City of Calgary Water Centre
The City of Calgary Water Centre is the headquarters of Calgary's Water Resources and Water Services' staff, housing its 460 professional and 314 field staff.[1] The four-storey office building was completed in 2008, and upon opening was both the largest LEED-rated office building in Alberta and Alberta's first Gold-certified building.[2][3] The building was designed through a collaboration between Sturgess Architecture and Manasc Isaac.
| Calgary Water Centre | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Office building |
| Location | Calgary, Alberta |
| Completed | June 4, 2008 |
| Cost | Can$43,000,000 |
| Owner | City of Calgary |
| Dimensions | |
| Diameter | 160 m x 20 m |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 4 |
| Floor area | 183,000 sq ft (17,000 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architecture firm | Manasc Isaac Sturgess Architecture |
| Main contractor | Dominion Construction |
Construction
The project began in 2005, and was expected to cost Can$33,000,000.[4] It was built on a brownfield site owned by the city near the Calgary Stampede grounds, previously occupied by a furrier and a C-Train depot.[4]
Environmental status
The Calgary Water Centre is the first building in Alberta to be certified Gold by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system,[3] and is one of the first to be built under the City of Calgary's 2003 requirement for all new buildings to meet or exceed LEED's Silver rating.[3] The building incorporates many sustainable design elements such as water conservation (including a green roof, rainwater harvesting, and zero-irrigation landscaping), natural lighting, and an innovative HVAC system.[5]
The building itself is 95% day lit, reduces waste water by 72%, reduces overall water usage by 59%, and achieves a 58% savings in annual energy consumption.[1] Additionally, the building's efficient use of materials resulted in a 95% recycling rate of excess construction material.[1] The building's energy savings are expected to offset its $43m construction cost in 15 years, and it is to operate for an additional 35 years with minimal maintenance costs.[1][3]
See also
- Greenstone Building, first LEED Gold building in Northern Canada, designed by one of the architecture firms associated with the Water Centre.
References
- "Water Centre". City of Calgary. December 8, 2009. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
- "Calgary achieves gold for greenest building". CBC News. May 5, 2008. Archived from the original on June 15, 2009. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
- Sutherland, Shannon (Spring 2009). "Giving the Green Light" (PDF). Open Mind Magazine. Merit Contractors Association. pp. 8–13. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
- Bendo, Yvonne (June 7, 2007). "City of Calgary's Water Centre shooting for gold". Journal of Commerce. Calgary. Archived from the original on December 17, 2010. Retrieved October 13, 2010.
- Peachman, Matthew (September–October 2006). "Innovative Engineering" (PDF). Construction Business Magazine. pp. 24, 26. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 6, 2011. Retrieved March 12, 2010.