A Current Green Building in Ottawa
Oct 20, 2009
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As Ottawa's population grows, districts once in decline are making a huge comeback. Wellington Village, on Ottawa's west end, was considered gritty and lacked shops and services earlier this decade. Now, this neighborhood, where I've been staying the past week, is thriving. Shops and restaurants have moved in, homeowners have purchased homes and beautifully refurbished them, and buildings once vacant are now full of lofts and condos. On Holland and Wellington is one stellar example of high density building using green construction standards: The Currents.
Who wouldn't want to live in this mixed-use complex: in this case, a theater (The Great Canadian Theater Company) and condos, with a cafe in the lobby? Recently completed by the Ottawa firm Windmill Developments, this 11 floor building housing 44 condominiums features:
- Construction on a brownfield site, rather than developing new land for the complex.
- A solar wall dominating its south facade, providing heat for the entire building during the winter.
- Bamboo flooring and sustainably-harvested wood paneling.
- Grey water systems for irrigation and landscaping systems, in addition to water-efficient fixtures in the homes and theater.
- Dry wall using fly ash (a waste product from concrete production).
- Partial financing from green loans, which allowed future cost savings from the building's energy-efficient construction to factor in the financing of The Currents' green construction and design practices.
The result: a sharp, distinctive building on one of the neighborhood's busiest corner; access to a major public transportation hub with downtown a 10 minute bus ride away; and plenty of restaurants, stores, and neighborhood services within a short walk.
While the building does not have Canadian LEED certification yet, a cursory walk around and inside the building, plus a chat with several staff, demonstrated that the complex was designed intelligently with Ottawa's cold winters--and balmy summers--in mind. Large windows let in natural light, trees and shrubs provide green and shade in the middle floors, and interior paints and flooring that do not give off gaseous emissions (often referred to as no or low-VOC) are throughout the interior.
Ottawa's population is surging and more people are moving to the suburbs--often commuting long distances that can turn into a hassle during a winter storm or labor strike. Walking around Ottawa, there still are plenty of lots on which mixed-use buildings like The Currents could be built . . . and hopefully the city will encourage such development. Let's allow more of the maple tree forests that are just outside Ottawa to show off their fall colors. The alternative is trees falling to bulldozers that lead only to more houses offering residents nothing . . . but a painful hour commute.