Kwantlen Polytechnic Campus Achieves LEED Gold

Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s new campus in Cloverdale, BC, Canada, attained LEED Gold sustainable design certification in December of 2008. Designed by Bunting Coady Architects of Vancouver, the 185,139-sf facility houses 27 workshops and 21 classrooms for applied training programs and instruction in trades and technology. The $42.3 million project features a spacious atrium and was built by Ledcor. The campus will accommodate up to 900 full-time students and features a “passive” design to ensure effective use of the campus microclimate and optimize building orientation. The north and south building façades are substantially larger than the east and west faces, thereby maximizing control of sunlight glare and heat gain/loss. The building, which officially opened in April of 2007, also features a large photovoltaic array, individual lighting controls, and low-VOC materials. The project team included structural engineers Bush Bohlman & Partners; building envelope consultants Trow Associates; civil/mechanical/electrical engineering consultants Earth Tech Canada; and landscape architects PWL Partnership. The design team utilized an integrated design process to incorporate the mechanical, electrical, civil, and architectural requirements for the project. This process also enabled the team to overlap the programming phase of the project with the conceptual/schematic design phase, generating savings during a period of escalating costs.