement Canada
Public Services and Procurement Canada was the first federal department to complete a National Carbon Neutral Plan evaluation in support of a low-carbon Government. The Government of Canada occupies about 27 million meters squared of space, with the PSPC as a custodian for more than a quarter of it. The PSPC’s green initiatives, combined with policy adjustments significantly impacted the Government of Canada’s real property portfolio, furthering the mission and goals of the CaGBC.

The Ed Lim Technical Leadership Award (Formerly the Technical Volunteer Leadership Award)

Winner: Guillaume Martel, architect and sustainability specialist, Provencher Roy Architectes
Guillaume Martel has worked on more than 70 sustainable projects in numerous certification systems including LEED, ENVISION, Parksmart, and SITES. Since 2010, Guillaume has worked with the CaGBC as a member of the Material and Resources Technical Advisory Group, which he now chairs. He also sits on the LEED Canada Steering Committee and previous Building Lasting Change Program Committees. In 2018, he represented the CaGBC and the industry at G7 Summit workshops on the circular economy.

CaGBC Volunteer Leadership – Chapter

Winner: Natalie Irwin, director of stakeholder engagement for Efficiency Canada
Natalie Irwin is the type of volunteer CaGBC’s Chapters are built by: engaged, committed, and connected in the industry. She played a significant role in the first Green Jobs 101 event in Halifax, Nova Scotia, a series of networking events that emphasize the importance of environmental jobs and gives recent grads a glimpse of different green career options.

CaGBC Green Building Champion Award

Winner: Lisa Westerhoff, Integral Group
Lisa Westerhoff has been instrumental in the development of numerous green building policies including the BC Energy Step Code, the CaGBC Zero Carbon Building standard, Better Buildings BC incentive program, and The Toronto Zero Emissions Building Plan. In addition, she consults with many Canadian cities on climate action policies, which will ultimately drive meaningful carbon emissions reductions. Her work on the CaGBC Zero Carbon Building standard and the BC Energy Step Code has been widely acclaimed for providing a pathway to Zero Carbon Buildings for the building industry in Canada.

CaGBC Green Building Pioneer Award

Winner: Roland Charneux, Pageau Morel et associés inc.
Since 1976, Roland Charneux has helped design of millions of square feet of green and efficient buildings, saving owners millions of dollars. Roland has managed hundreds of projects nationwide, including major LEED projects and experimental green building. Committed to the movement before green buildings were even part of the vernacular, he has spent 40 plus years of his career leading by example, advocating for green buildings, and investing in the next generation of green building leaders through his commitment to education.

Emerging Green Leader Award

Winner: Afaf Azzouz, buildings performance engineer, Stantec
As an emerging green professional, Afaf Azzouz is involved in many facets of the industry. Her recent projects include Carbon Neutral Studies for commercial buildings, Evolv1, the first Zero Carbon Building Standard certification in Canada, and the UBC Brock Commons building, one of the tallest wooden structures in the world. She has developed a career path that follows her passions and gives back through CaGBC Chapter volunteer work, mentorship, and collaboration, as well as innovative and inspiring international development work that has a significant impact beyond her immediate community.

Students Leading Sustainability: Andy Kesteloo Memorial Project Award

Winner: Bianca Dahlman, The Weave Cultural Centre
Bianca Dahlman, a fourth-year student at the University of Manitoba, is recognized for her heartfelt, compassionate design project of The Weave Cultural Centre – a space where the Anishanaabe community of Shoal Lake 40 can reconnect with and celebrate their history in a modern, multi-purpose space that embraces culture and green building design. Bianca’s visionary project enables knowledge sharing across generations, communities, and cultures in a viable and beautiful facility.

The winners of the 2019 CaGBC Green Building Excellence Awards are:

CaGBC Green Building Product of the Year Award

Winner: SoyaOil Coatings Canada Inc.
SoyaOil Coatings Canada’s bio-sustainable and renewable architectural coatings technology is revolutionizing the green building industry. Formulated for zero-pollution, SoyaOil is helping the building industry move away from petrochemical and synthetic chemistry products, making buildings safer for the humans that inhabit them, and the environment.

Green Building Excellence – Tenant Improvement

Winner: Prairie Architects Inc., Office
Prairie Architects’ new office demonstrates a creative commitment to sustainability and a consultative approach to design while celebrating and promoting employees’ healthy lifestyles. When Prairie decided to move offices, they considered many options, but staying in the Exchange District was important to staff. Giving new life to a neighbourhood heritage warehouse epitomized Prairie’s values and passion for sustainable design. Employee input contributed to the design which features open workstations, natural light, high-efficiency LED fixtures, and ultra-low flow faucets, as well as showers and bike storage—which acknowledges the teams’ dedication to active transportation.

Green Building Excellence – Inspiring Home

Winner: Parkdale Landing, Housing Retrofit
The Parkdale Landing Affordable Housing Retrofit in Hamilton will transform the lives of tenants who can only afford rents of approximately $500/month, including utilities. As a result, this retrofit could be a standard for dilapidated buildings in many Canadian communities in need of affordable housing solutions. Parkdale Landing was renovated for $205 a square foot, less than a five percent increase over a Code building in this location.

On-time and on-budget, tenants will enjoy safe and stable housing with low utility bills – clearly a win-win for all. This project is an excellent example of how healthy, safe, and cost-efficient retrofit homes can transform lives and communities.

Green Building Excellence – Zero Carbon Award

Winner: École Curé-Paquin
École Curé-Paquin is the first project in Quebec—and the first grade-school in Canada—to receive the Zero Carbon Building Design certification and set the bar for cutting greenhouse gases (GHG) in school buildings. As a new school, École Curé-Paquin will become part of an educative program showcasing Zero Carbon buildings in action.École Curé-Paquin demonstrates a true passion for green building and healthy lifestyles, by excelling in high-performance energy and water systems, as well as materials re-use and life cycle management.

Green Building Excellence – New Construction

Winner: Western University, Engineering Building
The Western University Engineering Building, also known as ThreeC Plus is the 13th LEED certified project at Western, setting the bar for future campus developments and for the City of London as the first regional project to target Platinum certification. Three CPlus is a 9,400 square meter multi-use project, located at Western’s Main Campus in London, Ontario. It brings the percentage of LEED registered or certified space to 16 percent of the total University square footage.

Green Building Excellence – Existing Building

Winner: 4711 Yonge (Marisa Construction Ltd. and Menkes Property Management Services Ltd.)
Located in the desirable North York area of Toronto, 4711 Yonge Street is an award-winning Class A building. It demonstrates stand-out performance on several fronts including a dramatically improved ENERGY STAR score, significantly reduced water use, and a higher level of LEED certification. It has achieved LEED Silver, Fitwell, Wiredscore and Energy Star certifications, as well as BOMA BEST Platinum.