George Brown College to Build Ontario's First Tall Wood Institutional Building -- A Carbon Neutral Home to Tall Wood Research Institute

 "THE ARBOUR" TO BECOME A NEW LANDMARK AT COLLEGE'S WATERFRONT CAMPUS

TORONTO, July 27, 2017 /CNW/ - Continuing its leadership in the evolution of green and sustainable building methods, George Brown College plans to construct the province's first Tall Wood institutional building. The planned 12-storey, carbon neutral facility will be home to a Tall Wood Building Research Institute.

The Arbour will serve as a living laboratory both during its construction and once complete, where students and researchers will learn to design, construct, operate and monitor climate-friendly buildings. It will be located on George Brown's Waterfront Campus, to the north of the LEED Gold certified Daphne Cockwell Centre for Health Sciences. The college recently purchased the land from the City of Toronto.

In the fall, the college will launch an international design competition among the firms uniquely qualified to undertake such a project.

"This distinctive new location will help us contribute to the mitigation of climate change and environmental sustainability while supporting our continued intention to create campus environments that are innovative, creative and stimulating for student learning," said George Brown College President Anne Sado.

Over the past several years, a number of tall wood projects have been completed around the world, demonstrating successful applications of new wood and mass timber technologies. In addition to the opportunity for design innovation, mass timber construction has many other advantages, making it an innovative approach in sustainable building efforts.

"Waterfront Toronto is pleased to welcome this new carbon-neutral facility to the East Bayfront neighbourhood as another example of sustainable development on Toronto's waterfront that showcases next-generation green building technologies," said Waterfront Toronto's President and CEO Will Fleissig. "This facility joins a burgeoning innovation and technology corridor that is fostering creative, knowledge-based jobs and creating opportunities for Canadian innovators and entrepreneurs."

As the first of its kind in Ontario, The Arbour will become a demonstration facility that drives forward advancements in sustainable innovation and helps support the development of green buildings throughout Canada. George Brown also sees the new site as a premier opportunity to build on its commitment to provide environmentally-sustainable campuses.

A key element in the creation of a low-carbon campus will be the integration of smart building systems: networked, intelligent, sensitive and adaptable. With building automation at the forefront of design and development innovation, this project provides an opportunity to create a facility that can integrate, adapt, monitor and test latest technologies and share best practices with industry and students.

The project will include:

• Research facilities that will continue to build the college's strength as an innovation leader
• George Brown's Centre for Information and Computer Technology to support and complement the City of Toronto's Smart City initiative
• A new child care facility ? George Brown's 10th in the city to meet growing community needs

About George Brown College  
Toronto's George Brown College has established a reputation for equipping students with the skills, industry experience and credentials to pursue the careers of their choice. The college offers programs from its three campuses located across the downtown core, and provides housing at its student residence, The George, which opened in Sept. 2016. George Brown offers 162 full-time programs and 194 continuing education certificates/designations across a wide variety of professions to a student body of more than 29,000 (full-time enrolment) students, including 17 per cent international students; and over 67,000 continuing education registrations. Students can earn certificates, diplomas, postgraduate certificates, apprenticeships and degrees. www.georgebrown.ca.

SOURCE George Brown College