Products & Materials

Because British Columbia is currently facing a major pine beetle epidemic, with 14.5 million hectares infected, the team chose timber frame construction, using primarily local pine beetle-kill wood. Using this wood helps to alleviate some of the impending economic hardship facing many small BC communities.

Wood construction of the two-storey, 70,000 ft2 building results in a relatively low carbon footprint calculated at 1770 tonnes compared to 2235 tonnes or 3360 tonnes for an equivalent steel or concrete framed building respectively.

All materials are sourced locally according to their density: high-density materials such as concrete, steel, and blockwork are manufactured within 500 km of the site, medium density materials within 1,000 km and light materials within 2,000 km. For the majority of items, raw materials are sourced within the same radii of the point of manufacture.

Major product suppliers include:

Glulams: Structurlam

Composite panels: Structurecraft

Windows / Curtain walling: Kawneer

Cladding: Westform

Roofing and membranes: Firestone

Green roof: Zinco

Exterior stain / Interior stain: Broda

Interior paint: ICI

Whiteboard paint: IdeaPaint

HVAC (all main types) / Heat pumps /
Water Furnace : Rambow Mechanical

Photovoltaic panels: Conergy

Inverters: Satcon

Insulation: Dow CavityMate SC and Styrofoam SM

Air Barrier:
Soprema, Bakor (masonry locations only)

Flooring: Dinoflex

Gym flooring: Robbins Sports Flooring

Radiant heating: Heatlink

Millwork: Hart Millwork Ltd.

Lighting controls / Building controls: Kimco

Lighting: Pinnacle Architectural Lighting

Plumbing fixtures: Sloan

Doors & hardware (excl aluminium):
MacGregor Thompson

Steel Piles: Greyback

Soft Landscaping:
West-Wind Nurseries & Landscaping Ltd.

Rammed earth walls:
Ritchie Contracting & Design Ltd.

Railings, sunscreens, light shelves:
MK Technologies

Acoustic ceiling: Geometrik

Solar tracking sun pipes: Sun Central Inc

Water Conservation

• The building achieves net-zero water use through a partnering agreement with the local municipality. The City is currently constructing a state-of-the-art, chemical free wastewater treatment facility in close proximity to the College. This facility, which meets the standards of the LBC, will treat the wastewater to a higher standard than could be achieved in a stand-alone facility on our site. The agreement with the municipality was approved by the Living Building Certification as being equivalent to net zero water use.
• Black water is exported to the recently completed, chemical-free, municipal water treatment facility.
• The equivalent volume of grey water (treated effluent water) returns for flushing toilets, irrigation, etc.
• A corresponding volume of bio-mass is imported for use as fertiliser on the landscaping within the site.
• Low flow fixtures are used throughout to reduce the overall water demand.
• The landscape design uses xeriscaping principles and indigenous plant material to mitigate the need for supplemental water from irrigation systems.
• Rainwater is harvested from the major areas of the roof used for photovoltaics, and redistributed over the areas of green roof, thereby increasing the volume of rainwater to these areas by a factor of four.

Other Features & Measures

• The first phase of the photovoltaic array is 260 kW and will generate nearly 300 kWh per annum. The array is understood to be the largest in Western Canada for a non-utility organization.
• After analyzing actual energy demand shortfall during operation, the second phase is intended to bring the building to net-zero. No energy is generated on site using fossil fuels or combustion of any kind.
• Faculty are grouped in offices of six workstations, making them easy to repurpose into classroom space , thereby avoiding the significant environmental impact of subsequent refurbishments during the life of the building.
• The building is also home to Accelerate Okanagan, a non-profit organization that supports startup companies pursuing new green technologies. These innovators can develop their ideas in cooperation with the faculty and students.
• The green roofs are planted with local flora, providing natural habitat for the Sandhill Skipper – a provincial red-listed butterfly found on the site – and other indigenous fauna.
• The function of the building is to train students in sustainable construction trades, and will therefore be used as a demonstration and test bed building, continually evolving with the latest sustainable technologies.