Mohawk College helps set new standard for green building innovation with second Zero Carbon Building — Design certification in Canada
The Joyce Centre for Partnership & Innovation is also Canada’s first institutional building to receive the certification
- Rating System/Standard
- Zero Carbon Building
- Theme
- Green Building
May 23, 2018 – Hamilton, ON – Mohawk College has been awarded Zero Carbon Building – Design certification from the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) for the Joyce Centre for Partnership & Innovation. The Joyce Centre is the second building to receive the certification. The first was a multi-tenant office building in Waterloo, Ontario.
In 2016, the Joyce Centre became one of 16 projects from across Canada to be chosen as a pilot project for CaGBC’s new Zero Carbon Building Standard. New construction projects earn Zero Carbon Building – Design certification by modeling a zero carbon balance, highly efficient envelope and ventilation systems to meet a defined threshold for thermal energy demand intensity, and onsite renewable energy systems capable of providing a minimum of 5% of building energy consumption.
Project teams are required to evaluate energy use holistically, including impacts on peak electricity, and determine the GHG emissions associated with structural and envelope materials. Both new and existing buildings can obtain the standard.
Fast Facts
- The Joyce Centre for Partnership & Innovation will be home to new and existing programs offered through Mohawk’s School of Engineering Technology.
- The Centre will house high-tech labs and classrooms specializing in fields such as clean and renewable energy, sustainable design, technology automation, cyber security and materials manufacturing among others.
- Contributing to the zero carbon certification was Mohawk’s curtain wall technology which offers much better insulation value than typical curtain walls.
- The Centre also uses no natural gas onsite – the all-electric set up allows for the easiest route to low carbon for most buildings.
- There will be nearly 500 solar panels mounted to canopies on the roof of the Joyce Centre. Campus-wide the college is installing nearly 2,000 solar panels as part of a clean energy retrofit.
- Mohawk’s solar panel system will produce 550,000 kilowatts of clean energy per year which is enough to power 45 Canadian homes for one year.
- The Joyce Centre also features 38 geothermal wells that draw energy from more than 600 feet below the building.
- Mohawk has been named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for the past five consecutive years in recognition of its leadership in environmental sustainability.
Media Contacts
For more information about Mohawk College and the Joyce Centre for Partnership & Innovation contact:
Jay Robb
Director of Communications, Mohawk College
905-575-1212, ext. 3965
For more information about CaGBC’s Zero Carbon Building Standard contact:
media@cagbc.org
Desk: 613-288-8075
About the Zero Carbon Building Standard
Developed to be broadly applicable, the Standard can be used by new and existing commercial, institutional, and multi-family buildings. The Standard is unique in that it is the first in North America to use carbon instead of energy efficiency to measure a building’s impact. Recognizing the choice of energy sources and the carbon intensity of regional electrical grids is critical to accurately assessing environmental impacts and guiding investments. The Zero Carbon Building program reinforces the importance of energy efficiency while also driving careful choices about the types of energy used and encouraging more renewable energy generation both on the building site and offsite.
About CaGBC
CaGBC is the leading national organization dedicated to advancing green building and sustainable community development practices. As the voice of green building in Canada, we work closely with our national and chapter members in an effort to make every building greener. The CaGBC reduces environmental impacts from the built environment through project certification, advocacy and research. CaGBC established the LEED® green building rating system in Canada and developed the country’s first Zero Carbon Building Standard in May 2017. For more information cagbc.org.
About Mohawk College
Mohawk College educates and serves more than 31,700 full-time, part-time and apprenticeship students at three campuses in Hamilton, Ontario. Mohawk is among the leading colleges in Canada for applied research and is ranked number one for student and graduate satisfaction among colleges in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.