Centennial College’s A-structure, known as A-Building, is set to open its doors this week. It is Canada’s first LEED Gold, zero-carbon, mass-wood higher-education structure located at Scarborough’s Progress Campus.
The building’s design focuses on promoting Indigenous ways of being and teaching. It features an extremely efficient building envelope and all-electric domestic hot water heating and HVAC systems, which helped it earn zero carbon certification.
The rooftop is equipped with a solar photovoltaic panel array that generates enough power to balance the facility’s yearly electricity use by 68,000 kilowatt hours, contributing to its LEED Gold certification. The building also has floor-to-ceiling windows that allow natural light in and it has received a WELL Silver accreditation.
The project was a collaboration between Centennial College, Colliers Project Leaders, EllisDon Construction, DIALOGUE, and Smoke Architecture. The roughly $112 million project also included input from an Indigenous working group. The building spans six stories and over 130,000 square feet, with a 15,000-square-foot restoration added as well.
Facilities at Canada’s first LEED Gold certified building
A-Building houses administrative offices, collaboration areas, and culinary services. It also provides space for the School of Engineering Technology and Applied Science. The building has adaptable classrooms, an internal courtyard that serves as an outdoor classroom, and 13 rooms with unique exhaust blowers for smudging.
Craig Applegath, Partner and Architect at DIALOG, expressed his pride in being part of the project. He stated, “We are overjoyed to see Centennial College’s A-Building expansion completed. It gives me great pride that this project is the nation’s first zero-carbon higher-educational facility. Furthermore, it demonstrates DIALOG’s unwavering commitment to meeting and exceeding sustainability benchmarks across our work. We’d like to thank Centennial College for being excellent collaborators and for ensuring that Indigenous ethics and environmental justice were at the center of our design.”
